Urandangi Explained

Type:town
Urandangi
State:qld
Coordinates:-21.6083°N 138.3141°W
Established:1885
Postcode:4824
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:2007
Dir1:NW
Location1:Brisbane
Dist2:187
Dir2:SW
Location2:Mount Isa
Dist3:159
Dir3:W
Location3:Dajarra
Lga:Shire of Boulia
Stategov:Gregory
Fedgov:Kennedy

Urandangi (formerly also spelled Urandangie) is an outback town in the locality of Piturie in the Shire of Boulia, Queensland, Australia.[1]

Geography

The town is located on the banks of the Georgina River in Central West Queensland, 2007km (1,247miles) north west of the state capital, Brisbane and 187km (116miles) south west of the regional centre of Mount Isa.

Urandangi is in the Channel Country. All watercourses in this area are part of the Lake Eyre drainage basin, and most will dry up before their water reaches Lake Eyre.[2]

The predominant land use is grazing on native vegetation.

The Marmanya Aboriginal community is located in Urandangi.[3]

History

Waluwarra (also known as Warluwarra, Walugara, and Walukara) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Western Queensland. Its traditional language region is the local government area of Shire of Boulia, including Walgra Station and Wolga, from Roxborough Downs north to Carandotta Station and Urandangi on the Georgina River, on Moonah Creek to Rochedale, south-east of Pituri Creek.[4]

An unnamed township was established 2 August 1883. On 12 December 1884, it was officially named Urandangi. The name is believed to be derived Aboriginal words, uranda-ngie, meaning much gidyea.

The township was a centre for travellers and drovers where a stock route crossed the Georgina River. By 1920 Urandangi had a pub, two stores, post office, police station and a dance hall.[5]

Urandangie Provisional School opened circa 1898. On 1 January 1909 it became Urandangie State School. It closed circa 1910, but reopened on 30 January 1922. It closed circa 1933.

On 11 April 1994 Urandangi State School (slightly different spelling) opened.

In March 2023, Urangangi was inundated with over of floodwater resulting in the evacuation of the entire town. Due to the extent of the damage, it is uncertain if the town will survive.[6] As at August 2023, the school is officially open but is not operating as there are no students.[7]

Facilities

In 2023 prior to the floods, Urandangi's only major facility was the Urandangi Hotel (also known as the "Dangi Pub"). It was also the town's post office, grocery store, petrol station, and Centrelink office.[8]

Education

Urandangi State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls on the Urandangi North Road (-21.5962°N 138.3359°W).[9] [10] It had only 8 students enrolled in 2015.[11] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 2 teachers and 2 non-teaching staff (1 full-time equivalent).[12] In 2022, the school had an enrolment of 12 students.[13]

There are no secondary schools in Urandangi. The nearest secondary school is in Mount Isa but too far for a daily commute. The Spinifex State College in Mount Isa offers boarding facilities.[14] Other boarding schools or distance education would be options.

External links

Notes and References

  1. 9 April 2017.
  2. Web site: Channel Country. FitzSimons. Trish. 2010. Queensland Historical Atlas. University of Queensland. https://web.archive.org/web/20190815054953/https://www.qhatlas.com.au/content/channel-country. 15 August 2019. live. 15 August 2019.
  3. News: The voice not heard. Anderson. John. 17 May 2010. 6 November 2010. Townsville Bulletin. 27 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120327155408/http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2010/05/17/138931_news.html. live.
  4. Waluwarra. Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. 30 January 2020.
  5. Web site: Queensland's Outback: Urandangi. Queensland Holidays. Tourism Queensland. 6 November 2010. 27 September 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927225945/http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/outback/places-to-visit/urandangi/. live.
  6. News: 2023-03-29 . Residents consider future after historic outback town 'wiped off the map' by flooding . en-AU . ABC News . 2023-08-29.
  7. Web site: 2020-11-29 . Urandangi State School . 2023-08-29 . Urandangi State School . en.
  8. News: Anderson. John. Urandangi gateway to anywhere. 6 November 2010. Townsville Bulletin. 4 May 2010. 27 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120327155404/http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2010/05/04/135335_hpopinion.html. live.
  9. Web site: 9 July 2018. State and non-state school details. live. 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. 21 November 2018. Queensland Government.
  10. Web site: Urandangi State School. 21 November 2018. 26 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120326154547/http://www.urandangss.eq.edu.au/. live.
  11. Web site: 30 June 2016. Urandangi State School Annual Report 2015. 30 January 2017. Education Queensland. 2 February 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170202060119/https://urandangss.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Pages/Annualreports.aspx. live.
  12. 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.
  13. Web site: School annual report 2022 . 30 August 2023 . Urandangi State School . 2.
  14. Web site: Residential Campus. 2015. Spinifex State College. https://web.archive.org/web/20190815073816/https://spinifexsc.eq.edu.au/Supportandresources/Formsanddocuments/Documents/Policies%20and%20Procedures/residential-prospectus-2015.pdf. 15 August 2019. live. 15 August 2019.