Bogantungan, Queensland

Bogantungan is a town in the locality of Willows in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia.GeographyThe town is 930km north west of the state capital Brisbane and 350km west of the regional city of Rockhampton.The Central Western railway line passes through the town which is served by the Bogantungan railway station. The small number of houses in the town are located around the railway station. The Capricorn Highway once passed through the town but now bypasses it to the north.HistoryAs the railway headed west from Rockhampton, a number of towns sprang up at the head of line. These towns were only intended to service the work of the crews laying the rails, but some have lasted over a century. Bogantungan was one of these. It became a town of some thousands of people, with around 30 hotels. After the line moved on, so did most of the town, to form the next settlement.Bogantungan Post Office opened on 8 July 1881 and closed in 1982.On 26 February 1960, Bogantungan became the site of one of Queensland's worst train disasters. The Midlander passenger train, heading east to Rockhampton, passed over the flooded Medway Creek, just west of the town. The bridge collapsed when the train was partly over, with a number of carriages dropping into the water. A total of 4 passengers and 3 crew were killed, with 43 injured.