Selwyn, Queensland
| Selwyn Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ladies enjoying a cricket match at Selwyn, 1921 | |||||||||||||||
  Selwyn | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 21°31′32″S 140°30′07″E / 21.5255°S 140.5019°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 25 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.00238/km2 (0.00616/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4823 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 10,504.7 km2 (4,055.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Cloncurry | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Traeger | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Selwyn is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] Selwyn is an abandoned former mining town. In the 2021 census, the locality of Selwyn had a population of 25 people.[1]
Geography
[edit]The Selwyn Range passes through the north of the locality.[4][5]
Mountains
[edit]Selwyn has the following mountains (from north to south):[6]
- in the north-east of the locality
- Mount Tracey (21°24′03″S 140°46′17″E / 21.4009°S 140.7713°E)[7][8]
- Mount Boorama (21°25′52″S 140°48′37″E / 21.4312°S 140.8103°E)[7][9]
- in the west of the locality
- Mount Birnie (21°37′00″S 139°56′52″E / 21.6168°S 139.9478°E) 450 metres (1,480 ft)[7][10]
- Mount Aplin (21°40′23″S 139°55′47″E / 21.6730°S 139.9297°E) 496 metres (1,627 ft)[7][11]
- Mount Murray (21°49′15″S 139°58′38″E / 21.8209°S 139.9773°E) 368 metres (1,207 ft)[7][12]
- Mount Merlin (21°52′41″S 140°00′37″E / 21.8780°S 140.0104°E) 314 metres (1,030 ft)[7][13]
- Phosphate Hill (21°53′20″S 139°59′11″E / 21.8889°S 139.9864°E)[7]
- Signal Hill (21°58′48″S 140°02′56″E / 21.9799°S 140.0489°E) 307 metres (1,007 ft)[7][14]
- Swift Hills (22°03′28″S 140°02′01″E / 22.0579°S 140.0336°E) 310 metres (1,020 ft)[7][15]
- Digby Peaks (22°06′54″S 140°08′03″E / 22.1150°S 140.1343°E) 301 metres (988 ft)[7][16]
Phosphate Hill railway line
[edit]The Phosphate Hill branch line of the Mount Isa railway line enters the locality from the north-west (Duchess) and runs parallel to the locality's western boundary until Phosphate Hill, the site of the phosphate mine.[17] The stations on the line are (from north to south):
- Mirri railway station (21°45′49″S 139°58′22″E / 21.7635°S 139.9729°E)[18][19]
- Phosphate Hill railway station (21°53′00″S 139°58′39″E / 21.8832°S 139.9776°E)[18][20]
The Duchess Phosphate Hill Road runs loosely parallel and west of the Phosphate Hill branch line, also terminating at the mine site.[17]
Selwyn railway line
[edit]The former Selwyn railway line had the following railway stations:
- Wontimee railway station (former, 21°22′29″S 140°29′29″E / 21.3747°S 140.4913°E), named by the Railways Department from 24 September 1920, using an Aboriginal word meaning spring water[21]
- Coppery railway station (former, 21°23′00″S 140°30′00″E / 21.3833°S 140.5°E), named by Railways Department on 29 October 1912. after the mineral copper which was found in the locality[22]
- Kongula railway station (former, 21°28′00″S 140°29′00″E / 21.4666°S 140.4833°E), named by the Railways Department from 29 December 1909 by Railways Department, using an Aboriginal word meaning either a grass necklace or a local mountain[23]
History
[edit]
Selwyn takes its name from the Selwyn Range, which was named in turn after Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn, a geologist who was Director of the Geological Survey of Victoria from 1852 to 1869. It was formerly known as Mount Elliott after the prospector James Elliott who discovered copper and gold in the area in 1889.[2][3]
Mount Elliott Provisional School opened on 1908. On 1 January 1909, it became Mount Elliott State School. In 1910, the school had 70 students and one teacher and an extra teacher was wanted.[24] In early May 1911, there was still only one teacher with 100 students in a building described as "not large enough for half the number" with the suggestion that typhoid outbreaks might be caused by the school's overcrowding.[25] In late May 1911, the Queensland Government announced that an assistant teacher was expected to arrive soon and that plans were being drawn up for a larger school building.[26] A call for tenders to construct the new school building was advertised in March 1912,[27] with a contract for £1,135 awarded in June 1912.[28] In 1912, it was renamed Selwyn State School. In November 1915, the Selwyn Hotel burned down, killing the school's headteacher who was boarding in the hotel.[29] The school closed circa 1936.[30] In December 1937, the school building was relocated to be used as a school building in Boulia.[31]
On 15 December 1910 ,the Selwyn railway line opened to service the Hampden and Mount Elliott mines. It was a branch of the Great Northern Railway and ran south from Cloncurry to Selwyn.[32]
Selwyn's population peaked in 1918 with an estimated population of 1500 people with a hospital and four hotels. However, in 1920, copper prices collapsed and, by 1921, only 191 people were still living in Selwyn.[32]
Mount Cobalt Provisional School opened on 1924 and closed on 1926.[30]
The railway line to Selwyn was closed in 1961.[32]
Demographics
[edit]In the 2016 census, the locality of Selwyn had a population of 50 people.[33]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Selwyn had a population of 25 people.[1]
Heritage listings
[edit]Selwyn has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Education
