Collinsville, Queensland

Collinsville is a town and locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Collinsville had a population of 1,501 people.GeographyCollinsville is in the coal-rich Bowen Basin region of Central Queensland, 1245km north of Brisbane and 87km south-west of the coastal town of Bowen. The Bowen Developmental Road passes through the town connecting with Bowen to the north-east and the Gregory Highway at Belyando Crossing to the south-west.HistoryEuropean settlement of the region began in 1861 with the opening of the lands to pastoralists, with some cattle stations still in operation. Coal was discovered in 1866 but it wasn't until 1912 that large-scale mining operations commenced. The town was originally known as 'Moongunya', an aboriginal word that roughly translates to 'place of coal'. On 20 September 1921 it was officially renamed Collinsville after Charles Collins who was the Labor Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Bowen from 1915 to 1936.Collinsville State School opened on 27 June 1921. Collinsville Post Office opened on 21 May 1923 (a receiving office had been open from 1922). The St John Bosco Catholic School was established in 1936 under the Sisters of Mercy. The school is named after Saint John Bosco, a Roman Catholic priest who devoted himself to the betterment of children through love and education. Collinsville State High School opened on 28 January 1986.