Banana, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Banana is a small town located in Central Queensland
, Australia
, in the Banana Shire, a Local Government Area. Banana is located at the intersection of the Dawson
and Leichhardt
highways, 46 kilometres west of the shire's administrative centre, Biloela
. At the 2006 census
, Banana had a population of 627.
, called Banana, used by local stockmen to help them when herding some of the wilder cattle into the yards.
At the time of the Canoona rush, gold was found in Banana's Gully (as it was then called) and a town of at least 2,000 people sprang up there.
The post office
at Banana was established on 1 September 1861.
The beef
industry
is still a mainstay of the town and area, along with coal and agriculture.
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, in the Banana Shire, a Local Government Area. Banana is located at the intersection of the Dawson
Dawson Highway
The Dawson Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for approximately 400 km between Gladstone and Springsure where it terminates...
and Leichhardt
Leichhardt Highway
The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway....
highways, 46 kilometres west of the shire's administrative centre, Biloela
Biloela, Queensland
Biloela is a rural town in Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Banana had a population of 627.
History
The town was named in the early 1860s. The name derives from an old dun-coloured working bullockOx
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
, called Banana, used by local stockmen to help them when herding some of the wilder cattle into the yards.
At the time of the Canoona rush, gold was found in Banana's Gully (as it was then called) and a town of at least 2,000 people sprang up there.
The post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
at Banana was established on 1 September 1861.
The beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
is still a mainstay of the town and area, along with coal and agriculture.