Mitchell, Queensland

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title: "Mitchell, Queensland" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mitchell,-queensland", "towns-in-queensland", "populated-places-established-in-1864", "maranoa-region", "localities-in-queensland"] topic_path: "general/mitchell-queensland" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell,_Queensland" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Australian place"]

FieldValue
typetown
nameMitchell
stateqld
imageMitchell Maranoa River DSC03260.JPG
captionLooking downstream on the Maranoa River on the eastern side of Mitchell
coordinates
pop995
pop_year
pop_footnotes
established1864
postcode4465
area602.9
timezoneAEST
utc+10:00
dist1587
dir1W
location1Brisbane
dist2441
dir2W
location2Toowoomba
dist389
dir3E
location3Morven
dist4178
dir4E
location4Charleville
elevation336.3
maxtemp27.9
mintemp11.9
rainfall562.3
lgaMaranoa Region
countyDublin
stategovWarrego
fedgovMaranoa
near-nKilmorey Falls
near-neWalhallow
near-eWalhallow
near-seAmby
near-sEurella
near-swWomalilla
near-wWomalilla
near-nwForestvale
::

| type = town | name = Mitchell | state = qld | image = Mitchell Maranoa River DSC03260.JPG | caption = Looking downstream on the Maranoa River on the eastern side of Mitchell | coordinates = | pop = 995 | pop_year = | pop_footnotes = | established = 1864 | postcode = 4465 | area = 602.9 | timezone = AEST | utc = +10:00 | dist1 = 587 | dir1 =W | location1 =Brisbane | dist2 =441 | dir2 =W | location2 =Toowoomba | dist3 =89 | dir3 =E | location3 =Morven | dist4 =178 | dir4 =E | location4 =Charleville | elevation = 336.3 | maxtemp = 27.9 | mintemp = 11.9 | rainfall = 562.3 | lga = Maranoa Region | county = Dublin | stategov = Warrego | fedgov = Maranoa | near-n = Kilmorey Falls | near-ne = Walhallow | near-e = Walhallow | near-se = Amby | near-s = Eurella | near-sw = Womalilla | near-w = Womalilla | near-nw = Forestvale

Mitchell is a rural town and locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. The town services the local area, a cattle and sheep farming district. In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 995 people.

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Mitchell_Maranoa_River_DSC03261.JPG" caption="Sign on the Warrego Highway at the western entrance to Mitchell"] ::

Mitchell is on the Warrego Highway, 587 km west of Brisbane, 441 km west of Toowoomba, 230 km west of Miles, 89 km west of Roma and 178 km east of Charleville. The Warrego Highway passes through town to form the main street, Cambridge Street. The Maranoa River flows around the northern and eastern sides of the town before eventually flowing into the Balonne River.

The Western railway passes through the locality, entering from the east (Amby / Walhallow) and exiting to the west (Womalilla). The locality is served by a number of railway stations, from west to east:

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/1946_centenary_memorial,_Mitchell,_Queensland.jpg" caption="Centenary memorial erected in 1946 at Mitchell, Queensland to commemorate explorer Thomas Mitchell's naming of the nearby Maranoa River."] ::

Before the arrival of Europeans, the Maranoa region was occupied by the Mandandanji and Gunggari Aboriginal peoples. Based on archaeological excavations in the Mount Moffatt area, it has been deduced that the Aboriginals had lived there for around 19,500 years. Descendants of the original peoples still live in and visit the area today.

Mandandanji (also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Maranoa Regional Council, particularly Roma, Yuleba and Surat, then east towards Chinchilla and south-west towards Mitchell and St George.

The town is named after Sir Thomas Mitchell explorer and Surveyor General of New South Wales, who explored the area in 1846.

In 1862, Edmund Morey established the property of Mitchell Downs. When the original homestead was partially destroyed by a flood in 1864, Thomas Close acquired the building's ruins and established the Mitchell Downs Hotel.

On 1 January 1865, Mitchell Downs Post Office opened and around 1878 was renamed Mitchell Post Office.

Mitchell State School opened on 1 April 1876 as a primary school. In 1961, it was expanded to include a secondary school.

The first St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by Bishop Robert Dunne on Saturday 15 November 1884. On Sunday 24 April 1938, the new St Columba's Catholic Church was officially opened and blessed by Monsignor McKenna of Toowoomba. It was designed by J.P. Donoghue. The timber church was built by contractor F.T. Woollam at a cost of £3000. It can seat 350 people.

The foundation block for the first All Saints' Anglican Church in Mitchell was laid by Coadjutor Bishop Nathaniel Dawes on Wednesday 13 November 1889. The church was officially opened on Tuesday 5 August 1890 by Bishop William Webber. It was designed by architect John H. Buckeridge. It was 45x25 ft and could seat 150 people. It was built from cypress pine by Roma contractors, Allen Clell & Sons, at a cost of £274. The current All Saints' Anglican Church was built in 1965. It was designed by Ford Hutton, Newell, Black, and Paulson. This brick church can seat 110 people.

