Hungerford, Queensland

Hungerford
Queensland

The view around the Royal Mail Hotel
Hungerford
Coordinates 28°59′45″S 144°24′29″E / 28.99583°S 144.40806°E / -28.99583; 144.40806Coordinates: 28°59′45″S 144°24′29″E / 28.99583°S 144.40806°E / -28.99583; 144.40806
Population 59 (2006 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 4493
Location
LGA(s)
State electorate(s) Warrego
Federal Division(s) Maranoa

Hungerford is a town and locality in outback South West Queensland, Australia,[2] immediately north of the border with New South Wales and the Dingo fence. At the 2006 census, Hungerford and the surrounding area had a population of 59.[1]

Geography

The locality is split between the Shire of Bulloo (western part) and the Shire of Paroo (eastern part).[3][4] The town is located in the Shire of Bulloo immediately north of the border between Queensland and New South Wales.[2][5]

Surrounding the town is the Currawinya National Park.

History

The town is named after Thomas Hungerford who once camped at the site.[6] The town developed from a border customs post on a stock route alongside the Paroo River. In 1874, the first hotel in the opened and the following year the town was gazetted.[6] For a number of years, before a proper survey was conducted the town was thought to be located in New South Wales.[6]

Hungerford Post Office opened on 1 October 1880, was replaced by a New South Wales office in 1881, reopened in 1886 and closed by 1907, replaced the New South Wales office in 1941 and closed by 1985.[7]

In 1892-3, Henry Lawson visited the town and wrote a short story named after it. In the story he wrote:

The town is right on the Queensland border, and an inter-provincial rabbit-proof fence -- with rabbits on both sides of it -- runs across the main street. ...
Hungerford consists of two houses and a humpy in New South Wales, and five houses in Queensland. Characteristically enough, both the pubs are in Queensland. We got a glass of sour yeast at one and paid six pence for it -- we had asked for English ale.[8]

A Cobb & Co coach service to the town was stopped in 1904.[6]

Heritage listings

Hungerford has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Hungerford (Bulloo Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 4 May 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Hungerford - town (entry 16466)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Hungerford - locality (Bulloo Shire) (entry 42946)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  4. ↑ "Hungerford - locality (Paroo Shire) (entry 42656)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2002). Heritage Trails of the Queensland Outback. State of Queensland. p. 114. ISBN 0-7345-1040-3.
  7. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  8. ↑ Peter Pierce, ed. (1987). The Oxford Literary Guide to Australia. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. p. 47.
  9. ↑ "Royal Mail Hotel (entry 601390)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.


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