Bluff

History

Based on artefacts found on the nearby Blackdown Tableland National Park, Aboriginal people lived in this area for thousands of years. Duckworth Post Office opened by September 1906 (a receiving office had been open from late 1905) and was renamed Bluff in 1907. Duckworth Provisional School was established in January 1907 and opened in June 1907. However, the local people disliked the name Duckworth and a few months later, the name was changed to Bluff or Bluff Colliery Provisional School. On 1 January 1909, it became Bluff State School. In 2017, a suspicious fire completely destroyed the Bluff Family Store, the town's local general store. Without anywhere to buy groceries, local Bluff residents needed to travel to Blackwater for supplies following the fire. Bluff and the surrounding districts are served by the Bluff Town and Rural Fire Brigade which has had active members on its books since 1975. A small shed in Church Street was built to house the brigade in 1980.

Geography

The town is located on the Capricorn Highway in Central Queensland, north west of the state capital, Brisbane. Bluff's location between some of Queensland's largest coal mines and the port of Gladstone has led to it becoming a major interchange station for large coal trains, some up to two kilometres long.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  97
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  65
• Red-backed Fairywren

  Malurus melanocephalus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  56
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  56
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  55
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  53
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  50
• Striped Honeyeater

  Plectorhyncha lanceolata Gould, 1838 · Aves
  43