A Wesleyan Methodist Church was opened in Mitchell in April 1894. It could seat 80 people. It was built from timber at a cost of £200. Following the amalgamations of various denominations, it later became Mitchell Methodist Church and then Mitchell Uniting Church. It was at 82 Mary Street (). It has closed and been converted into a house.

In 1902, after a short stand-off, bushrangers Patrick and James Kenniff were captured south of Mitchell at a location previously known as Back Creek but now known as Arrest Creek. Patrick was hanged in 1903 for the murder of Constable George Doyle (who had previously served at Wyandra) and Albert Dahlke, while James was released after 12 years imprisonment and died peacefully in 1940.

Long Gully Provisional School opened in 1915 on the road from Mitchell to St George; it closed in 1918.

St Patrick's Catholic Primary School opened on 4 November 1923.

Mitchell Aboriginal Provisional School opened on 1 May 1935 and was later proclaimed Mitchell Aboriginal State School. It closed on 19 November 1948.

At the 2006 census, Mitchell had a population of 944.

Mitchell was once the administrative centre of the Shire of Booringa local government area. Since 2008, the town is now part of the Maranoa Region.

In the March 2010 floods, the Maranoa River reached a peak of 13.4 m in the town causing an inundation of 25 houses. The town experienced the worst flooding ever in 2012 when a monsoon trough hovered over central and southern Queensland and nearly inundated Charleville, 180 km to the west.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,311 people.

In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 1,031 people.

In the , the locality of Mitchell had a population of 995 people.

Heritage listings

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Mitchell_Railway_Station,_Queensland,_July_2013.JPG" caption="Mitchell railway station (looking towards Roma and Toowoomba)"] ::

Mitchell has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Amenities

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Maranoa_Library.jpg" caption="Mitchell Library, 2011"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Mitchell_QCWA_Hall_September_2019.jpg" caption="QCWA Hall in Cambridge Street"] ::

Mitchell is home to the Booringa Heritage Museum housed in the old Booringa Shire Council workshop building.

The Maranoa Regional Council operates a public library and the Maranoa Art Gallery at the old Maranoa Theatre building in Cambridge Street. From here it provides public Wi-Fi by way of a high speed ISDN Internet Connection (powered through the National Broadband Network) to Brisbane.

St Columba's Catholic Church is at 86 Alice Street ().

All Saints' Anglican Church is at 118 Alice Street ().

The Mitchell branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 87 Cambridge Street.

Education

Mitchell State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep–10) school for boys and girls at 105 Cambridge Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 132 students with 16 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 137 students with 15 teachers (13 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (10 full-time equivalent). Students come from Mitchell, Mungallala, Amby and surrounding properties. Students in Years 11 and 12 are taken by bus to Roma State College in Roma.

St Patrick's Primary School is a Catholic primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 100 Alice Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 37 students with 2 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 32 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).

A major language revival effort has been under way in Queensland schools since St Patrick's School started teaching the Gunggari language around 2013. Since then, Mitchell State School has also started teaching Gunggari.

Facilities

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mitchell_Ambulance_Station_September_2019.jpg" caption="Mitchell Ambulance Station, 2019"] ::

Facilities in Mitchell include:

  • Mitchell Police Station ()
  • Mitchell Fire Station ()
  • Mitchell SES Facility ()
  • Mitchell Multipurpose Health Service, a public hospital ()
  • Mitchell Ambulance Station ()
  • Mitchell Monumental Cemetery ()
  • Mitchell Water Treatment Plant ()

Climate

Mitchell has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cold winters by Queensland standards. On 15 August 1979 Mitchell recorded a minimum temperature of -9.4 °C, which is the third coldest temperature ever recorded in the state. Mitchell has the largest overall temperature range recorded in Australia (56.2 °C, -9.4 °C to 46.8 °C). The town gets an average of 157.5 clear days annually. |location = Mitchell |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |rain colour = green |Jan record high C = 46.8 |Feb record high C = 43.0 |Mar record high C = 42.1 |Apr record high C = 36.5 |May record high C = 33.0 |Jun record high C = 30.2 |Jul record high C = 29.2 |Aug record high C = 36.2 |Sep record high C = 39.3 |Oct record high C = 40.8 |Nov record high C = 42.7 |Dec record high C = 46.2 |year record high C = 46.8 |Jan high C = 34.1 |Feb high C = 32.9 |Mar high C = 31.1 |Apr high C = 27.5 |May high C = 23.2 |Jun high C = 19.7 |Jul high C = 19.4 |Aug high C = 21.8 |Sep high C = 25.8 |Oct high C = 29.4 |Nov high C = 32.0 |Dec high C = 33.7 |year high C = 27.5 |Jan low C = 20.0 |Feb low C = 19.5 |Mar low C = 16.8 |Apr low C = 11.5 |May low C = 7.1 |Jun low C = 4.3 |Jul low C = 2.8 |Aug low C = 3.9 |Sep low C = 7.5 |Oct low C = 12.3 |Nov low C = 16.1 |Dec low C = 18.5 |year low C = 11.7 |Jan record low C = 10.1 |Feb record low C = 8.8 |Mar record low C = 4.0 |Apr record low C = -0.9 |May record low C = -6.4 |Jun record low C = -6.2 |Jul record low C = -6.1 |Aug record low C = -9.4 |Sep record low C = -3.2 |Oct record low C = -1.4 |Nov record low C = 3.6 |Dec record low C = 7.5 |year record low C = -9.4 |Jan rain mm = 81.9 |Feb rain mm = 72.5 |Mar rain mm = 61.3 |Apr rain mm = 33.8 |May rain mm = 32.4 |Jun rain mm = 34.4 |Jul rain mm = 33.1 |Aug rain mm = 23.5 |Sep rain mm = 26.4 |Oct rain mm = 42.5 |Nov rain mm = 58.2 |Dec rain mm = 71.9 |Jan rain days = 7.4 |Feb rain days = 6.1 |Mar rain days = 5.5 |Apr rain days = 3.7 |May rain days = 3.8 |Jun rain days = 4.1 |Jul rain days = 4.2 |Aug rain days = 3.3 |Sep rain days = 3.9 |Oct rain days = 5.2 |Nov rain days = 6.3 |Dec rain days = 7.3 |unit rain days = 0.2mm |humidity colour=green |Jan humidity = 35 |Feb humidity = 38 |Mar humidity = 36 |Apr humidity = 36 |May humidity = 39 |Jun humidity = 41 |Jul humidity = 37 |Aug humidity = 31 |Sep humidity = 26 |Oct humidity = 28 |Nov humidity = 30 |Dec humidity = 31 |year humidity = 34 |source 1 = Bureau of Meteorology |date=August 2016}}

