Moura

History

In 1854 Charles Marshall named his leased pastoral selection Moura. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name. One is that it is named after Moura in Portugal where he served in the British Army during the Peninsular Wars. The other is that it is an Aboriginal word meaning native camp dog. Moura Provisional School was opened on 10 September 1940. It became Moura State School on 1 January 1948. In 1965 a secondary department was attached to the school. By 1975, there were sufficient secondary students to warrant a formal high school and so Moura State High School was opened on 25 January 1976 with 263 pupils. There have been three mining disasters that have occurred near Moura: *The first was the Kianga mining disaster occurring due to an explosion in the underground workings of the Kianga No. 1 mine on 20 September 1975, claiming 13 miners' lives. On 11 March 1978, a memorial centre was officially opened in Moura to commemorate the disaster. *The second, on 16 July 1986, was an explosion in the Moura No. 4 underground mine, claiming twelve miners' lives, the youngest miner being 18. After 1994, underground mining ceased and the area was operated as an open-cut coal mine. In November 2017, a routine blast in the mine resulted in ground movement leading to a "circular geotechnical failure" that resulted in a crack through a public access road across the open pit. The road had been a key access and freight route for farmers and graziers to reach the town of Moura, including a school bus route. The road remained closed in February 2018 and was expected to remain unstable indefinitely. The company had conducted improvements to a southern detour route, and consulted with the community about a viable long-term alternative. A new route was proposed which…

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  60
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  48
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  39
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  39
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  36
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  32
• Red-winged Parrot

  Aprosmictus erythropterus (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  30
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  29