Hughenden, Queensland
|
Hughenden Queensland |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hughenden's dinosaur statue
|
|||||||
 Hughenden
|
|||||||
| Coordinates | 20°51′S 144°12′E / 20.850°S 144.200°ECoordinates: 20°51′S 144°12′E / 20.850°S 144.200°E | ||||||
| Population | 1,151 (2011 census census) | ||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4821 | ||||||
| Elevation | 324.0 m (1,063 ft) | ||||||
| Location |
|
||||||
| LGA(s) | Flinders Shire | ||||||
| State electorate(s) | Mount Isa | ||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||
|
|||||||
Hughenden /ˈhjuːəndən/ is a town in Queensland, Australia situated on the banks of the Flinders River. It was named after Hughenden Manor, the home of former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. At the 2011 census, Hughenden had a population of 1,151.
Hughenden Post Office opened on 1 July 1878 (a receiving office had been open from 1874).
Torrens Creek near Hughenden is where the Americans stored explosives in World War II. The Americans didn't know of the dangerous bush fires out there. After they put out a fire they went back to camp thinking that the fire was out. However, the fire took hold again without them knowing. They then heard about twelve major explosions in succession; the explosions left craters twenty feet deep. Hot shrapnel covered a wide area and started more fires. In the townships, people said that buildings shook and windows broke, and some people were convinced that an air raid had occurred. Thousands of soldiers and civilians attacked the blaze in an attempt to stop it spreading to fuel dumps, but were unable to control it. When the fire got to the explosives it was so powerful it blew the Americans out of their trucks. Many buildings and shops got burnt down from the spreading fires. However the locals were able to save the post office. A police Constable from Torrens Creek Police was awarded the King’s Medal of Bravery.
Hughenden has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Hughenden is located on the Flinders Highway, 376 kilometres (234 mi) west of Townsville and 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) north-west of Brisbane, the state capital. The region around Hughenden is a major centre for the grazing of sheep and cattle. The main feed is annual grasses known as Flinders grass, which grow rapidly on the (by Australian standards) fertile grey or brown cracking clay soils after rain between November and March. However, because the rainfall is extremely erratic — at Hughenden itself it has ranged from 126 millimetres (5 in) in 1926 to 1,051 millimetres (41 in) in 1950 — droughts and floods are normal and stock number fluctuate greatly.
...
Wikipedia