Blackwater is both a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia, 190 km west of Rockhampton. It is a town in a significant coal mining area in Central Queensland. The name of the township was inspired by the dark colour of local waterholes.
Blackwater was established on Kanolu territory, and is named after the Blackwater Creek which apparently was first observed to flow with black water, believed to be caused by the local coal deposits. Coal deposits were discovered there by Ludwig Leichhardt on his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington in 1845. Leichhardt saw "beds of coal indistinguishable from those on the Hunter at Newcastle". Blackwater Post Office opened on 19 July 1877.Blackwater State School opened on 21 November 1877. It wasn't until over a century after Leichhardt first discovered the beds of coal at Blackwater that the town saw major coal mining development. With the opening up of several coal mines near the town in the 1960s, Blackwater's population rapidly increased as people searching for work flocked to find employment in the town's booming mining industry. There were 77 people living in Blackwater when the 1961 census was recorded. This increased to almost 2,000 when the 1971 census was recorded. Blackwater State High School opened on 30 January 1973. By the mid-late 1970s, the population of Blackwater was more than 10,000 people. At that time the town had 3 Rugby League clubs: South Blackwater, Blackwater Devils and Blackwater Centrals. Blackwater North State School opened on 30 January 1979. The town's population peaked in the early 1990s with 6,760 people living in Blackwater in 1991. Since then, the population of the town has gradually waned. In the, there were still over 5,000 people living in the Blackwater community. Approximately 100,000 workers were employed in coal mining at Blackwater over its 50-year history. The town has provided considerable economic development for Queensland and Australia more generally.
Facilities
The Central Highlands Regional Council Library Services operates a Library in Blackwater at the Community Centre on Wey Street. Frank Tutungi Memorial Lions Park is on the corner of the Capricorn Highway and Mackenzie Street. It is named after one of the Blackwater Lions Charter Members, Frank Tutungi was one of the original members of the Blackwater Lions Club and was the first from Blackwater to become a District Governor. The park displays the flags of the 37 nationalities who lived and worked in the town. The Blackwater branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the QCWA Hall at 1 Ardurad Road.
Education
Blackwater State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at Wey Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 183 students with 14 teachers and 18 non-teaching staff. Blackwater North State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at William Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 397 students with 27 teachers and 19 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program. Blackwater State High School is a government secondary school for boys and girls at Elm Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 316 students with 36 teachers and 24 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
Notable people from Blackwater
Olympic track cyclistAnna Meares was born in Blackwater in 1983. In 2012, Anna Meares had a street named after her in the town when Meares Street was constructed as part of a new subdivision in the centre of Blackwater. Australian television personality, actor and comedian Josh Thomas was born in Blackwater in 1987 but moved with his family to Brisbane soon after. Australian rugby league players PJ Marsh and David Taylor both grew up in Blackwater and have represented various teams in the National Rugby League competition. Wayne Denning was born in Blackwater. He established the award-winning creative agency Carbon Creative.
