Murgon, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Murgon is a town in Queensland
, Australia
. It is situated on the Bunya Highway
270 kilometres north-west of the state capital, Brisbane
.
Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett
, the southern part of the Burnett River
catchment
. Attractions of Murgon include winemaking
, fishing
on the nearby Bjelke-Petersen Dam
and gem
-fossicking.
Industries include peanut
s, dairy farming
, beef
and cattle production and wine.
The Indigenous Australian settlement of Cherbourg
is just south of Murgon.
In 1969 a tramway electrical substation located at Logan Road in Brisbane was dismantled and rebuilt in Murgon. This unusual link to Brisbane's tram system
is located at the southern end of the town's railway station.
site. The Murgon fossil site
is the only such site in Australia with a diverse vertebrate
fauna
dating to the early Eocene
epoch, around 55 million years ago, only 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is situated on the Bunya Highway
Bunya Highway
The Bunya Highway is a 173 kilometre state highway of Queensland, Australia. It is a relatively short road, running approximately 170 kilometres in a south-westerly direction from Goomeri to Dalby. The highway connects the Warrego and Burnett Highways....
270 kilometres north-west of the state capital, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
.
Murgon is in the region of Queensland known as the South Burnett
South Burnett
The South Burnett is a peanut growing and wine-producing region on the Great Dividing Range, north of the Darling Downs, in Queensland.-Towns:...
, the southern part of the Burnett River
Burnett River
The Burnett River is a river in central Queensland, Australia that empties into the Pacific Ocean near the city of Bundaberg. The Burnett River region is largely given over to growing sugar cane....
catchment
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
. Attractions of Murgon include winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
on the nearby Bjelke-Petersen Dam
Bjelke-Petersen Dam
Construction of Bjelke-Petersen Dam near Cherbourg in Queensland, commenced in 1984 and finished in 1988. It created the lake that was named Lake Barambah after the original property in the region. The dam supplies water to the South Burnett region, mostly for irrigation purposes.The dam wall is ...
and gem
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
-fossicking.
Industries include peanut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s, dairy farming
Dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, enterprise, for long-term production of milk, usually from dairy cows but also from goats and sheep, which may be either processed on-site or transported to a dairy factory for processing and eventual retail sale.Most dairy farms...
, beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
and cattle production and wine.
The Indigenous Australian settlement of Cherbourg
Cherbourg, Queensland
Cherbourg is a town in the South Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. It is located off the Bunya Highway approximately north-west of Brisbane and from the town of Murgon. It is situated very close to the dam wall of Bjelke-Petersen Dam. Attractions in Cherbourg include the 'Bert Button...
is just south of Murgon.
In 1969 a tramway electrical substation located at Logan Road in Brisbane was dismantled and rebuilt in Murgon. This unusual link to Brisbane's tram system
Trams in Brisbane
The Brisbane tramway network once served Brisbane, the capital city of Queensland, Australia. It operated between 1885 and 1969 and ran on standard gauge track. The electric system was originally energised to 500 volts, and subsequently increased to 600 volts. All tramcars built in Brisbane up to...
is located at the southern end of the town's railway station.
Fossils
Murgon is also close to a famous fossilFossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
site. The Murgon fossil site
Murgon fossil site
The Murgon fossil site is a paleontological site of early Eocene age in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. It lies near the town of Murgon, some 270 km north-west of Brisbane...
is the only such site in Australia with a diverse vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
dating to the early Eocene
Eocene
The Eocene Epoch, lasting from about 56 to 34 million years ago , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Palaeocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch. The start of the...
epoch, around 55 million years ago, only 10 million years after the extinction of the dinosaurs.