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Famous Cattle Towns

Camooweal, Queensland: The Border Town Built Around Droving

A small outback border town at the edge of the Barkly Tableland, known for its drovers.

Where Camooweal is and why it matters to cattle history

Camooweal is an outback town and locality in the City of Mount Isa, on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory. The Outback Queensland tourism page for Camooweal places it 188 kilometers west of Mount Isa and calls it a gateway between Queensland and the Northern Territory. The 188-kilometer Barkly Highway linking the two towns is described there as the world's longest main street.

Camooweal sits at the eastern edge of the Barkly Tableland, a grazing region of Mitchell grass plains. That position is why it is part of the cattle story, as a settlement where stock and the people who moved them passed through.

Early history: surveyors, explorers and leases

The Wikiwand article on Camooweal says the area was first inhabited by the Indjilandji people. The town was gazetted in 1884, re-gazetted at its present site a year later, and its post office opened on 27 April 1885. A police station followed in 1886.

Explorer William Landsborough named the Barkly Tablelands after Governor Sir Henry Barkly in 1861. The tourism page dates Landsborough's passage to 1862, so sources differ by a year. George Sutherland took up the Rocklands lease in 1865 but abandoned it after stock losses, water shortages and isolation. Benjamin Crosthwaite and William Tetley took up the lease again in 1876. The origin of the town's name is uncertain. One theory credits surveyor George Telford Weale, who surveyed by camel in the early 1880s, and another holds that it is an Aboriginal word meaning strong wind.

What Made It Work

Camooweal never became a large town, and Mount Isa's growth limited its own. Its lasting importance is as a place where remote grazing country, a state border and a long road meet.

The sources opened for this profile give limited detail on individual stock routes, so this entry is marked thin and sticks to what they document.

  • Pastoralists settled the district after Landsborough's explorations, but early leases failed from stock losses, water shortages and isolation.
  • A lease taken up again in 1876 shows that persistence, not just land, decided who stayed.
  • The town was gazetted in 1884 and given a post office in 1885 and a police station in 1886, which gave the district basic services.
  • The Barkly Highway is the only sealed road between Queensland and the Northern Territory.
  • During World War II the road served as an inland defense route, carrying over 1,000 vehicles a day.
  • The Georgina River often closed the old bridge for days or weeks until a new bridge opened on 20 December 2002.

The Drover's Camp and Droving Heritage Centre

The Drover's Camp museum celebrates the contribution of drovers to the region. The tourism page lists the Droving Heritage Centre as a museum of the region's pioneering past, while the Wikiwand article puts the Drover's Camp about a kilometer east of town. Distances differ between the two pages, so confirm locally before visiting.

The annual Drover's Camp Festival is held every August and celebrates the heritage of Australia's droving era. It was not held in 2020 because of COVID-19.

Other things to see around Camooweal

The Barkly Tableland Heritage Centre is one of the town's main attractions, along with Freckleton's Store and the Camooweal Cemetery. Camooweal Caves National Park protects caves and sinkholes formed around 500 million years ago in the Cambrian Period, and the tourism page describes them as suited to experienced cavers.

Wiliyan-ngurru National Park, about 13 kilometers away, protects Mitchell grass plains and spinifex woodland on the Barkly Tableland. These landscapes are the kind of grazing country that supported the area's cattle stations.

Camooweal today

The 2021 census recorded 236 people, up from 187 in 2011 and 208 in 2016. Growth was limited historically by the rise of Mount Isa, and the road from Mount Isa was built during World War II as a strategic link between southern Australia and the Northern Territory.

For more on cattle country and droving heritage, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about outback droving.

Timeline

  1. 1861Landsborough names the Barkly Tablelands
  2. 1865George Sutherland takes up the Rocklands lease
  3. 1876Crosthwaite and Tetley take up the lease again
  4. 1884Camooweal gazetted
  5. 1885Post office opens on 27 April
  6. 1886Police station established
  7. 2002New Georgina River bridge opens on 20 December
  8. 2021Census records 236 residents

Frequently asked questions

Where is Camooweal?

Camooweal is on the Queensland border with the Northern Territory, 188 kilometers west of Mount Isa along the Barkly Highway, which is the only sealed road between the two.

What is the Drover's Camp Festival?

It is an annual festival held each August at Camooweal that celebrates the heritage of Australia's droving era. It was not held in 2020 because of COVID-19.

How did Camooweal get its name?

The origin is uncertain. One theory credits surveyor George Telford Weale, and another says it comes from an Aboriginal word meaning strong wind.

How many people live in Camooweal?

The 2021 census recorded 236 people, up from 187 in 2011 and 208 in 2016.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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