Roma

History

Prior to British colonisation, the Aboriginal peoples of the Mandandanji Nation occupied this region. Mandandanji (also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region is within the local government boundaries of the Maranoa Region, particularly Roma, Yuleba and Surat, then east towards Chinchilla and south-west towards Mitchell and St George. The first documented British explorers to enter the region were Sir Thomas Mitchell and Edmund Kennedy on their 1846 expedition. Mitchell named a nearby hill Mount Abundance due to the rich plains he encountered around what is now Roma. He called these plains the Fitzroy Downs in honour of the newly appointed Governor of New South Wales, Charles Augustus FitzRoy. Mitchell and Kennedy encountered a community of around 200 Aboriginal people in this vicinity. After initial friendly communication, hostilities arose with Kennedy's men dispersing a group of Mandandanji after they tried to burn down the explorer's encampment. In August 1848, James Blyth attempted to establish a sheep station on Bungil Creek but the resident Mandandanji drove him off, spearing Blyth in the leg, killing his stockman and taking 3,000 of his sheep. This incident was the start of a lengthy war between the Aboriginal people of the area and the colonists. In late 1848, Macpherson had several skirmishes with Aboriginal people around Bungil Creek, killing an indeterminate number. By April 1849 the Mandandanji had killed seven of Macpherson's stockmen, and the local Crown Lands Commissioner, John Durbin, with his contingent of mounted Border Police troopers was called in to give armed assistance. Despite this, Macpherson was defeated and forced to abandon his…

Geography

Roma is in the Maranoa district of South West Queensland. It is situated at the junction of the Warrego and Carnarvon highways. It is also a major town on the Western Railway Line from Toowoomba and Brisbane. It is the centre of a rich pastoral and wheat-growing district.

Most-observed species

• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  724
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  548
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  509
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  497
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  470
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  458
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  441
• Pacific Black Duck

  Anas superciliosa J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  405