Blackwater is both a town and a locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the major town in a significant coal mining area in Central Queensland. At the 2011 census,
Blackwater had a
population of 5,100
Blackwater is named after the
Blackwater Creek which apparently was first observed to flow with black water, believed to be caused by the local coal deposits.
Coal deposits were discovered there by Ludwig Leichhardt on his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (now
Darwin, Northern Territory) in 1845.
Leichhardt saw "beds of coal indistinguishable from those on the Hunter at Newcastle".
Blackwater railway station, ca. 1878
Blackwater State School, unknown date
It wasn't until over a century after Leichhardt first discovered the beds of coal at
Blackwater that the town saw major coal mining development. With the opening up of several coal mines near the town in the 1960's,
Blackwater's
population rapidly increased as people searching for work flocked to find employment in the town's booming mining industry. There were 77 people living in
Blackwater when the 1961 census was recorded. This increased to almost 2,000 when the 1971 census was recorded.
The town's
population seemed to peak in the early 1990's with 6,760 people living in
Blackwater in 1991. Since then, the
population of the town has gradually waned. At the 2011 census, there were still over 4,500 people living in the
Blackwater community.
Blackwater Post Office opened on 19 July 1877. No photo found.
Blackwater Railway Station
Blackwater Railway Station 2006
Plaque at Old Railway Station at Blackwater
The
Blackwater railway system carries coal, as
well as products, to other destinations by way of connections to the North Coast Line at Rocklands and the Goonyella Line via
Gregory coal
mine to Oaky Creek. Together with the Moura line the two railway systems are known as the Capricornia Coal Chain.
The
Blackwater system is narrow gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) and electrified using 25 kV 50 Hz. The system is used by both electric and diesel locomotives.
The
Blackwater system has the largest route length of the four coal systems and carries the second highest tonnages on the QR network , the Coal is carried to the two export terminals at the Port of
Gladstone; RG Tanna Coal Terminal, and Barney Point Coal Terminal.
Steam Train at Blackwater
The open cut coal mine near Blackwater 1970
The system consists of 994 km of track, of which approximately 160 km is duplicated. 823 km of track is electrified. Callemondah and
Bluff yards are used to provision train
services. The system is operated from the
Rockhampton Control Centre utilising two safe working systems - Remote Control Signalling (RCS) and Direct Traffic Control (DTC).
Go to this link for enlarged photo of the Parish Map
Parish Map of Blackwater 1969
.