Windorah, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Windorah is one of three towns in the Barcoo in south-west Queensland
, Australia
. It is named after the local Aboriginal word for "Big Fish". At the 2006 census
, Windorah had a population of 158.
Located 35 km downstream from where the Thomson and Barcoo River
s join to form the multi-channelled Cooper Creek
, Windorah is known as "The Heart of the Channel Country
" and offers a welcome and interesting stop off for travellers to Birdsville
, Bedourie
, Longreach and points West. While the Shire covers an area of 60,901 km², the town has a population of 60 people, with a further 40 living at surrounding stations.
Sheep and cattle grazing are the main stay of the district, however recently oil and gas industries have developed in the area. Many locals also work on the Shire Council and the Dingo Barrier Fence
.
Windorah is diverse in many aspects. The temperature may range from maximums in summer that approach 50°C to minimums in winter are below 0°C. The annual rainfall has recorded falls between a low of 86 mm and a high of 988 mm. Other weather extremes include 25 morning frosts in 1977, 10 dust storms in 1987 and four hail storms in 1985.
A landscape of rocky outcrops, multiple sand hills and black soil flood plains make up most of the area surrounding the town. Water in the town follows the outback cycle of boom and bust. During a wet year Cooper Creek may flood more than a half a dozen times, during the dry it becomes a chain of waterholes.
The town was founded on a stock route
and proclaimed in 1880. Cobb & Co once ran a stage coach service between Windorah and Adavale
.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is named after the local Aboriginal word for "Big Fish". At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Windorah had a population of 158.
Located 35 km downstream from where the Thomson and Barcoo River
Barcoo River
The Barcoo River in western Queensland, Australia that rises on the northern slopes of the Warrego Range, flows in a south westerly direction and unites with the Thomson River to form Cooper Creek. The first European to see the river was Thomas Mitchell in 1846, who named it Victoria Stream...
s join to form the multi-channelled Cooper Creek
Cooper Creek
Cooper Creek is one of the most famous and yet least visited rivers in Australia. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its tributaries and is one of three major Queensland river systems that flow into the Lake Eyre Basin...
, Windorah is known as "The Heart of the Channel Country
Channel Country
The Channel Country is region of outback Australia located mostly in the state of Queensland but also in portions of South Australia, Northern Territory and New South Wales. The name comes from the numerous intertwined rivulets that cross the region, which cover 150,000 km²...
" and offers a welcome and interesting stop off for travellers to Birdsville
Birdsville, Queensland
-External links:*...
, Bedourie
Bedourie, Queensland
Bedourie is a small town located in the Channel Country of western Queensland, Australia, lying on Eyre Creek. It is located 1600 kilometres west of the state capital, Brisbane, and 200 kilometres north of Birdsville. At the 2006 census, Bedourie and the surrounding area had a population of 142...
, Longreach and points West. While the Shire covers an area of 60,901 km², the town has a population of 60 people, with a further 40 living at surrounding stations.
Sheep and cattle grazing are the main stay of the district, however recently oil and gas industries have developed in the area. Many locals also work on the Shire Council and the Dingo Barrier Fence
Dingo Fence
The Dingo Fence or Dog Fence is a pest-exclusion fence that was built in Australia during the 1880s and finished in 1885, to keep dingoes out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent and protect the sheep flocks of southern Queensland. It is one of the longest structures in the...
.
Windorah is diverse in many aspects. The temperature may range from maximums in summer that approach 50°C to minimums in winter are below 0°C. The annual rainfall has recorded falls between a low of 86 mm and a high of 988 mm. Other weather extremes include 25 morning frosts in 1977, 10 dust storms in 1987 and four hail storms in 1985.
A landscape of rocky outcrops, multiple sand hills and black soil flood plains make up most of the area surrounding the town. Water in the town follows the outback cycle of boom and bust. During a wet year Cooper Creek may flood more than a half a dozen times, during the dry it becomes a chain of waterholes.
The town was founded on a stock route
Stock route
In Australia, the Travelling Stock Route is an authorised thoroughfare for the walking of domestic livestock such as sheep or cattle from one location to another...
and proclaimed in 1880. Cobb & Co once ran a stage coach service between Windorah and Adavale
Adavale
Adavale is a town in south-western Queensland, Australia. The town is located in the Shire of Quilpie local government area, west of the state capital, Brisbane...
.