Mount Morgan, Queensland
| Mount Morgan Queensland |
|
|---|---|
| File:Morgan Street, Mount Morgan.jpg
Mount Morgan's Central Business District
|
|
 Mount Morgan
|
|
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Population | 2,115 (2011 census)[1] |
| Established | 1882 |
| Postcode(s) | 4714 |
| Location |
|
| LGA(s) | Rockhampton Regional Council |
| State electorate(s) | Mirani |
| Federal Division(s) | Capricornia |
Mount Morgan is a town located in central Queensland, Australia. The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring local government areas to form the Rockhampton Region. In the 2011 census, Mount Morgan had a population of 2,115 people.[1]
Contents
Geography
The town of Mount Morgan is situated on the Dee River, 38 kilometres (24 mi) south of the city of Rockhampton, and is 680 kilometres (420 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town.
History
Mount Morgan was founded as a gold mining town in 1882, and over time the Mount Morgan Mine has produced gold, silver and copper. Among those making a fortune from this mine was William Knox D'Arcy. D'Arcy used his fortune to finance oil exploration in Iran, which led to the formation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP).
Mount Morgan Post Office opened on 18 May 1885 (a receiving office had been open from 1884).[2]
The town of Mount Morgan grew in a haphazard fashion around the entrance to the mining lease near the Dee River from the early 1880s. By 1889 a number of the major religions had established congregations and erected churches including the Primitive Methodists (1885), the Catholics (1887) and the Anglicans (1889). That year the town's name was formally changed from 'South Calliungal' to 'Mount Morgan', and by 1891 the Queensland census recorded a population of 3514.[3]
The railway link between Mount Morgan and Rockhampton was not built until 1898. Until that time, everything was transported by horse teams. The Mount Morgan Mining Company had a depot in Quay Street, where the wagoners would load up. Initially there were two routes to Rockhampton, one via Crocodile (now Bouldercombe) and the other via Kabra, Boongarry and Moonmera. In 1885, a road was built over the Razorback Range.[4]
The Mount Morgan Mine finally closed in 1981, having produced vast quantities of gold during its lifetime. During the mining operation, most of the mountain was mined away, and the town now lies adjacent to a 43 m deep acid-water filled pit. Mining companies still prospect today in the area, and plans to extract further gold from tailings at the mine site are always under development. The Queensland Government, through its Department of Natural Resources Mines and Water have begun a rehabilitation project of the minesite.
At the 2006 census, Mount Morgan had a population of 2,447.[5]
Heritage listings
Mount Morgan has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Burnett Highway: Mount Morgan Mine[6]
- Copper Hills: Adolphus William Copper Smelter[7]
- East Street: Mount Morgan Cemetery[8]
- 2 Gordon Street: Mount Morgan Masonic Temple[9]
- 11 Gordon Street: St Mary's Anglican Church[10]
- 28 Hall Street: Court House and Police Station[11]
- Morgan Street: Coronation Lamp War Memorial[12]
- 28 Morgan Street: Queensland National Hotel[13]
- 31 Morgan Street: Mount Morgan School of Arts[14]
- 38 Morgan Street: Commonwealth Bank Building[15]
- 39 Central Street: Grand Hotel[16]
- 44 Morgan Street: Mount Morgan Central State School[17]
- Railway Parade: Mount Morgan railway station[18]
Tourism
Tourism plays a large part in the economy of the town today. A number of historic buildings still exist in the town, and tourists can take excursions to the remains of the mine. The area was host to one of the few rack railways (as part of the line from Mount Morgan to Rockhampton) to operate in Australia. The rack portion of the line was replaced by a conventional adhesion railway in the 1950s.[19] In turn, the replacement line was closed in 1987, and the town no longer has a rail connection. There is a regular bus service between Rockhampton, Gracemere and Mount Morgan provided by Young's Bus Service.
Events
Mount Morgan is known to hold the Golden Mount Festival in the main street at the end of April or the start of May as part of the Labour Day holiday. The festival usually starts on a Friday and finishes the next Monday. The Morgan Street is closed to vehicles during Saturday of the Festival for the day for markets and activities such as floats and "Running the Cutter" races.
Notable people
- Alma Moodie, German-based concert violinist and teacher[20][21]
- Mervyn Henry Stevenson, superintendent of the Townsville police district and inductee of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame[22][23]
- Stephen Moore (rugby union), captain of the Wallabies, lived in Mount Morgan when his family first came to Queensland
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Erik Eklund, Mining Towns: making a living, making a life, UNSW Press, Sydney, 2012, pp. 75-76.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Last Days of the Mount Morgan Rack Railway Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, December, 1950 pp125-126
- ↑ Chapter9: Leisure and entertainment: aspects of popular culture at Mount Morgan
- ↑ Kay Dreyfus, Alma Moodie and the Landscape of Giftedness, 2002
- ↑ Anderson, John, "Tough bush adversary", Townsville Bulletin, 22 December 2001.
- ↑ "Fitting farewell for bush policeman", Townsville Bulletin, 22 December 2001.
External links
Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
- University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Mount Morgan
- Article in the Age Newspaper about Mount Morgan
- Mount Morgan State High School
- Mount Morgan Tourist Push
- Rockhampton Regional Council
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
