Charleville (Queensland)

Charleville is a town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Charleville had a population of 3,728 people.GeographyLocated in south western Queensland, Australia, Charleville is 683km west of Brisbane (the Queensland capital). It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Shire of Murweh, which covers an area of 43,905 square kilometres. Charleville is situated on the banks of the Warrego River, and is the terminus for the Warrego Highway.HistoryThe first European exploration of the area was conducted by Edmund Kennedy in 1847. A hotel was built in 1865, and a town began to grow to service the region. It was situated near Gowrie's Crossing, a permanent waterhole, now on the outskirts of the modern town. Gowrie Station had been established around the crossing along a natural stock route, for the grazing of sheep and cattle. The town was gazetted in 1868 with very wide streets to enable bullock teams of up to 14 pairs to turn with their wagons. It was William Alcock Tully, then government assistant surveyor, who laid out the town's streets. An Irishman, Tully probably named the town after the town of Charleville, County Cork, Ireland. Members of the Roma-based Skinner family established a store in the town in 1872 that became known as the Warrego Stores.