Selwyn, Queensland

Selwyn is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] Selwyn is now an abandoned mining town. In the 2016 census the locality of Selwyn had a population of 50 people.[1]

Selwyn
Queensland
Selwyn
Coordinates21.5255°S 140.5019°E / -21.5255; 140.5019 (Selwyn (town centre))
Population50 (2016 census locality)[1]
 • Density0.0048/km2 (0.0123/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4823
Area10,504.7 km2 (4,055.9 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Shire of Cloncurry
State electorate(s)Traeger
Federal Division(s)Kennedy
Suburbs around Selwyn:
Duchess Kuridala McKinlay
Dajarra Selwyn Middleton
Buckingham Warenda Warburton

History
Mount Elliott Mine, 1909

Selwyn takes its name from the Selwyn Range, which was named in turn after Alfred Richard Cecil Selwyn, a geologist who was Director of the Geological Survey of Victoria from 1852 to 1869. It was formerly known as Mount Elliott after the prospector James Elliott who discovered copper and gold in the area in 1889.[2][3]

Mount Elliott Provisional School opened on 1908. On 1 January 1909 it became Mount Elliott State School. In 1912 it was renamed Selwyn State School. It closed circa 1936.[4]

On 15 December 1910 the Selwyn railway line opened to service the Hampden and Mount Elliott mines. It was a branch of the Great Northern Railway and ran south from Cloncurry to Selwyn.[5]

Selwyn's population peaked in 1918 with an estimated population of 1500 people with a hospital and four hotels. However, in 1920, copper prices collapsed and by 1921 only 191 people were still living in Selwyn.[5]

Mount Cobalt Provisional School opened on 1924 and closed on 1926.[4]

The railway line to Selwyn was closed in 1961.[5]

In the 2016 census the locality of Selwyn had a population of 50 people.[1]

Heritage listings

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

Present day

Although the town of Selwyn is now abandoned, the mining and processing of phosphate occurs in the south-west of the locality at Phosphate Hill (21.8787°S 139.979°E / -21.8787; 139.979 (Phosphate Hill)). The facility employs about 250 people with annual capacity of 975,000 tonnes.[7][8] The mine is serviced by the on-site Phosphate Hill Power Station.[9] The mine is serviced by the Phosphate Hill railway station at the terminus of the Phosphate Hill railway line which branches from the Great Northern Line at the Flynn railway station.[10]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Selwyn (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Selwyn – town in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 30388)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. "Selwyn – locality in Shire of Cloncurry (entry 42494)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  5. "Selwyn". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  6. "Mount Elliott Mining Complex (entry 645612)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  7. "Phosphate Hill" (PDF). Incitec Pivot. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  8. "Phosphate Hill". miningoilgas. 2013. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  9. "Phosphate Hill - Chemicals Technology". www.chemicals-technology.com. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  10. "Mt Isa System" (PDF). Queensland Rail. May 2007. Retrieved 4 September 2015.
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