'Historical House', built in 1881 as the local branch of the Queensland National Bank.

Charleville
Interesting township in western Queensland.
Located 750 km from Brisbane and 300 m above sea-level, Charleville is an attractive town on the banks of the Warrego River.

The area around Charleville was first explored by Edmund Kennedy during his 1847 journey through the area. At the time he was trying to solve the riddle of the rivers. His expedition succeeded in establishing that the waterways in Central Queensland, particularly the Barcoo, which Thomas Mitchell had called the 'Victoria', flowed south into the Channel country rather than north into the Gulf of Carpentaria. During this expedition Kennedy passed within 10 km of the present site of Charleville.

By the 1860s the area was being settled and as early as 1866 a pub and a general store had appeared on the site of modern-day Charleville.

In 1868 William Alcock Tully, the then Queensland under-secretary for public lands and chief commissioner for crown lands, surveyed the town and named it after his boyhood home in County Cork, Ireland. The name had originally come from France.

By 1888, when the population had grown to 1470, it was a thriving centre with a number of hotels, a brewery, a cordial factory, four sawmills and three butcheries.

Prior to the arrival of the railway in 1888 (and even until the early 1900s) as many as 500 bullock teams passed through each year, carrying woolclip to the railhead at Roma.

The location of the town at a permanent waterhole meant that it was on major stock routes through the area. By the 1880s it had become an important stopover point for Cobb & Co who established a major coach building factory in the town in 1893. It employed over 40 people (blacksmiths, wheelwrights, trimmers, painters and coach builders) and a sawmill was built to cater specifically for the timber needs of the factory. It was closed down in 1920.

In the 1920s the town was at the forefront of the country's infant aviation industry. On 2 November 1922 the first regular Qantas service took off from Charleville with a 400-pound payload and 160 letters. It was bound for Cloncurry.

Today these links with transportation are still important. The town is home to both the southern Queensland base of the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the School of Distance Education.

Things to see:  

The Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Southern Queensland base of the Royal Flying Doctor Service is located on the Old Cunnamulla Road to the east of town. It is open for inspection from 8.00 am - 4.00 pm daily.

While most other Flying Doctor bases tend to show videos on the workings of the service the Charleville office is proud of the fact that visitors are taken through a working operation. There is no charge, although donations are appreciated.

The School of Distance Education
Voluntary contributions are also appreciated next door at the School of Distance Education (previously known as the School of the Air). It is open from 8.30 am - 3.30 pm and the principal recommends a morning visit as that is when classes are held with the youngest pupils. There is a viewing area beside the studio where visitors can listen in on the lessons. The school includes students from as far afield as Fraser Island in the east to Hungerford in the south-west. An excellent information book outlining its functions and educational techniques is available.

Historical House
The town's 'Historical House', located in Alfred Street at the northern end of town, is particularly interesting. It was built in 1881 as the local branch of the Queensland National Bank with the teller's area, the safe and the manager's office at the front and accommodation for the manager's family, including the maid's quarters, at the back. The historical society have preserved the original functions and filled each room with appropriate pieces of furniture and memorabilia. A book on the shire's history, entitled Murweh Shire: 100 Years of Local Government 1880-1980, is available.

The Steiger Vortex Rainmaker Gun

Steiger Gun
To the south of town (on the western side of the road, in front of the scout hall) is the Steiger Gun. This bizarre piece of Western Queensland history is captioned: 'Steiger Vortex Rainmaker Gun. One of ten guns used by the Queensland Government Meteorologist Prof. Clement Wragge at Charleville, September 26 1902.' It was a vain attempt to induce a deluge and thus break the drought which had been going on since 1896. Wragge's novel approach was to send blasts of air into the atmosphere. He persuaded the authorities in Brisbane to build Steiger guns which he duly placed around Charleville. They were all filled with gunpowder and ignited. Nothing happened. That night Wragge addressed a group of local citizens in Aeschimann's Hall in Charleville and, so rumour has it, was greeted with considerable scepticism and derision. He left town the next day.

Fauna Display
The Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service office on Park St has a bird aviary and fauna display, including several species of endangered wallabies and bilbies. It is open on weekdays from 8.30 am - 4.30 pm.

	Tourist Information
	Charleville Tourist Information Centre Enterprise Dve Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 3057
	Motels
	Charleville Motel 148 King St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1566 Rating: **
	Charleville Waltzing Matilda Motor Inn 125 Alfred St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1720 Rating: **
	Warrego Motel 77 Wills St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1299 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Charleville Cattle Camp Hotel 149 Alfred St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 3473
	Corones Hotel/Motel 33 Wills St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1022
	Hotel Charleville Cnr Wills & Alfred Sts Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1076
	Railway Hotel 74 Wills St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1091
	Caravan Parks
	Bailey Bar Caravan Park 196 King St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1744 Rating: **
	Cobb & Co Caravan Park Ridgeway St Charleville QLD 4470 Telephone: (07) 4654 1053 Rating: **