Wallangarra

History

In 1885, the Queensland Government announced that a town would be formed where the railway line between Queensland and New South Wales would meet. On 29 June 1885, 179 lots were offered for sale at . The town would provide a break-of-gauge between Queensland's narrow gauge Southern railway line of and New South Wales's standard gauge Main North railway line of when the two systems came together in 1888. Two railway stations were created within the area. One was named Wallan-garra railway station () and the town took its name from the station but used the spelling Wallangarra (with most people using the same spelling for the railway station). Bald Mountain railway station () was the other railway station and is now abandoned. On 28 January 1919, the Queensland Government placed restrictions on the border crossing at Wallangarra to prevent the spread of the Spanish flu into Queensland, which were enforced by the Queensland Police. A medical screening process was used to determine if Queensland residents could safely return to the state. The railway was the only rail link between Queensland and New South Wales until a standard gauge track was completed via Kyogle in 1930, with the completion of the bridge over the Clarence River at Grafton. From that time on, the Wallangarra railway station lessened in importance. Scheduled rail services ended in 1997. In 2003, after major refurbishment, the station was reopened as a museum. The railway line from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra continued to be maintained, and steam tourist trains occasionally operated to Wallangarra until bushfires in late 2023 destroyed wooden bridge links along the route. As of January 2026, the steam trains terminate at Ballandean. The Anderson Meat Packing Company was restarted by Mr. A.W. Anderson in…

Geography

Wallangarra lies in a valley between two ranges of mountains, which are branches of the Great Dividing Range. It is above sea level. There is a gap between the more Westerly range at Wyberba, about five kilometres north of Wallangarra. This gap has made Wallangarra the major inland border crossing for the New England Highway and what was the first railway line between Brisbane and Sydney. It is situated on the northern periphery of the New England Peppermint Grassy Woodland.

Most-observed species

• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  2,297
• Yellow-faced Honeyeater

  Caligavis chrysops (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  1,734
• Crimson Rosella

  Platycercus elegans (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  1,713
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,701
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  1,662
• White-throated Treecreeper

  Cormobates leucophaea (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,651
• Gray Shrikethrush

  Colluricincla harmonica (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,584
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  1,523