Dysart

History

Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt explored the region in 1845 being the first European to do so. This included climbing to the summit of nearby Campbell Peak and allegedly building a stone cairn there. The town of Dysart was established in 1973 to support the Saraji coal mine with the Post Office opening on 8 October 1973. The name Dysart comes from the name of a pastoral run and a parish in the area; it means a retreat for monks and hence solitude in Irish Gaelic. A secondary department was added in 1979, which operated until Dysart State High School opened on 20 September 1980. The Dysart Library opened in 1982. According to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland in 2011, Dysart had a median rent of $1,200 a week for a house, making it the most expensive in Queensland. In 2012, the median house price in the town was $475,000. The closure of the Norwich Park Mine was expected to bring property prices down.

Geography

The locality is served by the Goonyella railway network which connects the Bowen Basin coalfields with the coal wharves at Hay Point on the coast. The locality is served by numerous railway stations (from north to south): * Winchester railway station () * Saraji railway station () * Mount Phillips () * Mount Walker () * Campbell Peak () * Lords Table Mountain () * Gilberts Dome () * Browns Peak () * Charleys Peak () * Eastern Peak () * Mount Dalrymple () * Expedition Peak ()

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  67
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  65
• Pied Butcherbird

  Cracticus nigrogularis (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  64
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  63
• Apostlebird

  Struthidea cinerea Gould, 1837 · Aves
  58
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  57
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  54
• Pale-headed Rosella

  Platycercus adscitus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  44