Mundubbera, Queensland

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Mundubbera Queensland
Population:	1,226 (2001 census)
Postcode:	4626
Location:	405 km from Brisbane 207 km from Bundaberg
LGA:	Mundubbera Shire Council
State District:	Callide
Federal Division:	Hinkler

Mundubbera (Postcode:4626) is a town in the Wide Bay Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the Burnett Highway, 405 kilometres north west of the state capital, Brisbane and 200 kilometres west of the regional centre, Bundaberg. Mundubbera is built on the bank on the Burnett River. The town has a population of approximately 1,200 and the surrounding rural area is home to another 1,000 residents

Mundubbera is the self proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although this is disputed by the neighbouring and (rival) town of Gayndah.^[1].

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Industry
4 Transport
5 Education
6 Events & Attractions
- 6.1 Events
7 Notable People
8 External link
9 References

[edit] History

Mundubbera means either Footsteps in the trees or Meeting Place of the waters in the local Aboriginal language.^[2] The latter name refers to the confluence of the Burnett, Auburn and Boyne rivers just upstream from Mundubbera.

European settlement took place in the late 1840s. Closer settlement, involving migrants from Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, did not take place until the early 1900s and the town was established in its existing site prior to World War I. The railway arrived in 1914.

Henry Zipf planted the first citrus orchards in 1933 and established Mundubbera as a major producer of export citrus.^[3]

The recent (2006) drought and the after effects of the 2004 Citrus canker outbreak in Emerald, Queensland^[4] has had a dampening effect of the citrus industry in the area.

[edit] Demographics

At the 2001 national census there were 2,419 persons resident in Mundubbera, 4.6% of those of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry. 7.6% of Mundubbera residents were born overseas.^[5]

[edit] Industry

Industry in Mundubbera is entirely based around agriculture and forestry. The major agricultural activities in Mundubbera are cattle grazing and, in the irrigated areas, fruit growing. Fruit grown in the Mundubbera area includes citrus, mangoes, avocadoes and stone fruit. In addition, Mundubbera is Queensland's largest producer of table grapes.

During the fruit picking seasons Mundubbera can double in size as many itinerant workers and backpackers from around the world come to the town looking for work on the orchards. Seasonal workers are accommodated in two large caravan parks in Mundubbera itself or in many on-site parks.

Supporting the fruit industry are businesses such as a fruit juice processor and several packing sheds. Bugs for Bugs, an integrated pest management business, raises insects that act as a biological control for common fruit pests, allowing less chemical insecticide use.^[6]

With large areas of State forest in the shire, Mundubbera also has a large timber industry with mills in Mundubbera town and at Allies Creek, 80 kilometres to the south west.

Other industries include piggeries and dairying.^[7]

Commercial activity is limited, and consists mainly of small businesses supporting local residents and farmers. The town has two hotels, two motels and an IGA supermarket, plus the usual small town services such as a butcher, baker, newsagency and post office.

[edit] Transport

The town is about one kilometre south of the intersection of the Burnett Highway and the Mundubbera-Durong road. The Burnett Highway links Mundubbera with Gayndah and Goomeri to the east; and Eidsvold, Monto and Biloela to the north. The Mundubbera-Durong links Mundubbera to Dalby and Toowoomba in the Darling Downs. This road is single lane bitumen in parts

Public transport is limited. Currently (2005) the only public transport servicing Mundubbera are bus services operating once a week on Thursdays to Bundaberg and Wednesday and Friday to Maryborough.

An active rail link from Mundubbera to Maryborough and the coast is maintained but the line no longer has a passenger service.

[edit] Education

Mundubbera is host to a limited range of primary and secondary school facilities.

Primary schools in the area include the small school cluster of the rural schools of Boynewood SS, Binjour Plateau SS, Riverleigh SS and Monogorilby SS.^[8]

The main school in Mundubbera is the Mundubbera P-10 school, offering education from pre-school to year 10. High school students wishing to complete Years 11-12 must either attend Burnett State College (formerly Gayndah State High School), 45 kilometres to the east in Gayndah or attend boarding schools in Brisbane, Toowoomba or Rockhampton.^[9]

Mundubbera has no local TAFE or other tertiary education facility.

[edit] Events & Attractions

The Queensland Lungfish is reasonably common in all tributaries of the Burnett River in Mundubbera Shire

While Mundubbera attracts seasonal workers from around the world, tourism remains relatively undeveloped. Some attractions include:

The nearby Auburn River National Park is a good location to find Queensland Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri), known locally as Ceratodus, a rare living fossil found only in the Burnett and Mary Rivers. This park is popular with bush walkers and rock climbers. It features cascades, great swimming spots, caves, balancing rocks and superb scenery.^[10]

The town lookout on the entrance to town on the Burnett Highway is home to a Black stump, to symbolise Mundubbera's location on the edge of the Outback.

Mundubbera is the home of the Big Mandarin, a larger than life fibreglass model of an Ellendale Mandarin that doubles as a kiosk for a local caravan park. It is one of many "Big" tourist attractions that dot the Australian landscape.

The Meeting Place of the Waters 360 degrees mural painted on the sewerage pumping station is a visual tribute to the rivers that provide Mundubbera with its prosperity.

[edit] Events

Mundubbera hosts a popular seven-a-side cricket tournament in February each year.^[11]
The Mundubbera Fish stocking association hosts a popular fishing competition.
The Ellendale Open, a pro-am golf tournament is held each year at the Mundubbera Golf Club^[12]
Until recently the Rugby League teams of Mundubbera and Gayndah would play off in the State of Oranges, a pun on the State of Origin matches between New South Wales and Queensland that recognised the strong but friendly rivalry between the two towns.