Travelling Australia Fact Sheet  http://www.travelling-australia.info	HOME   LIST   BACK

Boulia Photographs

Boulia, Qld.    22° 55'S  139° 54'E.

The township of Boulia is in the far west of Outback Queensland on a permanent waterhole in the Burke River. The Burke is a tributary of the Georgina River, one of the rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin which flow only after rain; usually they are a string of waterholes or dry streambeds, after rain they flow for a while, often just fading away as their water evaporates or is absorbed in terminal wetlands. Only after heavy rain do these rivers feed water into Lake Eyre. Population of the shire's 62,000 square kilometres is 555 (at 30 June 2006). Boulia advertises itself as the gateway to the Simpson Desert to the west. South of Boulia lies the Channel Country characterised by the vast flood and alluvial plains of the Diamantina River and Coopers Creek where rivers are lost in braided streams. Boulia lies at the junction of several access roads.   The Diamentina Development Road running 303 kilometres from Mt Isa is bitumen, single lane.   The Kennedy Development Road running 366 kilometres from Winton is bitumen, mostly single lane.   The Plenty/Donohue Highway is 814 kilometres of gravel from Alice Springs.   The road south to Bedourie is 194 kilometres of gravel with bitumen stretches; Birdsville lies beyond Bedourie. The first European explorer through the area was Charles Sturt in 1845. Other explorers in the area include Thomas Mitchell, Edmund Kennedy, Nathanial Buchanan and William Landsborough. Robert Burke and William Wills passed the site of Boulia during their 1860-61 expedition to the north coast of Australia during which they both died. The Burke River at present-day Boulia is named after Burke, the Wills River is 14 kilometres further on. Pastoral settlement began in the 1860s, initially with sheep but cattle are more often grazed today. Pastoralists moved into the area as part of the push for pastoral land settlement in the mistaken belief that there was enough water for stock. But rivers in the Lake Eyre Basin only run after Wet season rains; in the dry season they revert to a string of waterholes, some permanent, others not. Before the Great Artesian Basin was tapped later in the century to provide water on a large scale, drying waterholes were disastrous for pastoralists and only the hardiest remained around Boulia which became pretty well the western limit for pastoralism near the edge of the desert. The town of Boulia was established in 1876 by the shopkeeper, Ernest Henry. He chose a site beside the permanent waterhole in the Burke River named Bullu Bullu or Boolya. In July 1879 a town reserve was set aside and in October 1879 the government surveyor began surveying the town; the first land sales took place in February 1883. By 1891 Boulia had a population of 150. There was a police magistrate, police sergeant, three constables, a tracker, butcher, saddler and three storekeepers. The town was a supply centre for settlers on surrounding properties with supplies coming from coastal Queensland or Adelaide on camel, horse or bullock teams. Halfway between Windorah and Camooweal, Boulia was an important stopping point on that Western Queensland stock route. It remains the headquarters of the Shire of Boulia stretching west to the Northern Territory border and gazetted in September 1887 as the Boulia Divisional Board. Average annual rainfall is 264 millimetres; half the annual rainfall occurs from January to March. Lowest average rainfall is in August with 7 millimetres. Summers are hot with average maximum temperature in December of 39°C; November and January average temperatures are nearly as high. Winters are mild with daily maximum of 23°C in July; average minimum in that month is 7°C. High temperature and low rainfall presented serious obstacles to daily life in the first decades of settlement; the Stonehouse in Boulia represented one attempt to live in the heat with a building of thick local stone bonded with mortar made of limestone, gidyea ash and sand. Built in the 1880s (1884 and 1888 are quoted) this was a major project for a prominent local businessman, James Edward Jones. The iron for the roof was brought from Hughenden and the timber for the floor was brought from the Diamentina River over 200 kilometres away. This building has been restored and is listed by the National Trust. In the Stonehouse grounds is a museum containing fossils of the large marine life forms inhabiting the ocean covering this region about 100 million years ago. As well as the environmental attractions around the town, Boulia's claims to fame include the Boulia Camel Races, held on the third weekend in July, and the Min Min Light which is described and commemorated in the Min Min Encounter in Boulia. The Cawnpore Lookout in the Lilleyvale Hills 151 kilometres east of Boulia on the Winton road offers panoramic views over the surrounding country. The lookout is near the boundary of mesa-style "jump-up" country and Mitchell Grass plains and offers impressive views of each. Related Information Sheets     Cawnpore Lookout     Minmin Light     Great Artesian Basin

TOP