Ballara, Queensland

Ballara
Former railway freight platform, Ballara, 2018
Ballara
Coordinates: 20°55′00″S 139°58′00″E / 20.9166°S 139.9667°E / -20.9166; 139.9667 (Ballara (town centre))
CountryAustralia
StateQueensland
LGA
Location
Established1914
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division

Ballara is the site of a deserted mining town in the locality of Kuridala in north-western Queensland, Australia, in the Selwyn Range between the towns of Mount Isa and Cloncurry.[1] It is within the local government area of Shire of Cloncurry.[2]

History

Ballara Post Office opened circa 1914 (receiving offices had been open at Ballara and Hightville from 1909) and closed in 1927.[3]

Ballara State School opened circa May 1919 and closed circa March 1925.[4] It was located north of the town (20°56′30″S 139°57′48″E / 20.9418°S 139.9632°E / -20.9418; 139.9632 (Balllara State School (former))).[5]

Heritage

Ballara includes the remains of a railway station for the long-closed narrow-gauge Wee MacGregor railway (approx 20°56′44″S 139°57′45″E / 20.94546°S 139.96248°E / -20.94546; 139.96248 (Ballara railway station)).[6][5]

Environment

Ballara is commemorated in the scientific name of the Kalkadoon grasswren (Amytornis ballarae).[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Maltese crosses of the Mount Isa region". Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  2. ^ "Ballara (entry 1382)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  4. ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  5. ^ a b "Item ID2220408, BALLARA-HIGHTVILLE; FIELD SHEETS; Scale: 8 Chains to an Inch; Mining Warden's district: Cloncurry". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 29 August 2025. Available as a cropped image focussing on Ballara at commons:File:Ballara town map.jpg
  6. ^ Kerr, John. (August 2004). From Ballara to Hightville: A Remote 2ft Gauge Solution. Light Railways 178: 3-11.
  7. ^ Birds Queensland Gazetteer