Ilfracombe, Queensland Explained

Type:town
Ilfracombe
State:qld
Coordinates:-23.4905°N 144.5094°W
Pop:310
Established:1891
Postcode:4727
Area:6573.3
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:27.0
Dir1:E
Location1:Longreach
Dist2:80.8
Dir2:W
Location2:Barcaldine
Dist3:660
Dir3:W
Location3:Rockhampton
Dist4:1152
Dir4:NW
Location4:Brisbane
Elevation:214
Lga:Longreach Region
Stategov:Gregory
Fedgov:Maranoa
Near-N:Muttaburra
Near-Ne:Aramac
Near-E:Barcaldine
Near-Se:Blackall
Near-S:Isisford
Near-Sw:Longreach
Near-W:Longreach
Near-Nw:Longreach

Ilfracombe is a rural town and locality in the Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] [2] In the, the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 310 people.

Ilfracombe calls itself The Hub of the West. The main industry is sheep rearing, mainly for wool.

Geography

Ilfracombe is situated on the Landsborough Highway, about 27km (17miles) east of Longreach, above sea level.[3]

Mount Rodney is in the north-east of the locality (-23.0269°N 144.8483°W). It was named in 1861 by Frederick Walker after Rodney, an Aboriginal member of Walker's expedition. It rises to .[4] [5] [6]

The Central Western railway line passes through the locality with a number of rail stops in the locality (from west to east):

History

Sheep stations were established in the area from 1864.[8]

The townsites of Ilfracombe and Longreach were amongst resumed portions of Wellshot Station.[9] In 1892, Wellshot was known as the biggest sheep station in the world, not because of the area it occupied but because of the number of sheep it ran; 460,000. [10] [11] 40,000 two-year-old wethers were sold off from the property later the same year.[12]

The Central Western railway line reached Ilfracombe in 1891[13] and the Post Office opened on 7 December 1891.[14]

On 1 July 1892, the town was renamed from Wellshot was renamed Ilfracombe after the coastal town of Ilfracombe in North Devon, England.[15]

Ilfracombe Provisional School opened on 3 May 1893. On 28 June 1899 it became Ilfracombe State School.[16]

On 27 December 1902, part of the Aramac Division was excised to create a new local government area Ilfracombe Division, becoming Shire of Ilfracombe in 1903.[17] Ilfracombe was the seat of the division/shire. On 15 March 2008, the Shire of Ilfracombe merged with the Shires of Isisford and Longreach to form the Longreach Region.

On Sunday 10 September 1905, the Sacred Heart Catholic Church was opened at 2 Main Street by Reverend Edward Carroll of Longreach. It was built by Mr Hegarty of Rockhampton from timber and was . It cost £207 and was open free of debt.[18] [19] [20] It was replaced in 1962 by a new church building, known as the Sacred Heart War Memorial Catholic Church.[21] [22]

In April 1910, Isisford became the first town in Australia to be serviced by a motorised mail delivery from Ilfracombe, a journey of 90km (60miles).[23]

The town was much larger in the past. It once had three hotels instead of the single hotel and two general stores as at 2012.

A 1.9m (06.2feet) metal sculpture of National Rugby League player Matt Scott, who grew up in Ilfracombe, was unveiled in the town on 24 September 2021.[24] It was created by scrap metal artist Milynda Rogers who was commissioned by the Ilfracombe District Progress Association with the aim of inspiring the region's youth while also giving the town a focus of pride.[24] Approximately 200 people attended the official unveiling.[24]

Demographics

In the, the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 259 people. 84.3% of people were born in Australia and 89.3% of people spoke only English at home. The most common response for religion was Anglican at 39.5%.[25]

In the, the locality of Ilfracombe had a population of 310 people.

