Comet, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Comet is a town in central Queensland
, Australia
. The town is located on the Capricorn Highway
, 859 kilometres (534 mi) north west of the state capital, Brisbane
. At the 2006 census
, Comet and the surrounding area had a population of 233.
Comet is the oldest town in the Emerald region, established at the confluence
of the Comet River
with the Nogoa River
. Originally called Cometville, the town takes its name from the river, named by explorer Ludwig Leichhardt
who made observations of Comet Wilmot (C/1844 Y2) in the area on 29 December 1844. Comet is home to a "dig tree" established by Leichhardt to indicate to others where he had buried food and journals.
Today, the area around Comet supports cotton and grain production as well as cattle feedlots.
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...
. The town is located on the Capricorn Highway
Capricorn Highway
The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is approximately 560 kilometres long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine...
, 859 kilometres (534 mi) north west of the state capital, 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...
. 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,...
, Comet and the surrounding area had a population of 233.
Comet is the oldest town in the Emerald region, established at the confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
of the Comet River
Comet River
The Comet River is a river in Central Queensland that starts to the south of Rolleston. It then flows north through Comet towards a confluence with the Nogoa River where they both become known as the Mackenzie River...
with the Nogoa River
Nogoa River
The Nogoa River rises on the Carnarvon Range in the Carnarvon National Park in Central Queensland and flows in a north easterly direction. The river ends where it meets the Comet River north of Comet. From this point the river is called the Mackenzie River....
. Originally called Cometville, the town takes its name from the river, named by explorer Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
who made observations of Comet Wilmot (C/1844 Y2) in the area on 29 December 1844. Comet is home to a "dig tree" established by Leichhardt to indicate to others where he had buried food and journals.
Today, the area around Comet supports cotton and grain production as well as cattle feedlots.
External links
- Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia at Project Gutenberg