Mount Morgan

History

Prior to European migrants settling in the area, the area was part of the Kangulu peoples traditional lands. Mount Morgan was founded as a gold mining town in 1882. The town takes its name from the family who took out the original gold mining leases in the area: Frederick Augustus Morgan and his brothers Thomas Squire Morgan and Edwin Francis Morgan. Over the years, the Mount Morgan Mine has produced gold, silver and copper. Among those making a fortune from this mine was William Knox D'Arcy. D'Arcy used his fortune to finance oil exploration in Iran, which led to the formation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (now BP). Mining of clay in a nearby hill for the production of furnace bricks commenced soon after that time, continuing until the early 1900s, The resulting man-made caves came to be known as the Fireclay Caverns, which contained large openings that measure between 4–12 metres in height from the cave floor. Dinosaur footprints (preserved as infills) were later found in nine different sections of the Fireclay Caverns, lining the ceiling dated to the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian). Mount Morgan Post Office opened on 18 May 1885 (a receiving office had been open from 1884). Mount Morgan Central State School opened in 1887 and grew so rapidly that it was separated into two schools on different sites the following year, forming Mount Morgan Boys State School and Mount Morgan Girls and Infants State School. The word 'Central' was added to the name of these two schools from 1911. They were amalgamated back into one school in 1929. The town of Mount Morgan grew in a haphazard fashion around the entrance to the mining lease near the Dee River from the early 1880s. By 1889 a number of the major religions had established congregations and erected churches including the…

Geography

The town of Mount Morgan is situated on the Dee River, south of the city of Rockhampton, and is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town. There are a number of neighbourhoods within the locality: * Gordon Vale () * Kenbula (), located around the former Kenbula railway station * Talban (), located around the former Talban railway station The names Kenbula and Talban were both assigned by the Queensland Railway Department on 18 November 1911. Both are Aboriginal names, Kenbula meaning ironbark tree and Talban meaning stone curlew.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  65
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  64
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  64
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  60
• Striated Pardalote

  Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  54
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  52
• Lewin's Honeyeater

  Meliphaga lewinii (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  51
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  44