The Roma Courthouse

Roma
Major service centre for the western region of the Darling Downs.
Roma is an attractive centre located 479 km west of Brisbane and 300 m above sea level. This thriving community of nearly 7 000 people lies at the heart of a rich sheep and cattle grazing area and boasts the largest store cattle market in Australia.

Lying to the west of the Darling Downs the Roma district was first explored by Europeans when, in 1846, Sir Thomas Mitchell, the New South Wales Surveyor–General, passed through the area looking for a route from Sydney to the north coast of the continent.

On 7 May 1846 Mitchell reached Mount Abundance (he named it because he was impressed by the richness of the region). In his book Tropical Australia (1848) he recalled his first impression of the area.

'I ascended an elevated north-eastern extremity of Mount Abundance, and from it beheld the finest country I had ever seen in a primeval state - a champaign region, spotted with wood, stretching as far as human vision or even the telescope could reach.'

With such a rosy picture presented to them it was not surprising that in the next few years squatters began to move into the area.

In 1848 Allan Macpherson reached the region and laid claim to about 400 000 acres (162 000 hectares) of land which he called Mt Abundance Station. Here Macpherson built a simple wooden hut.

On 4 April 1848 he was visited by Ludwig Leichhardt who was attempting to cross Australia from east to west. Leichhardt wrote his last letter in Macpherson's hut.

The first sign of a township occurred in 1861 when a couple of crude public houses were built near to the Mount Abundance homestead. The owner at the time, Stephen Spencer, objected to this change in land use finally agreeing with a Government surveyor that a town could be laid out at a place known as Reid's Crossing. The town was gazetted in 1862 and it had three hotels before any homes were built. The new town, or rather the three pubs, was named Roma after Lady Roma Bowen, the wife of the Queensland Governor of the time. Before her marriage she had been known as Countess Diamantina Georgina Roma. The locals resisted the change and continued to call the settlement either The Bungil or Reid's Crossing.

Roma has the distinction of being the first town gazetted in the new colony of Queensland. It grew quite quickly once the area had been surveyed and by 1863 it had its own court of petty sessions, police station, doctor, chemist, and postmaster. It was proclaimed a municipality in 1867.

The railway reached the town in 1880 and the census a year later revealed that the town had grown to a point where it had a population of 1 838.

Things to see:  

Roma Visitor Information Centre
The Roma Visitor Information Centre is located in The Big Rig Complex, 2 Riggers Road, Roma. This complex is a must see for all who visit Roma. A $7 million living memorial to the pioneers of Australia's oil and gas exploration industry. Experience the development of the industry from the nations first discovery of petroleum in Roma in 1900 through a series of 12 interpretive panels, audio and other visual presentations and fully restored historic rigs and equipment. There is also a 30 minute night show using current technology and multi media to tell the story of early life in the oil and gas industry in Australia.

Roma Court House
The Roma Court House has undoubtedly been the scene of many interesting trials and judgements but few can quite match the trial of Harry Redford.

The history of Harry Redford is a tale of daring, chicanery and the outback's admiration for a criminal bushman which the novelist Rolf Boldrewood used as the basis of his famous novel Robbery Under Arms.

Redford was born in the Hawkesbury River district of New South Wales in 1842. It is likely that his father was the convict, Thomas Redford, who had arrived in Australia in 1826. By the time he was a teenager Redford was working as a drover and by 1870 he was in Central Western Queensland working on the vast Bowen Downs station which, at the time, covered 1.75 million acres. The area upon which modern day Muttaburra stands was at one end of this vast holding.

At the time Bowen Downs was running a herd of about 70 000 cattle and Redford felt that the station owners wouldn't even know if they were a thousand short on muster. Redford knew that if he stole the cattle (all of which had been branded) that he couldn't sell them in Queensland or New South Wales. So he devised a plan to drove the cattle down the Cooper Creek into South Australia. To understand how daring this plan was it is worth remembering that Burke and Wills had died attempting to make a similar journey only nine years earlier.

Amazingly Redford was successful. He drove the cattle 1300 km to the Blanche Water station in northern South Australia where he sold them for £5000. However the loss was noted and in February 1871 Redford was arrested and brought to Roma to be tried. The charge was 'that Redford, in March 1870, at Bowen Downs station, feloniously did steal 100 bullocks, 100 cows, 100 heifers, 100 steers, one white bull, the property of Morehead and Young.'

From the outset the trial had the elements of an entertainment rather than a serious investigation. Locals, captivated by Redford's consummate bushcraft and daring, packed the courtroom. The white bull stood in a yard outside the courthouse. Forty-one of the forty-eight people called as possible jurors were dismissed because they were prejudiced. The white bull took part in a line up with twenty other bulls and was immediately identified by his owner.

The evidence against Redford was overwhelming. The defence offered no witnesses and complained that Redford had been gaoled without trial.

The jury retired for an hour and then delivered their verdict. The court transcript reads as follows:

Judge: What is your verdict?
Foreman of the Jury: We find the prisoner 'Not Guilty'.
Judge: What?
Foreman of the Jury: Not guilty.
Judge: I thank God, gentlemen, that the verdict is yours, not mine!

