Richmond

History

Jirandali (also known as Yirandali, Warungu, and Yirandhali) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North-West Queensland, particularly the Hughenden area. The language region includes the local government area of the Shire of Flinders, including Dutton River, Flinders River, Mount Sturgeon, Caledonia, Richmond, Corfield, Winton, Torrens, Tower Hill, Landsborough Creek, Lammermoor Station, Hughenden, and Tangorin. Wanamarra (also known as Maykulan and Wunumura is an Australian Aboriginal language in North West Queensland. The language region includes areas within the Shire of McKinlay, Shire of Cloncurry and Shire of Richmond, including the Flinders River area, and the towns of Kynuna and Richmond. The explorer William Landsborough camped on 13 March 1862 at the site that would become the town of Richmond. Explorer and former Commandant of the Native Police, Frederick Walker, had previously passed through the area in October 1861, naming and camping on the Dutton River. Both the Landsborough and Walker parties were attempting to locate the Burke and Wills expedition. The leasehold of the Richmond Downs Pastoral Run was granted in 1863 to Wellington Cochrane Bundock and Enoch Price Walter Hays who came from the Richmond River in New South Wales. In 1866 the Crown Lands Office transferred the leasehold on the Pastoral Runs of Wyanganie, Landsborough Downs and Richmond Downs in the Burke district from W C Bundock and F S Hays to Robert Napier, manager of the Commercial Banking Company of Sydney. Then in 1867 the interest of the bank in these three properties was transferred back to W C Bundock and Francis S Hays. By 1867, Richmond Downs had a postal service. However at some stage the service drew the attention of the Postmaster General for inefficiency. In the 1870s…

Geography

The town is west of Townsville and east of Mount Isa. The Flinders Highway traverses the locality from east to west passing through the town which is located in about the centre of the locality. The Great Northern railway runs immediately south and parallel to the highway through the east of the locality, crossing over in the town which is served by the Richmond railway station, and then the railway runs immediately north and parallel to the highway through the west of the locality. There is a second railway station, the Moselle railway on the far eastern edge of the locality, named after the pastoral run, which in turn was named in about the 1870s by pastoralist J.B. Brodie after the Moselle River in eastern France. The Flinders River flows through the locality from east to west, passing to the west of the town, where the river has its confluence with its tributary Dutton River.

Most-observed species

• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  73
• Black Kite

  Milvus migrans (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  66
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  63
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  60
• Yellow-throated Miner

  Manorina flavigula (Gould, 1840) · Aves
  57
• Pacific Black Duck

  Anas superciliosa J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  56
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  54
• Australasian Grebe

  Tachybaptus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  49