McDesme, Queensland explained

Type:suburb
McDesme
State:qld
Coordinates:-19.62°N 147.3986°W
Pop:254
Postcode:4807
Area:25.4
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Lga:Shire of Burdekin
Stategov:Burdekin
Fedgov:Dawson
Near-N:Ayr
Near-Ne:Jarvisfield
Near-E:Jarvisfield
Near-Se:Carstairs
Near-S:Home Hill
Near-Sw:Airville
Near-W:Airville
Near-Nw:Brandon

McDesme is a rural locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, McDesme had a population of 254 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the south by the Burdekin River.

There are three neighbourhoods in the locality:

The North Coast railway line enters the locality from the south (Home Hill across the river via the Burdekin Bridge) and exits to the north (Ayr). There are three now-abandoned railway stations on the line within the locality:

History

All three neighbourhoods take their name from a railway station. The Marali railway station was named on 9 November 1917. Marali is an Aboriginal word meaning tomorrow.

McDesme Provisional School opened on 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became McDesme State School. It closed circa 1964.

The Inkerman Bridge across the Burdekin River to Home Hill officially opened on 8 September 1913.[7] The bridge carried the North Coast railway line. As the nearest road bridge across the river was 37miles upstream, a low-level road bridge was built across the river in 1929 and was completed in January 1930 and within two weeks was 3feet under water due to the river flooding.[8] [9] [10] [11] Due to the frequent flooding of the river, the rail and road bridges were often closed or damaged, leading to the decision to build a single higher-level road-and-rail bridge.[12] [13] Due to the lack of rock in the sandy soil to use as foundations, for many years it was not believed possible to build a high-level bridge across the Burdekin River. However, by copying construction techniques used in India for sand-footing bridges, work began on the Burdekin Bridge (also known as the Silver Link) in April 1947 but it was not operational until 27 March 1957. The new bridge was 100m (300feet) upstream of the Inkerman Bridge.[14] The Burdekin Bridge officially opened on 15 June 1957.[15] [16] At 1097m (3,599feet), the Burdekin Bridge is one of the longest multi-span bridges in Australia and the only one in Australia without a firm footing.[17] Some pylons of the Inkerman Bridge are still visible.

Demographics

In the McDesme had a population of 277 people.

In the, McDesme had a population of 254 people.

Notes and References

  1. 26 December 2020.
  2. 26 December 2020.
  3. 26 December 2020.
  4. 26 December 2020.
  5. 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.
  6. Web site: 1942. Ayr. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210113112014/https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/topo_scans/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-ayr-eastern-half-emergency-ed-1942.jpg. 13 January 2021. 13 January 2021. Queensland Government. Map.
  7. News: 10 September 1913. North Coast Railway Line.. XXX. 6. Townsville Daily Bulletin. 9623. Queensland, Australia. live. 14 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210113205736/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/60378442. 13 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  8. News: 23 September 1925. A Traffic Bridge.. L. 35. The Northern Herald. 651. Queensland, Australia. 14 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  9. News: 6 November 1928. Traffic Bridge OVer Burdekin River.. 24. 3. Bowen Independent. 2019. Queensland, Australia. 14 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  10. News: 15 January 1930. Roads Commission.. LXIX. 4. Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette. 13. Queensland, Australia. 14 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  11. News: 16 January 1930. The Crossing of the Burdekin River.. 29. The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 14 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  12. Web site: Home Hill. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200314230658/https://queenslandplaces.com.au/home-hill. 14 March 2020. 18 July 2020. Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
  13. Web site: Chronological History of Flooding 1857-2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150530161334/http://hardenup.org/media/347511/queensland_flood_history.pdf. 30 May 2015. 14 January 2021. Harden Up.
  14. News: 19 April 1957. New Queensland Bridge. 4. Western Herald. New South Wales, Australia. live. 14 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210113205717/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/104017503. 13 January 2021. National Library of Australia.
  15. Web site: Burdekin Bridge. 2021-01-13. Monument Australia.
  16. Web site: Denyer. Winsome. 20 November 2008. Memories from the Burdekin Bridge. 2021-01-13. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  17. Web site: Wensley. Penelope. Penelope Wensley. 5 October 2010. Engineering Heritage National Landmark Award to the Burdekin River Bridge. https://web.archive.org/web/20140227080358/http://www.govhouse.qld.gov.au/the_governor/101005_burdekinspch.aspx. 27 February 2014. 7 September 2015. Government House, Queensland.

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