Collinsville, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Collinsville is a mining town in the coal
-rich Bowen Basin
region of central Queensland
, Australia
, 1245 km north of Brisbane
and 87 km south-west of the coastal town of Bowen
. The town is part of the Whitsunday Region. At the 2006 census
, Collinsville had a population of 2,063.
European settlement of the region began in 1861 with the opening of the lands to pastoralists, with some cattle station
s still in operation. Coal was discovered in 1866 but it wasn't until 1912 that large-scale mining operations commenced. The town was originally known as 'Moongunya', an aboriginal word that roughly translates to 'place of coal'. On the 20 September 1921 it was officially re-named Collinsville after Charles Collins who was the Labor MLA for Bowen
from 1915 to 1936.
Now two new mines are planned to begin operation in the next two years and hope to supply 250 new jobs. The current population of Collinsville is approximately 2500.
Facilities in Collinsville include two primary schools (Collinsville Primary and St John Bosco's Catholic Primary), a high school, four churches (Catholic
, Anglican, Uniting, Assembly of God), a pharmacy, a district hospital, some shops and sporting facilities.
Sporting facilities include a golf course, rugby league grounds, tennis courts, a public swimming pool, squash courts, and lawn bowls.
Compared to larger regional centres shopping opportunities in Collinsville are restricted to one newsagent, a toyshop, a bakery, two fuel stations, two medium size grocery stores, two places to buy clothing and a hardware shop.
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-rich Bowen Basin
Bowen Basin
The Bowen Basin contains the largest coal reserves in Australia. This major coal producing region contains one of the world's largest deposits of bituminous coal. The Basin contains much of the known Permian coal resources in Queensland including virtually all of the known mineable prime coking coal...
region of central Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, 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...
, 1245 km north of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
and 87 km south-west of the coastal town of Bowen
Bowen, Queensland
Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...
. The town is part of the Whitsunday Region. 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,...
, Collinsville had a population of 2,063.
European settlement of the region began in 1861 with the opening of the lands to pastoralists, with some cattle station
Cattle station
Cattle station is an Australian term for a large farm , whose main activity is the rearing of cattle. In Australia, the owner of a cattle station is called a grazier...
s still in operation. Coal was discovered in 1866 but it wasn't until 1912 that large-scale mining operations commenced. The town was originally known as 'Moongunya', an aboriginal word that roughly translates to 'place of coal'. On the 20 September 1921 it was officially re-named Collinsville after Charles Collins who was the Labor MLA for Bowen
Bowen, Queensland
Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Bowen had a population of 7,484.-Geography:Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street...
from 1915 to 1936.
Now two new mines are planned to begin operation in the next two years and hope to supply 250 new jobs. The current population of Collinsville is approximately 2500.
Facilities in Collinsville include two primary schools (Collinsville Primary and St John Bosco's Catholic Primary), a high school, four churches (Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, Anglican, Uniting, Assembly of God), a pharmacy, a district hospital, some shops and sporting facilities.
Sporting facilities include a golf course, rugby league grounds, tennis courts, a public swimming pool, squash courts, and lawn bowls.
Compared to larger regional centres shopping opportunities in Collinsville are restricted to one newsagent, a toyshop, a bakery, two fuel stations, two medium size grocery stores, two places to buy clothing and a hardware shop.