Duchess, Queensland

Duchess is a town and a locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.[2][3]

Duchess
Queensland
Duchess
Coordinates21.3577°S 139.8641°E / -21.3577; 139.8641
Population23 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density0.00588/km2 (0.0152/sq mi)
Established1897
Area3,914.8 km2 (1,511.5 sq mi)
LGA(s)Shire of Cloncurry
State electorate(s)Traeger
Federal Division(s)Kennedy
Localities around Duchess:
Mount Isa (locality) Cloncurry Kuridala
Waverley Duchess Kuridala
Dajarra Dajarra Selwyn

Geography

The town is in the east of the locality. The Cloncurry Duchess Road passes through the locality from south to east, passing through the town. The Great Northern railway passes through the locality from east to north-west, passing through the town which is served by the Duchess railway station.[4][5] The area has a train platform which leads to Cloncurry and Mount Isa (locality). Duchess is surrounded by a series of stations including Mayfield station and Stradbroke station.

In the north of the locality, there is a watershed separating into three drainage basins. The Leichhardt River and its east branch rise in the north of the locality and flows north into the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Malbon River rises in the north-east of the locality and flows north-east into the Cloncurry River and ultimately into the Flinders River and into the Gulf of Carpentaria. While the Wills Creek, Green Creek and Pigrim Creek which rise in the south of the locality flow south and into the Bourke River and ultimately into the Georgina River which theoretically flows into Lake Eyre, but only rarely is there sufficient water for this occur.[4]

History

Kalkatunga (also known as Kalkadoon, Kalkadunga, Kalkatungu) is an Australian Aboriginal language. The Kalkatunga language region is North-West Queensland including the local government areas of the City of Mount Isa.[6]

The town's name was derived from the name of the mine, which was named by pastoralist Alexander Kennedy when his son John Peter Kennedy discovered a deposit of copper there in 1897 and led to the founding of the town. (Alexander Kennedy would later be the first passenger on a Qantas plane from Cloncurry.) Duchess was the name or nickname of the Aboriginal consort of pastoralist St John de Satge (who was nicknamed "The Duke", who had run away and sought refuge at Kennedy's Calton Downs station. A 1987 map indicates that Duchess was previously named Mairindi.[2]

In the 1911 census, the town had a population of 397. By 1915 the population boomed to over 1000. By the 1920s, the town's population dropped. At its peak and for a while afterwards, Duchess was home to four pubs, a school, a post office, a train station, and four automobile garages.

Present day

Duchess currently has a population of 2 which consists of the owners of the now standalone "Duchess Pub".

Transport
Long distance rail services
Preceding station   Queensland Rail   Following station
toward Townsville
The Inlander
Mount Isa
Terminus

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Duchess (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  2. "Duchess - town in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 10650)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  3. "Duchess - locality in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 44672)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  5. "Duchess - railway station in the Shire of Cloncurry (entry 10651)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  6. This Wikipedia article incorporates CC-BY-4.0 licensed text from: "Kalkatunga". Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages map. State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
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