Wallangarra

Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia.

Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people.It is the third most southerly town in Queensland, 258 kilometres (160 mi) south west of Brisbane. Wallangarra is on the Queensland side of the border and Jennings is on the New South Wales side.

In 1885, the Queensland Government announced that a town would be formed where the railway line between Queensland and New South Wales would meet. On 29 June 1885, 179 lots were offered for sale at £8 per acre (£20/ha). The town would provide a break-of-gauge between Queensland's narrow gauge Southern railway line of 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) and New South Wales's standard gauge Main North railway line of 4 ft 8+1/2 in (1,435 mm) when the two systems came together in 1888. Two railway stations were created within the area. One was named Wallan-garra railway station (28.9231°S 151.9319°E? / -28.9231; 151.9319? (Wallangarra railway station)) and the town took its name from the station but used the spelling Wallangarra (with most people using the same spelling for the railway station). Bald Mountain railway station (28.8966°S 151.9143°E? / -28.8966; 151.9143? (Bald Mountain railway station)) was the other railway station and is now abandoned.Wallangarra Provisional School opened on 13 February 1888. On 1 January 1909 it became Wallangarra State School.The railway was the only rail link between Queensland and New South Wales until a standard gauge track was completed via Kyogle in 1930, with the completion of the bridge over the Clarence River at Grafton. From that time on, the Wallangarra railway station lessened in importance. Scheduled rail services ended in 1997. In 2003, after major refurbishment, the station was reopened as a museum. The railway line from Stanthorpe to Wallangarra has continued to be maintained and steam trains taking tourists to Wallangarra occasionally operate.

The Anderson Meat Packing Company was restarted by Mr. A.W. Anderson in 1938 after a 15-month closure. Until 1982 it operated a large beef abattoir at Wallangarra. Anderson's employed in excess of 400 workers at the Wallangarra plant. The plant was located on the border so as to take advantage of rail lines from both Queensland and NSW.During World War II, the Commonwealth Government created a general army store on the Queensland side of the border, and an ammunition dump on the New South Wales side. Dual gauge tracks were run to each store. Access to the army stores was via Margetts St, one of the main roads in the town. The late Muriel Daphne Verdun Nicolson lived at 30 Margetts St from before WWII until her death in 2001. During WWII she reported that the flow of trucks and materiel went on all day and night.Wallangarra Cemetery was established in 1953.On 12 September 1964 St Gabrielle's Anglican Church was dedicated by Bishop John Hudson. Its closure circa 2013 was approved by Bishop Robert Nolan. The church building has been sold into private ownership but remains at 54 Merinda Street (28.9219°S 151.9308°E? / -28.9219; 151.9308? (St Gabrielle's Anglican Church (former))).Taking advantage of the rail junction Riverina Stock Feeds operated a packing plant opposite the Wallangarra railway station for many years until 1995. After that it moved to Warwick, a city 100 kilometres (62 mi) to the north. Warwick also has a major Woolworths warehouse. The Chairman of Woolworths who located the warehouse at Warwick grew up in Wallangarra.Circa 2005 Thomas Foods International opened Australia's largest mutton works opened on a new site just to the east of the town. The mutton produced is Halal, and most of it is exported to Arab countries. The abattoir shut down in July 2016 for "the short to medium term" blaming low stock numbers and poor global trading conditions.At the 2006 census, Wallangarra had a population of 385.In the 2016 census the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people.

Wallangarra is one of the coldest towns in Queensland, due to its altitude and extreme southerly location in the state. Maximum temperatures rarely rise above 15 °C (59 °F) in winter or above 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. Wallangarra holds the record for the lowest maximum temperature in Queensland, 2.4 °C (36 °F) on 3 July 1984. Despite this, minimum temperatures are not as low due to local geographic variations, and towns well to the north such as Warwick and Oakey frequently record lower minimums.

Wallangarra is situated on the picturesque Granite Belt, and is bounded by Sundown National Park to the West and Girraween National Park to the East.

Beehive Dam is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) north of the town. It is a popular fishing spot as it is stocked with golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch by the Jennings Wallangarra Fishing Club.