Duaringa
| Duaringa Queensland | |
|---|---|
  Duaringa | |
| Coordinates | 23°44′S 149°40′E / 23.733°S 149.667°ECoordinates: 23°44′S 149°40′E / 23.733°S 149.667°E |
| Population | 247 (2006 census)[1] |
| Postcode(s) | 4712 |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | Central Highlands Region |
| State electorate(s) | Gregory |
| Federal Division(s) | Flynn |
Duaringa is a small town in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the Capricorn Highway, 116 kilometres (72 mi) kilometres west of Rockhampton. At the 2006 census, Duaringa had a population of 247.[1]
History
Colo Post Office opened on 10 November 1875. Next month it was renamed Duaringa.[2]
Duaringa was previously the administrative centre of the former Duaringa Shire Council, which became a part of the Emerald-based Central Highlands Regional Council upon amalgamation in March 2008. However, the town's former council chambers in William Street are still used for administration purposes, and the council remains a major employer for people who live and work in the town.
Today
Although small in size, the town has a police station and courthouse, ambulance station, a hotel, post office and newsagency, a primary school, three churches, a sports complex, and a library.
Duaringa previously had a general store and butcher shop, but both closed down in the mid-1990s. There was also a railway station but apart from the platform, it was removed in 2007. After the removal, Queensland Rail upgraded the platform facilities for local passengers wishing to use the Spirit Of The Outback rail service which operates between Brisbane and Longreach.
The Dawson and Mackenzie Rivers flow to the east and north of the town respectively. Duaringa suffers from periodic droughts and floods, and experiences summer temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius.
Duaringa is a significant centre for Aboriginal peoples and there is a former reservation at Woorabinda. Indigenous people were granted small parcels of land under Queensland native title legislation. There are Aboriginal rock art sites at Blackdown Tableland National Park, south-west of Duaringa.
Etymology
There are two versions on how the town came to be named Duaringa. The first reasoning behind the name is that it is derived from a word in the aboriginal language used in the Burnett River area - 'djuaringe', possibly meaning to turn oneself around.
The second possibility is that the name is derived from the aboriginal words 'D'warra D'nanjie', meaning a meeting place on the swamp oaks. This is the most popular theory, and is in fact the official origin of the name Duaringa.[3]
1968 Railway Collision and Aftermath
At 8:18pm on November 7, 1968, a coal train and a passenger-goods train collided at Duaringa, killing the coal train’s driver and his fireman. The assistant station master, 23-year-old David Dunnett, who was on duty at the time of the collision, was charged with unlawfully killing the driver of the coal train and a date was set for a trial at the Rockhampton Supreme Court, which was due to commence on March 3, 1969.
On the eve of a manslaughter trial, 48-year-old station master Royce Joseph Stickens murdered his 41-year-old wife Audrey and two young children before committing suicide.
The bodies of Royce Stickens, his wife, their 12-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter were found by a local police sergeant who had called around the morning before the trial to remind Stickens that he was due to give evidence at the trial the following day. The body of Royce Stickens was found with an automatic rifle beside it, indicating that a murder-suicide had taken place, possibly connected to the fatal railway accident.[4]
NB: Some media incorrectly reported the station master’s surname as Strickens, instead of correctly referring to it as Stickens.
1996 Satellite City Proposal
In October 1996, investors and representatives from South Korean religious group Canaan Farmers met with local government representatives in Duaringa to outline plans to build a satellite city on the eastern outskirts of the Duaringa township. Originally reported to cost $30 million, it was later touted as a $230 million international village which would have housed 1500 people, and would have included a shopping centre, hotel, golf course, an international school, a church and an industrial area and a noodle factory. On the day the original plans were unveiled to the public, the development co-ordinator for the village told local media that the satellite city was the brainchild of South Korean spiritual leader, Reverend Jong-Il Kim who had the intention of promoting international goodwill.[5][6]
Duaringa Shire mayor Tom Hall accepted an offer in November 1996 to visit South Korean to publicise the Duaringa Shire in the hope of securing the international city.[7]
In December 1996, it was reported that the Korean investors were considering situating the satellite city at Blackwater, 85 kilometres west of Duaringa, because Blackwater already had many facilities in place.[8] However, attention shifted back to Duaringa when the original $30 million proposal was upgraded by the investors to a new $230 million investment. Copies of the new plans were sent to Duaringa Shire Council and the Department of Tourism, Small Business and Industry.[9]
In January 1997, a group of 30 Korean business people visited Duaringa to further discuss their plans for the satellite city. Mayor Tom Hall said that Duaringa Shire Council fully supported the development and that he hoped the city would be operational by 1998. It was reported that the project depended on the construction of a water storage facility on the Dawson River.[10]
In August 2001, it was reported that problems with land entitlements in Duaringa and political upheaval in Korea had prevented the satellite city from going ahead. However, a delegation of Chinese business executives including China Delong Group general manager Zhang Yongde were planning to visit Duaringa on September 11, 2001 to inspect land and infrastructure. They had indicated to Duaringa Shire Council that they were interested in a possible major development for the town, and had requested copies of the original proposal put forward by the South Koreans in 1996 which had failed to get off the ground.[11]
Media
Duaringa is home to Graziher, an independent national rural magazine which is published quarterly and is aimed at women who live and work in rural areas of Australia.[12] The magazine's editor compiles the magazine from her family's cattle property near Duaringa, where she lives.[13]
Like much of Central Queensland, Duaringa mainly receives traditional local media services such as newspapers, radio and television from Rockhampton.
References
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Duaringa (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 7 May 2011.
- ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ↑ Duaringa Shire - 100 Years of Local Government 1881-1981
- ↑ http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/107081465
- ↑ Watson, Rhett "Duaringa chosen for $30m village" The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, October 24, 1996
- ↑ Grant, Hilary "Koreans outline satellite city plan" The Blackwater Herald, Blackwater, October 29, 1996
- ↑ Grant, Hilary "Mayor's visit forges closer relations with Korean businesses" The Blackwater Herald, Blackwater, November 19, 1996
- ↑ Grant, Hilary "Blackwater in line for satellite city" The Blackwater Herald, Blackwater, December 3, 1996
- ↑ Rutherford, Michael "Mini city for west", The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, December 28, 1996
- ↑ "Koreans to visit Duaringa city site", The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, January 7, 1997
- ↑ Mitchell, Geraldine "Chinese look into Duaringa project", The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, August 18, 2001
- ↑ http://www.graziher.com.au/pages/about-us
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-31/young-female-grazier-telling-stories-of-rural-women/7289120