Barcaldine

Barcaldine is a small town and locality in the Barcaldine Region in Central West Queensland, Australia. Barcaldine played a major role in the Australian labour movement. In the 2011 census, the town of Barcaldine had a population of 1,316 people, while the locality had a population of 1,655 people.GeographyBarcaldine is approximately 520km by road west of the city of Rockhampton. The town is situated on Lagoon Creek, which flows into the Alice River approximately five kilometres south of the Barcaldine. This is the administrative centre of the Barcaldine Region. Major industries are sheep and beef cattle rearing.The streets in Barcaldine are named after different types of trees.HistoryThe town takes its name from a sheep station called Barcaldine Downs, which was established in 1863 by Donald Cameron, whose family property in Ayrshire, Scotland, which was named for Barcaldine, Argyll and Bute, Scotland.Barcaldine Post Office opened on 13 November 1886.Barcaldine State School opened on 4 July 1887.Labour movementBarcaldine played a significant role in the Australian labour movement and the birth of the Australian Labor Party. In 1891, it was one of the focal points of the 1891 Australian shearers' strike, with the Eureka Flag flying over the strike camp. The landmark Tree of Knowledge, under which the strikers met, stood outside the railway station. In 2006, persons unknown poisoned the tree with the herbicide Roundup, which led to its demise.