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About our Shire
Introduction The
Bendemere Shire in south-west Queensland
encompasses an area of 3955 km2
and incorporates the townships of Yuleba,
Wallumbilla and Jackson.
It is bordered by the shires of
Taroom, Bungil, Warroo and Murilla.
The
Shire’s economy is heavily reliant on
primary production including cattle, sheep,
grain and timber.
Forestry occupies around 30% of the
shire with the area around Yuleba boasting
the largest cypress timber stand in
Australia. The
shire is also linked with the natural gas
industry. The Surat Basin to
Brisbane Gas Pipeline and the Wallumbilla to
Gladstone State Gas Pipeline pass through the
shire. Numerous gas wells are
also found throughout the shire whilst the
Wallumbilla LPG Processing Plant is located
just south of Wallumbilla. History In
the 1840’s the area now known as Bendemere
Shire was located within the Maranoa and
Darling Downs Pastoral District.
Sir Thomas Mitchell explored the
Maranoa district by following up the Balonne
River, traversing the country to the west. Settlers
spread west of the Darling Downs district.
One of these was Matthew Soggs who
settled on the upper reaches of Dogwood
Creek, just outside the Bendemere Shire area. Further settlers came in
search of grazing land and moved into the
eastern portion of the Bendemere Shire area. Ludwig
Leichhardt traversed the Bendemere Shire area
in late 1847 and inspected the country west
of Matthew Sogg’s station in order to
connect up with Sir Thomas Mitchell’s track
in the Maranoa and Leichhardt’s own
previous track to the Dawson area. With
further settlement in the area, many of the
large sheep holdings were broken up to
provide land for more settlers.
Prickly Pear grazing selections were
surveyed throughout the shire and in later
years small freehold lots of 160 acres (64
ha) were made available in the area close to
Wallumbilla. Early
in the shire’s history, settlers were
dependent upon dairying and sheep raising,
however, these industries declined in the
1950’s and have been replaced by beef
cattle and grain production. The
shire’s name was derived from the
“Bendemere” run first tendered for in
1851, by Joseph King of “Myall Creek”,
Drayton. Yuleba Yuleba,
originally established on “Moongool”
holding 1878, became Old Yuleba in 1879.
It became “Yulebah” in 1879 when
the Western Railway line was officially
opened. Yuleba
figures prominently in the history of the
Cobb & Co. Coach Service with the last
horse drawn coach in Australia running from
Yuleba to Surat in 1924. Today,
Yuleba is a small but well equipped town,
servicing a large area of the shire and
acting as the Bendemere Shire Council’s
administrative headquarters.
Its population is approximately 280
people.
Wallumbilla The
Wallumbilla district was first settled around
1854 when Wallumbilla Station was formed.
The township itself, from small
beginnings, grew into a rural service town
with the coming of the Western Railway line
in 1880. Over
recent years, Wallumbilla has developed into
a centre servicing the agricultural and gas
industries.
Wallumbilla has a population of around
300. Jackson The
hamlet of Jackson, established around 1890,
served the railway and surrounding rural
community.
In recent years, the population of the
town has declined to about 30 owing to
rationalisation of Queensland Rail services
and the advent of improved road transport. Shire
of Bendemere The
Shire of Bendemere was incorporated on 12
January 1911, from portions of the adjoining
shires of Bungil, Taroom and Warroo.
At the time, Yuleba was the rail head
for the extensive sheep raising areas of
Surat and St George and the comparatively
small size of the shire was possibly an
indication that the shire’s planners (the
Government) foresaw closer settlement and the
development of small farms. Many of the properties
close to Wallumbilla are very small
subdivisions and indicate the area’s
earlier dairying industry, now predominantly
grain farms. Townships Wallumbilla Of
the three townships in the shire, Wallumbilla
is slightly the largest.
Wallumbilla is located on the Warrego
Highway approximately 40 km to the east of
Roma and 20 km west of Yuleba. The
town provides a range of services and has
several commercial premises, shops and a
hotel together with a number of industries. The town is located on the
western rail line which is fully utilised by
Grainco and Elgas, both of which have located
their silos and gas tanks near the rail line
on the eastern outskirts of the town. The
main role of the town is as a rural service
centre. The town has excellent
educational (primary/hightop www.wallumbiss.qld.edu.au
) and sporting facilities for its size. Yuleba Yuleba
is situated in the centre of the shire on the
Warrego Highway, approximately 20 km east of
Wallumbilla.
The town is the administrative centre
for the Bendemere Shire Council with the
council offices and workshop based in the
town. The
town acts as a service centre for the rural
sector with commercial premises, a
hotel/motel and a primary school. Jackson Jackson
is situated in the east of the shire
approximately 23 km east of Yuleba.
The town is situated on the Warrego
highway and the western rail line and was
originally used to service the railway and
rural industry. Land Features The
topography of the shire varies from low range
country in the north with the Great Dividing
Range presenting numerous rocky outcrops in
some areas, to flatter country in the south. The
Land Resource Area Map of the Roma District
from DPI shows that the shire is largely
composed of: ·
Brigalow
Uplands – gently undulating plains, low
hills and ridges on weathered sandstones and
shales ·
Yuleba
Area – undulating plains to scarps and low
hills developed mainly on coursed grained,
quartzone sandstones and poorly weathered
sediments ·
Struan
Area – undulating plains to low hills and
escarpments developed predominantly on
quartzone sandstones ·
Maranoa
– flat plains on sandy alluvia ·
Coogoon
– gently undulating plains developed on
weathered sandstones and old sandy alluvia. Brigalow
Uplands, Yuleba and Struan areas cover most
of the shire. DPI
research indicates that the shire has ten
different soil types.
More detailed information can be
obtained from the shire office. Climate Bendemere
Shire experiences a temperate and semi-arid
climate with hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall
is greater in the warmer months, however the
Shire still experiences lesser falls during
the cooler months.
There is a westward decline in the
amount of rainfall throughout the shire.
The annual average rainfall for the
township of Wallumbilla is approximately 578
mm and for the township of Yuleba is
approximately 611 mm. From
May to August, well-developed troughs can
bring clouds and local showers to the area,
whilst localised thunderstorms account for 70
– 80% of the rainfall during the months of
September to December.
A semi-permanent, south-easterly
trough which lies between Charleville and the
coast often brings heavy rainfall over the
shire between January and April.
Other rainfall is often associated
with cyclonic activity off the coast causing
rain depressions which penetrate inland. The
shire is subject to large temperature
fluctuations. Temperatures can vary from
about –
4o C in winter to about 42o C
in summer.
Average daily temperature in summer is
approximately 26o C and
12o C in winter. Interesting Statistics The
statistics listed below have predominantly
been sourced from the ABS 1996 Census.
For a more detailed statistical
analysis of the shire, contact the shire
office. ·
Estimated
Resident Population – 1037 ·
Number
of resident dwellings – 446 ·
Area
of agricultural holdings – 372 085 ha ·
Income
from agriculture – 58% cattle; 37% grain;
5% other ·
Total
vehicles registered – 904 ·
Average
weekly household income - $ 439 ·
Average
age – 37 ·
Unemployment
rate – traditionally around 3% |
