Julia Creek

Julia Creek is a town in mid northern Queensland, located on the Flinders Highway (Overlander's Way), the main road between Mount Isa and Townsville. It is 664km west of Townsville, and is located 123 m above sea level. At the 2016 census, Julia Creek had a population of 511.HistoryThe town was named after the niece of Donald McIntyre, the first white settler in the area. McIntyre took up a property called Dalgonally about 70km north of the present site of the town in 1864, only a few years after the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition passed through the area. The township began life as a temporary terminus in 1907 when the railway was extended from Richmond to service the copper mines at Cloncurry.Julia Creek Post Office opened by September 1910 (a receiving office had been open from 1907).A one-room school was established in 1911 with nine students, and was expanded in 1932 and again in 1934. A separate high school was constructed in 1963. A sixteen-bed hospital was established in 1972. The town did not receive electricity until 1952.EconomyThe town's main industries are farming,, and mining, which is mainly centred on the BHP Billiton mine at nearby Cannington. The town is a major centre for cattle sales and stock trucking, with a large saleyard and associated facilities. Prior to the expansion of the railway to the larger towns of Cloncurry and Mount Isa, the town was also a major transport hub for freight and passengers. Julia Creek is also home to the Julia Creek Dunnart which is now endangered because of feral animals.-