The Border Tree at Wallangarra

Wallangarra
Tiny township on the New South Wales-Queensland border.
There is nothing particularly impressive about Wallangarra on the New South Wales-Queensland border. If the two states had behaved like reasonable governments then the town would probably never have come into existence. However the decisions by the two governments to build railways of different gauges (1067 mm for Queensland and 1435 mm for New South Wales) ensured that this tiny settlement became a major railway junction. From the completion of the railway in 1887 until common sense prevailed in 1930 every passenger travelling either north or south had to alight at Wallangarra and board another train. Not surprisingly the town's most distinctive feature, and its only real attraction, is the rather grand Victorian railway station. Such is the stupidity of politicians.

Located 258 km from Brisbane via Cunningham's Gap and 769 km from Sydney via the New England Highway, Wallangarra (the Aboriginal name possibly means 'lagoon' - 'wallan' meaning water and 'guran' meaning long) is Queensland's southern most township.

It was first settled in the 1840s as graziers pushed into the rich grazing country of the Darling Downs. In 1865 the border tree (it still stands rather forlornly behind the Tourist Information Office) was marked by Surveyor Roberts. And in the late 1880s, with the advent of the railway, the settlement had grown sufficiently for the first school to be built.

It was an isolated settlement which, with its altitude at 877 metres above sea level, was colder than most of Queensland. It may have been located in Queensland but it was very much a part of a range of mountains which included towns like Glen Innes and Armidale. Although climatically it points south in many other ways it is very much a Queensland town. In spite of the winter cold the town has a number of typical tropical Queensland houses raised well above the ground to allow the air to circulate freely. A rather unpleasant thought when the temperature drops below zero.

	Hotels
	Jennings Hotel Duke St Wallangarra QLD 4383 Telephone: (07) 4684 3237
	Wallangara Hotel Tenterfield St Wallangarra QLD 4383 Telephone: (07) 4684 3214