| Cloncurry Queensland |
|||||||
Sunset at Chinaman Creek Dam, Cloncurry |
|||||||
|
Cloncurry
|
|||||||
| Population: | 2,384[1] | ||||||
| Postcode: | 4824 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 186 m (610 ft) [2] | ||||||
| Location: |
|
||||||
| LGA: | Shire of Cloncurry | ||||||
| State District: | Mount Isa | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Kennedy | ||||||
|
|||||||
Cloncurry is a town situated in north west Queensland, Australia, 770 kilometres west of the city of Townsville via the Flinders Highway. The town lies adjacent to the Cloncurry River. It is the administrative centre of the Cloncurry Shire. At the 2006 census, the town had a population of 2,384.[1]
Cattle grazing is the significant industry in the region, and a large saleyards is located in the town. Cloncurry is known as the Friendly Heart of the Great North West.[3] The population in Cloncurry decreased from 3,898 in 1996 to 2,900 in 2002.[3]
Contents |
The first Europeans to traverse the area were Burke and Wills on their epic, and ultimately fatal, transcontinental expedition. The Cloncurry River was named by Burke after Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry, his cousin, with the town eventually taking its name from the river. Ernest Henry discovered copper in the area in 1867, and the town sprang up to service the Great Australia Mine to the south. The town was surveyed in 1876.[4] Cloncurry was proclaimed a town in 1884.
Queensland's Northern Line railway reached Cloncurry in December 1907[4] and was officially opened the next year. The discovery of uranium at Mary Kathleen brought wealth to the community in the 1950s.[4] Until the development of Mount Isa in the 1960s, Cloncurry was the administrative centre of the region.[4]
The first ever flight of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia took place from Cloncurry on 15 May 1928, using a de Havilland DH.50 aircraft hired from the then small airline, Qantas. A Royal Flying Doctor Service museum is situated in the town.
Cloncurry was widely regarded as holding the record for the highest temperature recorded in Australia at 127.5 °F (53.1 °C) on 16 January 1889. Recent investigations have revealed that this temperature was measured in an improvised screen made from a beer crate and that it equated to 47–49 °C under standard conditions.[5] Because of the area's extreme solar conditions, Cloncurry is expected to become Australia's first solar-powered town once a concentrated solar power plant is constructed.[6]
| Climate data for Cloncurry | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 36.1 (97.0) |
36.0 (96.8) |
35.8 (96.4) |
33.6 (92.5) |
29.4 (84.9) |
26.4 (79.5) |
26.3 (79.3) |
28.9 (84.0) |
33.1 (91.6) |
36.3 (97.3) |
37.7 (99.9) |
38.7 (101.7) |
33.2 (91.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 24.5 (76.1) |
24.2 (75.6) |
22.4 (72.3) |
20.1 (68.2) |
15.4 (59.7) |
11.5 (52.7) |
10.4 (50.7) |
12.4 (54.3) |
16.7 (62.1) |
20.4 (68.7) |
23.0 (73.4) |
24.8 (76.6) |
18.8 (65.8) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 190.4 (7.496) |
109.5 (4.311) |
78.1 (3.075) |
19.9 (0.783) |
6.0 (0.236) |
5.6 (0.22) |
2.0 (0.079) |
3.7 (0.146) |
7.2 (0.283) |
22.8 (0.898) |
29.0 (1.142) |
82.2 (3.236) |
540.8 (21.291) |
| Source: [7] | |||||||||||||
Cloncurry has a public library, gallery, public swimming pool, showground, racecourse, Flying Doctor museum and a mineral display in the old post office.[9]