Mitchell, Queensland
Mitchell is a town and locality in the Western Downs district of the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. The town services the local area, a cattle and sheep farming district. In the , Mitchell had a population of 1031 people. Geography. Mitchell is on the Warrego Highway, west of Brisbane, 441 kilometres (274 mi) west of Toowoomba, 230 kilometres (143 mi) west of Miles, 89 kilometres (55 mi) west of Roma and 180 kilometres (112 mi) east of Charleville. The Warrego Highway passes through town to form the main street, Cambridge Street. The Maranoa River flows around the northern and  eastern sides of the town before eventually flowing into the Balonne River. History. Before the arrival of Europeans, the Maranoa region was occupied by the Mandandanji and Gunggari Aboriginal peoples. Based on archaeological excavations in the Mount Moffatt area, it has been deduced that the Aboriginals had lived there for around 19,500 years. Descendants of the original peoples still live in and visit the area today. Mandandanji (also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Maranoa Regional Council , particularly Roma, Yuleba and Surat, then east towards Chinchilla and south-west towards Mitchell and St George. The town is named after Sir Thomas Mitchell explorer and Surveyor General of New South Wales, who explored the area in 1846. In 1854, Edmund Morey established the property of "Mitchell Downs". When the original homestead was largely destroyed by a flood in 1864, Thomas Close acquired the building's ruins and established the "Maranoa Hotel". On 1 January 1865, Mitchell Downs Post Office opened and around 1878 was renamed Mitchell Post Office. Mitchell State School opened on 1 April 1876. In 1902 , after a short stand-off, bushrangers Patrick and James Kenniff were captured south of Mitchell at a location previously known as Back Creek but now known as Arrest Creek. Patrick was hanged in 1903 for the murder of Constable George Doyle (who had previously served at Wyandra) and Albert Dahlke, while James was released after 12 years imprisonment and died peacefully in 1940. Long Gully Provisional School opened on 1915 on the road from Mitchell to St George; it closed in 1918. St Patrick's Catholic Primary School opened on 4 November 1923. Mitchell Aboriginal Provisional School opened on 1  May 1935 and was later proclaimed Mitchell Aboriginal State School. It closed on 19 November 1948. At the 2006 census, Mitchell had a population of 944. Mitchell was once the administrative centre of the Shire of Booringa local government area. Since 2008, the town is now part of the Maranoa Region. In the March 2010 floods, the Maranoa River reached a peak of 13.4 m in the town causing an inundation of 25 houses. The town experienced the worst flooding ever in 2012 when a monsoon trough hovered over central and southern Queensland and nearly inundated Charleville, 180km (112  mi) to the west. . In the 2011 census, Mitchell had a population of 1,311 people. Heritage listings. Mitchell has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: Amenities. Mitchell is home to the Booringa Heritage Museum housed in the old Council workshop building. The Maranoa Regional Council operates a public library and the Maranoa Art Gallery at the old Maranoa Theatre building in Cambridge Street. From here it provides public WiFi by way of a high speed ISDN Internet Connection (powered through the National Broadband Network) to Brisbane. There is a Visitor Information Centre located at the Great Artesian Spa complex , next door to the Mitchell Memorial Swimming Pool. The Mitchell branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 87 Cambridge Street. Education. Mitchell State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 105 Cambridge Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 132 students with 16 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). Students come from Mitchell, Mungallala, Amby and surrounding properties. Students from Year 11 and 12 are conveyed by bus to Roma State College in Roma. St Patrick's Primary  School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 100 Alice Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 37 students with 2 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff. Language revival. A major language revival effort has been under way in Queensland schools since St Patrick's School started teaching the Gunggari language around 2013. Since then, Mitchell State School has also started teaching Gunggari. Media. Mitchell is serviced by the following radio stations - based in other locations, broadcast via local transmitters: Television services are provided by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, with channels ABC, ABC Kids /ABC TV Plus, ABC ME and ABC NEWS, transmitting to Mitchell through its relay station, ABMLQ, situated at 26°32′35″S 148°6′41″E (Mitchell Escarpment) The Seven Network and its sister stations 7Two and 7Mate transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate, ITQ Network Ten and its sister channels 10 Bold and 10 Peach transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate, CDT The Nine Network and its sister channels 9Gem and 9GO! transmit to Mitchell through its regional affiliate, IMP The Special Broadcasting Service and its sister channels SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS Food and NITV also transmit  to Mitchell. Climate. Mitchell has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cold winters by Queensland standards. On 15 August 1979 Mitchell recorded a minimum temperature of −9.4 °C (15.1 °F), which is the third coldest temperature ever recorded in the state. Mitchell has the largest overall temperature range recorded in Australia (56.2°C, -9.4°C to 46.8°C). The town gets an average of 157.5 clear days annually. Great Artesian Spa. The Great Artesian Spa was opened in 1998 and is situated in the town's aquatic centre. There are two pools of  artesian water, one heated and the other designed for those who prefer a cooler experience. Both spa pools have been designed with disabled access in mind and facilities include a chairlift to allow easy access for physically disabled people. The water used in the spa pools is renewed regularly and comes from the Great Artesian Basin, which is one of the largest artesian basins in the world, which underlies around one-fifth of Australia. It covers a total area of more than 1,711,000 square kilometres, and has been relied upon for the town water supply since 1927. Water supply. The  water supply for the town comes from three bores. The depth of the bores is about 1,000 metres. The water is pumped into a large concrete water tower on the western side of the town. The water is hot when it emerges from the ground, and in the tank it is about 50 °C. Houses close to the tank, have free hot water. In fact it is necessary to cool the water before it can be used.