| Home Hill Queensland |
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View of Home Hill's main street, along the Bruce Highway |
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Home Hill
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| Population: | 2,907 (2006 Census)[1] |
| Postcode: | 4806 |
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| LGA: | Burdekin Shire Council |
| State District: | Burdekin |
| Federal Division: | Dawson |
Home Hill, Queensland is a town in Queensland, Australia at the delta of the Burdekin River. It is a sugarcane growing area with underground water supplies to irrigate crops. At the 2006 census, Home Hill had a population of 2,907.[1]
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Home Hill lies approximately 98 km south of Townsville and 1269 km north of the state capital Brisbane on the Bruce Highway. It is a part of the Burdekin Region which includes the neighbouring town of Ayr. Both towns are governed by the Burdekin Shire Council.
The main attractions in Home Hill are the Burdekin bridge, Inkerman Sugar Mill and Ashworth's Rock Shop. In the past few years it has become increasingly popular for backpackers, who flock to the area to earn money planting and harvesting crops.
The town relies on its primary industries. The major crop grown in Home Hill is sugarcane. Other crops include mango and various vegetables.
Home Hill was originally part of the Inkerman Downs Cattle Station.
The cattle station was converted to sugar cane in 1911 and the town developed quite quickly after the establishment of the Inkerman sugar mill in 1914. This inevitably attracted workers and sugar cane farmers to the area and a small centre grew up to provide the necessary goods and services.
The town was originally going to be named Holme Hill after a battle in the Crimean War. However, the signwriter wasn't given a written spelling of the name and made an error when creating the sign that inevitably read "Welcome to Home Hill". There is an alternative version of this story which says that the town was named after a certain Colonel Holme who had distinguished himself in the Crimean War. Either way, the signwriter made the mistake. Another mystery about the town name - the town is not built on a hill. It is on a fairly flat river delta. The nearest hill is about 10km away.
| Long Distance services | ||||
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| Inbound | Service | Outbound | ||
| Bowen | The Sunlander | Ayr | ||
| Bowen | Diesel Tilt Train | Ayr | ||