Normanton, Queensland

Normanton
Queensland

Entry into Normanton
Normanton
Coordinates 17°40′0″S 141°04′0″E / 17.66667°S 141.06667°E / -17.66667; 141.06667Coordinates: 17°40′0″S 141°04′0″E / 17.66667°S 141.06667°E / -17.66667; 141.06667
Population 1,100 (2006 census)[1]
Established 1867
Postcode(s) 4890
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Carpentaria
State electorate(s) Mount Isa
Federal Division(s) Kennedy
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
33.4 °C
92 °F		 21.3 °C
70 °F		 921.7 mm
36.3 in

Normanton is a small cattle town in the Gulf Country region of northwest Queensland, Australia, just south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, on the Norman River. The town's population is 1,100, 60 per cent of whom are Indigenous Australians.[1] The town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton – Croydon Railway, which was built during gold rush days in the 1890s. The Gulflander motor train operates once a week.

Normanton is the administrative centre of Shire of Carpentaria.[2] Among Normanton's most notable features is a statue[3] of an 8.64 m long saltwater crocodile named Krys, the largest ever taken, which was shot by Krystina Pawlowska in July 1957 in the Norman River.[4] Barramundi and salmon may also be caught in the river. The Big Barramundi, which is 6 m long is also located in the town.[5]

History

The site for the town was selected because Burketown was abandoned owing to fever and flooding.[2] Settlers moved into the town in 1867.[6] Normanton attracted people from a variety of cultures, including Chinese drawn to the gold fields.[2] The population reached 1,251 by 1891.[7] The gold boom was short-lived. By 1947 the town's population had declined to 234.[7] Norman River Post Office opened on 13 June 1868 and was renamed Normanton by 1872.[8]

In the early years there was a large Aboriginal population as well. Some Aboriginal people were moved to Mornington Island and Doomadgee in the early 20th century.

The town contains the longest intact and operating Burns Philp store in Queensland. The general mercantile store and agency office was opened in 1884.[9]

Heritage listings

Normanton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Industry

The Big Barramundi

Like other Gulf communities the prawning industry makes an important economic contribution to the town. Tourism has recently become an important part of the economy of Normanton, with Gulflander a significant draw-card.[7]

Facilities

Normanton has a sports centre, golf course, bowling green, gun club, racecourse, rodeo ground, and an aerodrome. Normanton public library and visitor information services are located in the historic Burns Philp Building.[16]

Transport

The Gulflander, 2011

Six kilometres south of the town is the start of the Gulf Developmental Road, part of the Savannah Way tourist drive. The Normanton railway station features a large steel frame with an open canopy to provide shade.[6]

Climate

Normanton has a tropical savanna climate with two distinct seasons. There is a hot, humid and extremely uncomfortable wet season from December to March and a hot and generally rainless dry season usually extending from April to November. During the wet season most roads in the area are usually closed by heavy rainfall, which on several occasions has exceeded 650 millimetres (26 in) in a month or 250 millimetres (10 in) in a day from tropical cyclones. On occasions, as with all of Queensland, the wet season may fail and deliver as little as 240 millimetres (9.4 in) between December 1934 and March 1935[17]

Temperatures are uniformly hot, ranging from 36.8 °C (98 °F) in November just before the wet season begins to 29 °C (84 °F) at the height of the dry season in July. In the wet season, temperatures are marginally lower, but extremely high humidity means conditions are very uncomfortable and wet bulb temperatures averages 25 °C (77 °F) and can reach 28 °C (82 °F). In the dry season, lower humidity and extremely low cloudiness provides for rather less uncomfortable conditions.

Climate data for Normanton Post Office, Queensland
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 43.1
(109.6)		 41.0
(105.8)		 40.1
(104.2)		 39.5
(103.1)		 37.2
(99)		 35.6
(96.1)		 35.6
(96.1)		 38.3
(100.9)		 40.1
(104.2)		 41.8
(107.2)		 43.3
(109.9)		 43.3
(109.9)		 43.3
(109.9)
Average high °C (°F) 34.7
(94.5)		 33.9
(93)		 34.2
(93.6)		 34.0
(93.2)		 31.7
(89.1)		 29.2
(84.6)		 29.1
(84.4)		 31.1
(88)		 33.9
(93)		 35.9
(96.6)		 36.8
(98.2)		 36.1
(97)		 33.4
(92.1)
Average low °C (°F) 25.1
(77.2)		 24.9
(76.8)		 24.4
(75.9)		 22.4
(72.3)		 19.1
(66.4)		 16.1
(61)		 15.2
(59.4)		 16.5
(61.7)		 19.5
(67.1)		 22.6
(72.7)		 24.7
(76.5)		 25.3
(77.5)		 21.3
(70.3)
Record low °C (°F) 18.3
(64.9)		 17.3
(63.1)		 16.7
(62.1)		 14.4
(57.9)		 7.2
(45)		 6.7
(44.1)		 7.0
(44.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 11.1
(52)		 13.7
(56.7)		 15.5
(59.9)		 18.9
(66)		 6.6
(43.9)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 260.2
(10.244)		 249.2
(9.811)		 157.7
(6.209)		 30.9
(1.217)		 7.5
(0.295)		 9.2
(0.362)		 3.2
(0.126)		 1.7
(0.067)		 3.0
(0.118)		 10.5
(0.413)		 45.1
(1.776)		 144.4
(5.685)		 922.6
(36.323)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.2 mm) 13.9 13.9 9.4 2.4 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.4 1.3 4.4 9.0 57.1
Average relative humidity (%) 74 78 70 57 52 52 48 44 45 49 54 65 57.3
Source: [18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Normanton (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2002). Heritage Trails of the Queensland Outback. State of Queensland. p. 94. ISBN 0-7345-1040-3.
  3. ↑ "Image: 1.1318938577.krys-the-savannah-king.jpg, (550 × 413 px)". Photograph taken from 27°28′3.36″S 153°1′40.8″E / 27.4676000°S 153.028000°E: images.travelpod.com. 3 October 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Death of a monster | The Australian". theaustralian.com.au. 25 November 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  5. ↑ "Big Barramundi". The Courier-Mail (News Queensland). Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  6. 1 2 Cook, Penny (2006). Discover Queensland Heritage. Corinda, Queensland: Pictorial Press Australia. p. 18. ISBN 1876561424.
  7. 1 2 3 "Travel: Normanton". Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). 8 February 2004. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Brian Williams (24 October 2011). "Queensland's earliest surviving Burns Philp store at Normanton, Gulf of Carpentaria, to be heritage-listed". The Courier Mail (News Queensland). Retrieved 11 December 2012.
  10. ↑ "Burke and Wills' Camp B/CXIX and Walker's Camp, Little Bynoe River (entry 602156)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Normanton Cemetery (entry 601157)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  12. ↑ "Normanton Gaol (entry 601501)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  13. ↑ "Burns Philp Building (former) (entry 602781)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Westpac Bank, Normanton (entry 600394)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Normanton Railway Terminus (entry 600395)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Normanton". Centre for the Government of Queensland. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  17. ↑ "Monthly Rainfall - 029041 - Bureau of Meteorology | Normanton Post Office". bom.gov.au. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Climate statistics for Australian locations – Normanton Post Office (1872–2001)". bom.gov.au. Retrieved 4 September 2015.

External links

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