Taroom

History

Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt passed through the district in 1844, carving his initials and date on a coolibah tree that now stands in the centre of town. The name Taroom is said to be an aboriginal Waka word tarum meaning wild lime. In 1964, the school had a secondary department added to provide secondary education to Year 10. In 1883, Taroom police officer William O'Dwyer was killed after being struck in the head with a tomahawk by a man he was attempting to arrest near Wandoan. The suspect was immediately shot dead by an accompanying police constable. O'Dwyer died from his injuries thirty minutes after being struck, and was buried at Wandoan. A plaque was unveiled on 7 September 2012 by Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Wilson on a rock in front of the Taroom Police Station to commemorate O'Dwyer being killed in the line of duty. St Mary's Catholic Primary School opened in May 1921. In April 2015, the Catholic Education office in Toowoomba announced that it would be closing St Mary's School in Taroom on 26 June 2015. The closure of St Mary's means St John's School in Roma and St Joseph's School in Chinchilla became the closest Catholic schools to Taroom. The principal of St Mary's said he was not allowed to publicly comment about the matter but the executive director of Catholic Education in Toowoomba said in a statement the decision to close the school was made with "careful consideration". Taroom Aboriginal Mission operated until 1927, when it was closed and its residents moved to Woorabinda, Queensland. In the 1972 Taroom explosion, three men were killed when a stationary truck carrying ammonium nitrate which had caught fire exploded on the Taroom-Bauhinia Road, north-west of Taroom. The three men included the driver and two brothers from a…

Geography

The town is located on the Dawson River and the Leichhardt Highway, north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, 300 kilometres (186 mi) west of Maryborough, South-west of Rockhampton and from Toowoomba.

Most-observed species

• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  105
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  94
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  67
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  60
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  60
• White-plumed Honeyeater

  Ptilotula penicillata (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  60
• Little Friarbird

  Philemon citreogularis (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  57
• Whistling Kite

  Haliastur sphenurus (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  50