Tolga

History

Bones Knob is thought to be named after a young Aboriginal man known as "Bones", mention in a letter written in February 1879 by Alexander Douglas of the Native Mounted Police to Inspector Stuart of the Queensland Police. Martintown Provisional School opened on 10 October 1895. It was renamed Tolga Provisional School in 1905. On 1 January 1909, it became Tolga State School. The school celebrated its centenary in 1995. The town's name was changed to Tolga in 1903 when Tablelands railway line was extended from Mareeba to Atherton and the local railway station was to be called Tolga, a name thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for either place where the scrub begins or red volcanic soil. A branch line from Tolga to Yungaburra was built, opening on 15 March 1910, which was subsequently extended in stages to Millaa Millaa by 19 December 1921. Tolga railway station was between the Kennedy Highway and Lawson Street (). Mapee takes its name from its railway station, assigned by the Queensland Railways Department on 11 January 1915. It is an Aboriginal word meaning tree kangaroo. Most buildings on the site were removed in 1946 after the war had ended with one building being relocated to the Atherton Hospital for the use of the Queensland Country Women's Association. On Friday 29 November 1946, three Army personnel were working to remove cordite from the shells in the ammunition dump when the cordite ignited in a blinding flash. The three men were severely burned in the explosion but managed to crawl over a mile to their headquarters. Although they were rushed to the Atheron hospital, the three men died and were buried at the Atherton War Cemetery.

Geography

Tolga is located on the Atherton Tableland. The Kennedy Highway traverses the locality from the north-west to the south of the locality, passing through the town which is in the southern part of the locality. To the north-west of the town is a large residential development which is marketed under the names of Tandara, Rangeview and Panorama Views. Mapee is a neighbourhood within the centre of the locality (). Yadjin is a neighbourhood in the south-east of the locality (). The Barron River forms the north-east boundary of the locality. The south-western boundary of the locality is the Great Dividing Range which creates the drainage divide that separates the drainage basin of the Barron River (which flows to the Coral Sea) from that of the Mitchell River (which flows to the Gulf of Carpentaria). The Tolga Scrub on the southern side of town (within the locality of Atherton, ) is one of the last remaining areas of Mabi rainforest on the Atherton Tableland. It is the most drought resistant type of rainforest in Australia. The Tolga Scrub is long and 100 metres wide.

Most-observed species

• Lewin's Honeyeater

  Meliphaga lewinii (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  8,518
• Australian Brushturkey

  Alectura lathami J.E.Gray, 1831 · Aves
  5,850
• Brown Gerygone

  Gerygone mouki Mathews, 1912 · Aves
  5,151
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  5,143
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  4,834
• Eastern Whipbird

  Psophodes olivaceus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  4,780
• Pacific Black Duck

  Anas superciliosa J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  4,639
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,606

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2011-03-15
  30 km NE of Innisfail Estate, Australia