It was an example of admiration of bushcraft overwhelming justice and on 5 April 1873 the governor of Queensland ordered that the criminal jurisdiction of the District Court at Roma be withdrawn for two years.

After his acquittal Harry Redford headed into northern Australia. He worked as a drover on the Atherton Tableland and around the Gulf country. In 1883 he moved the first herd of cattle from Queensland to the Brunette Downs station where he was appointed manager. For many years he managed the McArthur River station on the Gulf of Carpentaria and was known around Burketown as the model for Captain Starlight although he refused to acknowledge the obvious similarities.

It is sad that the Court House where Redford's trial took place no longer stands. The present Court House which was built in 1910 stands beyond the Empire Hotel (to the west) and is a typical, impressive country town building. The original Court House was located to the west of the present building.

It is still fun to drive to the Court House and reflect on the wonderful perversity of the people of Roma who let a clearly guilty man go free simply because they were in awe of his bushcraft and his droving skills.

Buildings
Other features of particular interest in Roma are the large number of gracious old houses and in the centre of town there are a number of interesting hotels. The School of Arts Hotel, built in 1918, has an unusual tower which has excellent views over the town.

Wyndham Street, which runs at right angles to the main street, has two impressive rows of bottle trees which were planted after World War 1. There is supposedly a tree for each soldier from the district who was killed in the war.

Romavilla Winery
The Romavilla Winery, on the Injune Road outside Roma, is one of the town's major tourist attractions. Although it doesn't look particularly impressive from the road the Romavilla Winery can claim to be the oldest winery in Queensland. It started operation in 1863 and has been producing wine continuously for over a century. The present cellars were built in 1878. At one point it was processing grapes from 170 000 vines. Grape growing and wine making is part of Roma's history. The first vines in the area were planted at Mt Abundance Homestead in the late 1840s and by the early 1870s wine making was an important local industry. Next door is an attractive slab cottage gallery which sells souvenirs and crafts. Contact: (07) 4622 1822.

A man trap at the Meadowbank Museum, near Roma

Meadowbank Museum
The highlight of any visit to Roma is a visit to Meadowbank Museum which is located 12 km west of the town on the road to Charleville. It is clearly signposted. The Museum has one of the finest and most unusual collections of memorabilia in the country. Of particular interest is the deadly 'man trap' used to trap Aborigines who were stealing cattle. It is a huge and ugly variation of a rabbit trap devised to break the leg and almost impossible to open once caught in it. There's a wonderful collection of old horse drawn vehicles and old motor cars (including a T model Ford) and a hay loft which dates to 1859. This is only to hint at the riches the museum offers. There area bird and animal enclosures, a picnic and play area, and for people who enjoy exploring a vast collection of local artefacts there is enough to keep even a cursory visitor busy for half a day. There is camping available and campers can inspect the museum during their stay. A phone call to (07) 4622 3836 will usually open the museum although the owners do protest that they are operating a working farm as well as a museum.

	Tourist Information
	Roma Visitor Information Centre 2 Riggers Rd Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 8676
	Motels
	Bryants Motel Bowen St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 3777 Rating: ***
	Mandalay Motel Quintin St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2711 Rating: ***
	Overlander Homestead Motel Warrego Hwy Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 3555 Rating: ***
	Roma Aussie Tourist Park 6 Bowen St (Warrego Hwy) Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 6464
	Roma Motel 11 Bowen St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2288 Rating: ***
	Wishing Well Motel 77 Quintin St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2566 Rating: **
	Carnarvon Motel Injune Rd Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1599, 1800 621 155 Facsimile: (07) 4622 4147 Rating: ***
	Hotels
	Club Hotel Motel 42 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1525 Rating: *
	Commonwealth Hotel 75 Wyndham St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1286
	Empire Hotel McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2212
	Grande Hotel 47 Wyndham St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1014
	King George Hotel 47 Station St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 5055
	Queens Arms Hotel 88 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1330
	Railway Hotel 43 Station St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1133
	Royal Hotel 99 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1324
	School of Arts Hotel 104 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2122
	Caravan Parks
	Roma Aussie Tourist Park 6 Bowen St (Warrego Hwy) Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 6464
	Roma Big Rig Van Park 4 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2538 Rating: **
	Villa Tourist Park Injune Rd Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1309 Rating: ***
	Restaurants
	Aussies Dial A Pizza 117 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 6244
	Commonwealth Hotel 75 Wyndham St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1286
	Golden Dragon Restaurant 60 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1717
	Grande Hotel Roma 47 Wyndham St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1014
	Kookas BP Central 22 Bowen St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 3399
	Queens Arms Hotel 88 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1330
	Roma Steakhouse 77 Quintin St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 2540
	Ruby Chinese Restaurant 119 McDowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 3233
	The Club Hotel/Motel 42 Mcdowall St Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 1322
	The Overlander Homestead Warrego Hwy Roma QLD 4455 Telephone: (07) 4622 3555