Woorabinda

History

Wadja (also known as Wadjigu, Wadya, Wadjainngo, Mandalgu, and Wadjigun) is an Australian Aboriginal language in Central Queensland. The language region includes the local government areas of the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda and Central Highlands Region, including the Blackdown Tablelands. the Comet River, and the Expedition Range, and the towns of Woorabinda, Springsure and Rolleston. The town's name was chosen by Herbert Cecil Colledge, the superintendent of the settlement in 1927 using Aboriginal words, woora meaning kangaroo and binda meaning camp. This walk from Taroom to Woorabinda was commemorated by the community with a supported re-enactment in 2014. Woorabinda State School opened in 1928, closed in 1970 and subsequently reopened. The Woorabinda community is the only DOGIT Aboriginal community within the Central Queensland region. DOGIT communities have a special type of land tenure which applies only to former Aboriginal reserves. The land title is a system of community level land trusts, owned and administered by the local council. Wadja Wadja High School opened on 24 January 1984.

Geography

Woorabinda is in Central Queensland, inland about two hours' drive west of Rockhampton. The seasonal Mimosa Creek is nearby and is a source of local water. During rainy season, the town can be isolated due to road flooding. Access is via the Fitzroy Developmental Road, which is sealed north towards Duaringa and where it meets the Capricorn Highway to Rockhampton. To the south, it is gravel road to Bauhinia, where it meets the Dawson Highway and access to Gladstone. It is used by chartered flights and aeromedical retrieval services. No commercial flights operate to the airstrip.

Most-observed species

• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  7
• Gray Fantail

  Rhipidura albiscapa Gould, 1840 · Aves
  7
• Striated Pardalote

  Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  6
• Blue-faced Honeyeater

  Entomyzon cyanotis (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  6
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  5
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  4
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  4
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  4