Heritage listings

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

Education

Ilfracombe State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 20 McMaster Drive (-23.489°N 144.5046°W).[28] [29] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 10 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[30] It is organised into multi-age classes.[31]

There is no secondary school in Ilfracombe. The nearest secondary schools are Longreach State High School in neighbouring Longreach to west and Barcaldine State High School in neighbouring Barcaldine to the east. As some parts of the locality of Ilfracombe are a long distance by road from these schools, other options are distance education and boarding schools.

Amenities

Ilfracombe Post Office is at 20 Main Avenue.[32] The Longreach Regional Council operates a public library at the post office using the Rural Libraries Queensland service.[33] [34] The library offers public access to Wi-Fi.[35]

The Sacred Heart War Memorial Catholic Church is at 2 Main Street (Landsborough Highway,).

Other attractions and facilities in the town include swimming pool, a 14-hole golf course, racecourse and caravan park.

Attractions

The Great Machinery Mile is an open-air display of a range of antique agricultural machinery from the local area spread alongside the Landsborough Highway within the town . It is part of the Ilfracombe Machinery and Heritage Museum.[36]

Guided tours are available of the heritage-listed Langenbacker House in Mitchell Street (-23.4918°N 144.5087°W).[37]

Notable people

Notable people from the area include:

External links

Notes and References

  1. 20 July 2021.
  2. 20 July 2021.
  3. News: Ilfracombe . 21 September 2011 . 8 February 2004 . Sydney Morning Herald . https://web.archive.org/web/20121108200409/http://www.smh.com.au/news/queensland/ilfracombe/2005/02/17/1108500203415.html . 8 November 2012 . live .
  4. Web site: 12 November 2020. Mountain peaks and capes - Queensland. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201125215033/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/geographic-features-queensland-series/resource/06ff12a9-862e-4aac-bf9d-693f0a63b4c9. 25 November 2020. 25 November 2020. Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government.
  5. 25 November 2020.
  6. 20 July 2021.
  7. Web site: 2 October 2020. Railway stations and sidings - Queensland. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20201005070354/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd. 5 October 2020. 5 October 2020. Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government.
  8. 13 July 2015.
  9. News: Wellshot Station. 24 September 1898. National Library of Australia. The Capricornian. Rockhampton, Queensland. 20. 25 February 2013. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219010754/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/68208475. live.
  10. Web site: Ilfracombe. usurped. https://web.archive.org/web/20120322065411/http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/outback/places-to-visit/ilfracombe/brochure.cfm. 22 March 2012. 21 September 2011. Queensland Holidays. Tourism Queensland.
  11. News: Ilfracombe. 8 February 2004. Sydney Morning Herald. 24 February 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20121108200409/http://www.smh.com.au/news/queensland/ilfracombe/2005/02/17/1108500203415.html. 8 November 2012. live.
  12. News: Commercial. 29 December 1892. National Library of Australia. The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Queensland. 4. 2 March 2013. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219010837/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52438151. live.
  13. Web site: Longreach Regional Council . Queensland Places . Centre for the Government of Queensland . 21 September 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111024121306/http://queenslandplaces.com.au/longreach-regional-council . 24 October 2011 . live .
  14. Web site: Premier Postal History . Post Office List . Premier Postal Auctions . 10 May 2014 . 15 May 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140515223132/http://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=QLD&country= . live .
  15. News: 27 March 1936. NOMENCLATURE OF QUEENSLAND.—154. 12. The Courier-mail. 804. Queensland, Australia. 19 December 2021. National Library of Australia. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219010805/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/36799297. live.
  16. 18 April 2019.
  17. News: 2 January 1903. WESTERN DIVISIONAL BOARDS.. 5. The Morning Bulletin. Rockhampton, Qld.. 21 September 2013. National Library of Australia. 19 December 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211219010755/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/52979957. live.