[edit]There are no schools in Selwyn. Students in the far west of Selwyn can attend Dajarra State School in neighbouring Dajarra to the west, but it would be too distant for other students in the locality. There are no secondary schools nearby. The alternatives are distance education and boarding school.[35]
Economy
[edit]Although the town of Selwyn is now abandoned, the mining and processing of phosphate occurs in the south-west of the locality at Phosphate Hill. The facility employs about 250 people with annual capacity of 975,000 tonnes.[36][37] The mine is serviced by the on-site gas-powered Phosphate Hill Power Station (21°52′44″S 139°58′29″E / 21.8788°S 139.9746°E).[38][39] The mine is serviced by the Phosphate Hill railway station at the terminus of the Phosphate Hill railway line which branches from the Mount Isa railway line at the Flynn railway station.[40]
Facilities
[edit]Selwyn Cemetery is to the east of the now-abandoned town of Selwyn (21°31′52″S 140°30′26″E / 21.5312°S 140.5073°E).[41]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Selwyn (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
- ^ a b "Selwyn – town in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 30388)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ a b "Selwyn – locality in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 42494)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
- ^ "Layers: Locality; Mountains and ranges; Contours; Watercourses". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Selwyn Range – range in the Shire of Cloncurry (entry 30389)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Layers: Locality; Mountains and ranges; Contours; Watercourses". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mountain peaks and capes - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Tracey – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 35107)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Boorama – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 3789)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Birnie – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 2750)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Aplin – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 675)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Murray – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 23621)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Mount Merlin – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 21653)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Signal Hill – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 30811)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Swift Hills – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 32995)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ "Digby Peaks – mountain in Cloncurry Shire (entry 9936)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
- ^ a b "Layers: Locality; Road and rail; Railways; Railway stations". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- ^ "Mirri – railway station in the Shire of Cloncurry (entry 22281)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Phosphate Hil – railway station in the Shire of Cloncurry (entry 26582)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Wontimee – rail station - feature no longer exists in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 39354)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Coppery – rail station - feature no longer exists in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 39246)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Kongula – rail station - feature no longer exists in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 18413)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "PURELY PERSONAL". Truth. No. 559. Queensland, Australia. 30 October 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "THE CRITIC". Truth. No. 586. Queensland, Australia. 7 May 1911. p. 1. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "MT. ELLIOTT NOTES". The Northern Miner. Queensland, Australia. 29 May 1911. p. 2. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Advertising". The Evening Telegraph. No. 3337. Queensland, Australia. 12 March 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Public Works". Queensland Times. Vol. LIII, no. 8481. Queensland, Australia. 21 June 1912. p. 2 (DAILY). Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "(By Telegraph.)". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. XXXII, no. 10, 301. Queensland, Australia. 17 November 1915. p. 5. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
- ^ "BOULIA NOTES". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LIX, no. 309. Queensland, Australia. 27 December 1937. p. 4. Retrieved 4 December 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b c "Selwyn". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Selwyn (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- ^ "Mount Elliott Mining Complex (entry 645612)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
- ^ "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2025.
- ^ "Phosphate Hill" (PDF). Incitec Pivot. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Phosphate Hill". miningoilgas. 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Landmark Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ "Phosphate Hill - Chemicals Technology". www.chemicals-technology.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Mt Isa System" (PDF). Queensland Rail. May 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
- ^ "Cemetery Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
External links
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