Karumba

Karumba is a town and locality in the Shire of Carpentaria, Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Karumba had a population of 518.GeographyKarumba is in the Gulf Country region of Queensland, 71km by road from Normanton and 2159km from the state capital, Brisbane. Karumba is within the Shire of Carpentaria, the administrative headquarters of which is in Normanton. The town is sited at the mouth of the Norman River, and enjoys the distinction of being the only town along the southern Gulf of Carpentaria that is within sight of the Gulf itself (the Gulf's extensive tidal flats prohibits settlement elsewhere along its shore).The rare Morning Glory cloud rolls through Karumba in the early hours of some mornings in September and October.HistoryThe settlement was previously known as Norman Mouth and Kimberley. Karumba was used by the local aborigines to describe the place. This name was officially used for the township by the 1880s.Karumba Post Office opened on 22 August 1889 and closed in 1919.Given its access to the Gulf of Carpentaria, the town's economy has revolved largely around fishing. The prawn industry expanded in the 1960s.