Cue, Western Australia

Cue is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 650 km north-east of Perth. At the 2006 census, Cue had a population of 328.^[1] It is also known as the Queen of the Murchison. Cue is administered through the Cue Shire Council, which has its chambers in the historic Gentlemans Club building. A former shire president was Herbert Hoover, who later became the President of the United States. The current president is Stephen Manning . Cue Parliament is held twice yearly in May and November.

Gold was discovered in 1892 though there is uncertainty as to who made the first find. Michael Fitzgerald and Edward Heffernan collected 260 ounces after being given a nugget by an Aboriginal known as 'Governor'. Tom Cue travelled to Nannine to register their claim, the townsite was gazetted in 1893 and named after Tom Cue.

The town's first water supply was a well in the centre of the main street; after an outbreak of typhoid fever, the well was capped with a rotunda built over the top. The water supply was replaced by another well dug near Lake Nallan and carted 20 km south to the townsite.

The town of Day Dawn, 8 km south, was established within a year; by 1900 a hospital and cemetery were established between the two towns and they had three newspapers operating. The rivalry between the towns fuelled a diverse sporting culture in the area. Cycling and horse-racing groups held regular events attracting competitors from as far away as Perth and Kalgoorlie.

Cue was the terminus for the Northern Railway in 1898 until the route was extended to Meekatharra almost ten years later, and was also the junction for the branch line to Big Bell.

By around 1900 Cue was the centre of the Murchison goldfields and boasted a population of about 10,000. As World War I drew men from the goldfields into the Australian Army the townsite of Day Dawn was abandoned. After the war many of the mines did not reopen and this started the decline of Cue as a major population centre. After the Great Depression and the fall in the price of gold, by 1933 the population of Cue had dropped to fewer than 500. The current population is around 300; the major employer is the Crosslands iron ore mine West of Cue. The Shire of Cue has ten employees and most other residents are self-employed as prospectors or in supplying the tourist and sheep-grazing industries.

Cue was recently heritage listed as a town of significant historical value. The main street has changed little since it was first built. There are several buildings within the townsite that are icons in their own right.

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). Cue (State Suburb). 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
^ Bureau of Meteorology

'Along the Cue railway. Inspection of line with suggested improvements, visit to Georgina Siding'. West Australian, 11 June 1898, p. 5

[edit] External links

Cue accessed 17th Aug 2006
Cue Heritage trail info accessed 11th Nov 2006
Palmer, Alex (2000). Agnew. Hesperian Press, Victoria Park, Western Australia. ISBN 0-85905-267-2.

Coordinates: 27°25′S, 117°54′E