Richmond, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Richmond is a town in western Queensland
, Australia
. The town is located on the Flinders Highway
, 498 km west of Townsville and 406 km east of Mount Isa. It is the administrative centre of the Richmond Shire. At the 2006 census
, Richmond had a population of 554.
The Flinders River
forms the northern boundary of the town. Traditionally, the two biggest industries in Richmond are sheep- and cattle-farming, however tourism is an increasingly important aspect of the local economy. In addition to being a major transit stop on the Flinders Highway, recent paleontological
discoveries have unearthed the fossils of prehistoric marine creatures, some of which are on display in Richmond.
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...
. The town is located on the Flinders Highway
Flinders Highway, Queensland
Flinders Highway is a highway that crosses Queensland from east to west, from Townsville on the Pacific coast to Cloncurry . Flinders Highway and passes a number of small outback towns. Typical outback landscape predominates towards the inland...
, 498 km west of Townsville and 406 km east of Mount Isa. It is the administrative centre of the Richmond Shire. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, Richmond had a population of 554.
The Flinders River
Flinders River
The Flinders River is the longest river in Queensland, Australia at about . The river rises in the Burra Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, 110 km northeast of Hughenden and flows in a westerly direction past Hughenden, Richmond and Julia Creek then northwest to the Gulf of Carpentaria...
forms the northern boundary of the town. Traditionally, the two biggest industries in Richmond are sheep- and cattle-farming, however tourism is an increasingly important aspect of the local economy. In addition to being a major transit stop on the Flinders Highway, recent paleontological
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
discoveries have unearthed the fossils of prehistoric marine creatures, some of which are on display in Richmond.