Attractions

The Great Artesian Spa was opened in 1998 and is situated in the town's aquatic centre. There are two pools of artesian water, one heated and the other designed for those who prefer a cooler experience. Both spa pools have been designed with disabled access in mind and facilities include a chairlift to allow easy access for physically disabled people. The water used in the spa pools is renewed regularly and comes from the Great Artesian Basin, which is one of the largest artesian basins in the world, which underlies around one-fifth of Australia. It covers a total area of more than 1,711,000 square kilometres, and has been relied upon for the town water supply since 1927.

Other attractions include:

  • Mitchell Yumba Interpretive Trail
  • Neil Turner Weir
  • The Kenniff Courthouse
  • Kenniff Brothers Sculpture at Arrest Creek
  • Major Mitchell's Campsite, 38 kilometres north of Mitchell
  • Musical Cattle Grid, on the banks of the Maranoa River There is a Visitor Information Centre located at the Great Artesian Spa complex, next door to the Mitchell Memorial Swimming Pool.

Notable people

References

References

  1. {{cite QPN. 22362. Mitchell. town in Maranoa Region
  2. {{cite QPN. 47435. Mitchell. locality in Maranoa Region
  3. [http://www.queenslandholidays.com.au/destinations/outback/places-to-visit/mitchell/ Queensland holidays] {{webarchive. link. (7 June 2008 – places to visit – outback – Queensland holidays. Retrieved 1 March 2009)
  4. link. (25 July 2008 – "Maranoa river at Mitchell". Retrieved 1 March 2009)
  5. {{Queensland Globe
  6. (2 October 2020). "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". [[Queensland Government]].
  7. (22 October 2020). "Airports - Queensland". [[Queensland Government]].
  8. "Mitchell Airport - YMIT - MTQ - Airport Guide".
  9. "Airports".
  10. (15 January 2020). "Mandandanji".
  11. Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions.
  12. {{Cite QldSchool
  13. (2020-02-10). "Our school".
  14. (19 November 1884). "DR. DUNNE MITCHELL.". [[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]].
  15. Blake, Thom. "St Columba's Catholic Church (1938)".
  16. (11 March 1937). "New churches for Goondiwindi and Mitchell". [[The Catholic Advocate]].
  17. (13 November 1889). "Advertising". [[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]].
  18. (26 July 1890). "Correspondence". [[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]].
  19. (30 July 1890). "Advertising". [[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]].
  20. Blake, Thom. "All Saints' Anglican Church (1890)".
  21. "Ford, Hutton & Newell".
  22. Blake, Thom. "All Saints' Anglican Church (1965)".
  23. (14 April 1894). "Visit to the West.". [[The Telegraph (Brisbane).
  24. Blake, Thom. "Wesleyan Methodist Church".
  25. (April 2008). "Mitchell Uniting Church (former) - Streetview".
  26. {{Cite QPN. 860. Arrest Creek. watercourse in the Maranoa Region
  27. ''The Kenniff centenary moot.'' Mitchell, Queensland. 22 June 2002.
  28. "Queensland schools past and present". [[Queensland Family History Society]].
  29. (22 November 1923). "Mitchell Convent School". [[The Catholic Advocate]].
  30. {{Census 2006 AUS
  31. (4 February 2012). "Queensland town braces for worst flood". News Limited.
  32. {{Census 2011 AUS
  33. {{Census 2016 AUS
  34. {{Census 2021 AUS
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  54. {{BoM Aust stats. (February 2013)
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mitchell,-queenslandtowns-in-queenslandpopulated-places-established-in-1864maranoa-regionlocalities-in-queensland