Mount Morgan, Queensland


Mount Morgan is a town and locality in Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was the administrative centre of the Mount Morgan Shire until March 2008, when it was amalgamated with neighbouring local government areas to form the Rockhampton Region.

Geography

The town of Mount Morgan is situated on the Dee River, south of the city of Rockhampton, and is north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Burnett Highway passes through the town.
Mount Morgan's highest point of 341 metres is located at approximately, approximately 600 metres east of the centre of the Baree township.

History

Prior to European migrants settling in the area, the area was part of the Kangulu peoples traditional lands.
Mount Morgan was founded as a gold mining town in 1882, and over time the Mount Morgan Mine has produced gold, silver and copper. Among those making a fortune from this mine was William Knox D'Arcy. D'Arcy used his fortune to finance oil exploration in Iran, which led to the formation of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Mining of clay in a nearby hill for the production of furnace bricks commenced soon after that time, continuing until the early 1900s, The resulting man-made caves came to be known as the Fireclay Caverns, which contained large openings that measure between 4–12 metres in height from the cave floor. Dinosaur footprints were later found in nine different sections of the Fireclay Caverns, lining the ceiling dated to the Early Jurassic.
Mount Morgan Post Office opened on 18 May 1885.
Mount Morgan Central State School opened in 1887 and grew so rapidly that it was separated into two schools on different sites the following year, forming Mount Morgan Boys State School and Mount Morgan Girls and Infants State School. The word 'Central' was added to the name of these two schools from 1911. They were amalgamated back into one school in 1929. With the growth of the town during the boom years other state schools opened and operated, some for many years in close proximity. These included the Red Hill State School, Walterhall State School, and Calliungal North State School. Mount Morgan State High School was the first school of its kind to open in Queensland in 1912.
The town of Mount Morgan grew in a haphazard fashion around the entrance to the mining lease near the Dee River from the early 1880s. By 1889 a number of the major religions had established congregations and erected churches including the Primitive Methodists, the Catholics and the Anglicans. That year the town's name was formally changed from 'South Calliungal' to 'Mount Morgan', and by 1891 the Queensland census recorded a population of 3514.
The railway link between Mount Morgan and Rockhampton was not built until 1898. Until that time, everything was transported by horse teams. The Mount Morgan Mining Company had a depot in Quay Street, where the wagoners would load up. Initially, there were two routes to Rockhampton, one via Crocodile and the other via Kabra, Boongarry and Moonmera. In 1885, a road was built over the Razorback Range.
Like many Australian towns, in 1899 to 1900, the Siege of Mafeking was avidly followed in the news in Mount Morgan. With every confidence in a British victory, in March 1900, the town's people decided to prepare to celebrate the relief of Mafeking as soon as it was announced. The town band was to assemble immediately on the corner of East and Morgan Streets and other entertainments were arranged, such as a bonfire and a greasy pig. On 20 May 1900, on hearing the news of the relief of Mafeking, bonfires were lit on the hills around the town, the bands were playing, and patriotic speeches were made. The celebrations did not end there, as by November 1900, a "Mafeking" bell had been installed in a tower beside the town hall. The bell had been cast at the Mount Morgan Mine and weighed 7 cwt. The sound of the bell was described as "blood curdling" and led to arguments as to whether the bell was cracked. By 1955, the wooden tower had rotted and the bell was taken down to be relocated to the verandah of the town hall. In 1969 the bell was relocated to the scout hall in Dee Street as the army leader at Mafekin was Lord Baden-Powell who established the Scouting movement in 1907. In February 2018, the bell was returned to the main street of Mount Morgan as part of a streetscape redevelopment project. There is a popular story that the schoolchildren of Mount Isa funded the bell by donating pennies, but the earliest sources so far identified for this story are from 1955, 55 years after the bell was cast, and the commemorative plaque which also presents this story was not created until 1962.
The Mount Morgan Mine finally closed in 1981, having produced vast quantities of gold during its lifetime. During the mining operation, most of the mountain was mined away, and the town now lies adjacent to a 43 m deep acid-water filled pit. Mining companies still prospect today in the area, and plans to extract further gold from tailings at the mine site are always under development. The Queensland Government, through its Department of Natural Resources Mines and Water have begun a rehabilitation project of the minesite.
At the 2006 census, Mount Morgan had a population of 2,447.
In the 2011 census, Mount Morgan had a population of 2,115 people.

Amenities

The Rockhampton Regional Council operates the Mount Morgan Library at 31 Morgan Street. The Mount Morgan Public Library opened in 1993.
The Mount Morgan branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall at 127 East Street.

Heritage listings

Mount Morgan has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Tourism plays a large part in the economy of the town today, with a visitor centre located at the old railway centre and recreation area at Dam No.7. The area was host to one of the few rack railways to operate in Australia. The rack portion of the line was replaced by a conventional adhesion railway in the 1950s, with a small portion of track retained at the town centre. In turn, the replacement line was closed in 1987, and the town no longer has a rail connection. The Mount Morgan railway station is still standing and now operates as a Museum and Tourist Information Centre. There is a regular bus service between Rockhampton, Gracemere and Mount Morgan provided by Young's Bus Service.

Events

Mount Morgan is known to hold the Golden Mount Festival in the main street at the end of April or the start of May as part of the Labour Day holiday. The festival usually starts on a Friday and finishes the next Monday. The Morgan Street is closed to vehicles during Saturday of the Festival for the day for markets and activities such as floats and "Running the Cutter" races.

Notable people