Thallon, Queensland

Thallon is a town and a locality in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census, Thallon had a population of 257 people.[1]

Thallon
Queensland
The Francis Hotel at Thallon
Thallon
Coordinates28.6369°S 148.8691°E / -28.6369; 148.8691
Population257 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density0.10745/km2 (0.2783/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4497
Area2,391.9 km2 (923.5 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Balonne
State electorate(s)Warrego
Federal Division(s)Maranoa
Localities around Thallon:
St George St George Weengallon
Dirranbandi Thallon Daymar
Dirranbandi Mungindi Mungindi

There is a second town within the locality, Nindigully.[4]

Geography
Motor train at Thallon railway station on its way to Warwick, December 1930

Thallon is in South West Queensland, 571 kilometres (355 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane.

The town is situated in roughly towards the east of the locality. The Moonie River flows from south to north through the locality and just to the west of the town. The Carnarvon Highway passes from north to south through the locality and through the town (as Hill Street) connecting the town to St George to the north and Mungindi on the border with New South Wales. The South-Western railway line passes through the locality from east to west and the town is served for freight rail by the Thallon railway station.[5][6]

Thallon is a major wheat and woolgrowing area.[7]

History
Thallon State School group with teacher Thomas Douglas King, 1923

Gamilaraay (Gamilaroi, Kamilaroi, Comilroy) is a language from South-West Queensland and North-West New South Wales. The Gamilaraay language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Balonne Shire Council, including the towns of Dirranbandi, Thallon, Talwood and Bungunya as well as the border towns of Mungindi and Boomi extending to Moree, Tamworth and Coonabarabran in NSW.[8]

Explorer Thomas Mitchell was the first European in the Thallon district and his initials can still be found on a bloodwood tree near the Moonie River.[7]

In 1911, the area was set aside for closer settlement and 780 acres (3.2 km2) were gazetted as a town reserve. The town's name comes from its railway station, which in turn was named on 17 January 1911 by the Queensland Railways Department after James Forsyth Thallon (1847-1911) who was the Queensland Commissioner for Railways from 1900-1911.[7][2]

With the coming of the railway, the town developed and shops and a hotel were established.[7]

Thallon State School opened on 24 July 1911.[9][10]

Myrtlemount Provisional School, Warrie Provisional School and Hollymount Provisional School (all named after local pastoral stations) opened on 29 September 1919 as a group of part-time schools (sharing a teacher between them). All three schools closed in 1922 due to low student numbers.[11]

At the 2011 census, Thallon and the surrounding area had a population of 382.[12]

Heritage listings
Bullamon Homestead, 1995

Thallon has the following heritage-listed sites:

Facilities
Thallon Post Office, 2008
Thallon Public Hall, 2008

Thallon has a post office, hotel, community hall, showground, park and sportsground.[14]

Balonne Shire Council operates a library in William Street.[15][16]

Country Women's Association rooms, 2008

The Thallon-Daymar branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 47 William Street.[17] Daymar is a neighbouring town, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) east of Thallon.

Education

Thallon State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 15 Henry Street (28.6336°S 148.8677°E / -28.6336; 148.8677 (Thallon State School)).[18][19] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 36 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 7 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[20]

There is no secondary school in Thallon; the nearest is in neighbouring St George.[5]

William the Wombat
William the Wombat, one of Australia's big things, 2018

In 2015, the town of Thallon decided to build a large statue of a northern hairy-nosed wombat as one of Australia's Big Things to attract tourists and to highlight the critically endangered status of the species which had once inhabited the Thallon area but is now extinct in that area. The statue is 2 m × 3.5 m (6.6 ft × 11.5 ft) and was built by David Joffe at Natureworks in Brisbane. It arrived in Thallon in October 2017 and is on display in the park.[21][22]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Thallon (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Thallon – town in Shire of Balonne (entry 33800)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  3. "Thallon – locality in Shire of Balonne (entry 42684)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  4. "Nindigully – town in Shire of Balonne (entry 24262)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  6. "Thallon – railway station in the Shire of Balonne (entry 33801)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  7. "Thallon". Western Downs - Places to visit. Tourism Queensland. Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  8. "Indigenous Language map of Queensland". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  9. "Thallon State School". Thallon State School. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  10. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  11. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  12. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Thallon (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
  13. "Bullamon Homestead (entry 601683)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  14. "Thallon". Balonne Shire Council. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  15. "Library location and hours". Balonne Shire Council. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  16. "Thallon Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  17. "Branch locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  18. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  19. "Thallon State School". Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  20. "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  21. "William the Wombat". Southern Queensland Country Tourism. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  22. Amy-Lyne (19 October 2017). "William the Wombat to put town on map". Toowoomba Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2018.

Further reading

Media related to Thallon, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

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