Once it was horses, bullocks and camels, then coaches, railways, trucks, planes and helicopters. Today, Cloncurry is still the most important transportation centre in western Queensland because of its railhead, container depot and road train terminus.

The town owes its name to Robert O’Hara Burke, of Burke and Wills fame. But it probably owes its existence, not to the explorer who passed through in 1861 during his ill-fated trip to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but to a man who was looking for grazing land but found copper instead. It was May 1867 when Ernest Henry discovered copper. He became the founder of the town and the vast mineral wealth of the district. He named the mine the Great Australia, but when the town was surveyed in 1876 it was called Cloncurry after Cloncurry River, which Burke had named for his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry of County Galway in Ireland. As grazing brought Ernest Henry to the area and mining kept him here, it seems fitting that the rural town still derives its main income from the mining and pastoral industries.

Cloncurry has been the focal point for many of Australia’s greatest innovations. The town was involved with the beginnings of Australia’s famous national airline, and the original QANTAS hangar is still in use at the aerodrome, where a sign proclaiming the company’s original name, “Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Service”, is still displayed above the hangar door.

The aerodrome was also used by early planes coming from overseas and contestants in the great air races of 1919 and 1934. During World War II, Cloncurry was the site of a major United States Air Base.

Cloncurry’s interesting history is evident in its cemeteries. The old Chinese Cemetery, at the junction of Copper Mine Creek and the Anabranch, is a reminder of the many Chinese who worked in Cloncurry during the early gold mining years.

The Afghan Cemetery is in one corner of the Cloncurry Cemetery and holds the graves of many Afghan camel train drivers and even a Mohammedan priest. All the graves face towards Mecca and some date back to the late 1890s. The Cloncurry Cemetery itself (on Sir Hudson Fysh Drive) is a tacit reminder of the harshness of the early days. Also within the cemetery is the grave of Dame Mary Gilmore, who was given a State funeral in Sydney before her ashes were sent to Cloncurry to be interred with her husband.

Mt Leviathan, locally known as Black Mountain, is one of Cloncurry’s landmarks. Located at its base is the picturesque Chinaman Creek Dam and recreational area. It’s situated about 4km west of Cloncurry and is an ideal picnic spot. Do a bit of fishing or birdwatching too.

Roadrunner and Coyote; on the same side at last

IF YOU’VE ever watched cartoons, you’ll know that the coyote and the roadrunner are usually at loggerheads. But at Cloncurry, they are on the same side at last.

In fact, the Roadrunner Roadhouse and the Coyote Inn are both owned by the same family. The roadhouse has a reputation for fast food (hence the name!) and the Coyote Inn offers comfortable motel accommodation - from single to family sized.