  18. News: 18 September 1905 . TELEGRAMS. . 48 . . Queensland, Australia . 12 October 2023 . National Library of Australia.
  19. News: 18 September 1905 . Opening of R.C. Church, Ilfracombe . XXVI . 8 . . 714 . Queensland, Australia . 12 October 2023 . National Library of Australia.
  20. News: 30 September 1905 . CATHOLICITY IN FAR-WEST QUEENSLAND . LVI . 38 . . 3482 . New South Wales, Australia . 12 October 2023 . National Library of Australia.
  21. Web site: Sacred Heart Catholic Church Ilfracombe . 2023-10-12 . Queensland Religious Places Database.
  22. Web site: Sacred Heart War Memorial Church Ilfracombe . 2023-10-12 . Queensland Religious Places Database.
  23. Web site: Outback towns deliver mail milestone celebration. Arthur. Chrissy. 2010-04-01. ABC News. en-AU. 2019-10-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20161030051144/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-04-01/outback-towns-deliver-mail-milestone-celebration/388714. 30 October 2016. live.
  24. News: Gall. Sally. 27 September 2021. Statue to NRL and Cowboys legend Matt Scott unveiled in Ilfracombe. North Queensland Register. 7 November 2021. 8 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211108030048/https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/7446970/great-scott-ilfracombe-unveils-statue-to-thumper/. live.
  25. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .
  26. 10 July 2013.
  27. 10 July 2013.
  28. Web site: 9 July 2018. State and non-state school details. live. 21 November 2018. Queensland Government. https://web.archive.org/web/20181121065959/https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997. 21 November 2018.
  29. Web site: Ilfracombe State School. 21 November 2018. 28 November 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131128094117/http://www.ilfracomss.eq.edu.au/. live.
  30. Web site: ACARA School Profile 2018. 28 January 2020. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. 27 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200827085246/https://www.acara.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/school-profile-2018.xlsx. live.
  31. Web site: December 2016. 2016 Ilfacrombe Annual Report. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180202190109/https://ilfracomss.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Annual%20reports/2016%20Ilfracombe%20SS%20SAR.pdf. 2 February 2018. 2 February 2018. Ilfracombe State School.
  32. Web site: Ilfracombe Post Office. live. 2021-12-19. Australia Post. en. 18 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210418064330/https://auspost.com.au/locate/post-office/QLD/Ilfracombe/4727/Ilfracombe-LPO-438504.
  33. Web site: Ilfracombe Library. Public Libraries Connect. 29 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180129195244/http://plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/networking/directory-of-public-libraries/branches/longreach/ilfracombe_library. 29 January 2018. live.
  34. Web site: Longreach. Libraries. 2021-12-19. Longreach Regional Council. en. 22 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211122055344/https://www.longreach.qld.gov.au/libraries. live.
  35. Web site: Queensland Public Library Statistical Bulletin 2016-17. Public Libraries Connect. 29 January 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180130022546/http://www.plconnect.slq.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/388497/SLQ_StatsBulletin1617_20171109.pdf. 30 January 2018. live.
  36. Web site: 2021-12-18. Ilfracombe Machinery Mile and Heritage Museum. live. 2021-12-19. Outback Queensland. en-AU. 23 August 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200823065440/https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/ilfracombe-machinery-mile-and-heritage-museum/.
  37. Web site: 2021-12-18. Langenbaker House. live. 2021-12-19. Outback Queensland. en-AU. 15 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210315061654/https://www.outbackqueensland.com.au/attractions/langenbaker-house/.
  38. News: Misha. Schubert. A woman takes the keys to Yarralumla. The Age. 14 April 2008. 14 April 2008. Melbourne. https://web.archive.org/web/20111206233358/http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/first-female-viceregal/2008/04/13/1208024989606.html. 6 December 2011. live.
  39. News: Interview: Paul Wilson - The storm before Mr Calm . London . The Independent . Deborah . Ross . 2 March 1998 . 1 September 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150711044211/http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/interview-paul-wilson--the-storm-before-mr-calm-1147929.html . 11 July 2015 . live .

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