28°S 148°E Boolba – Queensland by Degrees
AT THE POINT
Location: The point is located on private property about 2.5 km south of the Balonne Highway half way between St George and Bollon. St George is about 55 km east of the point and Bollon about 51 km to the west. The photos were taken alongside the Balonne Highway at its nearest point to the confluence point. The actual point is yet to be visited. Landscape: Flat country with an elevation of around 200 m ASL. Roadside vegetation is low woodland with mulga (Acacia aneura) and various eucalypts dominant with a sparse ground cover of grasses and herbs. The soils are sandy. Vegetation at the actual point is probably pasture. Point information and photos: Jane Terrell-Payne, Les Payne 2008 and Col Grant 2008 (Author's email: cgrant@vnc.qld.edu.au).
IN THE DEGREE SQUARE
The Climate: The area has a grassland climate that is persistently dry. The Bollon climate station to the west is representative of the area. Bollon Mary Street (site 044010) 1907-2008
There is a great degree of variability on both temperature and rainfall. The highest temperature on record was 47.0°C in January 1973 and the lowest recorded temperature was -5.5° in June 1975. Annual rainfall has ranged from a high of 1158.7mm in 1956 to a low of 180.5mm in 1946. Extremes of Nature: Records of very large floods in the Balonne River extend back as far as 1890. Major floods occur regularly, on average every two years. These floods can result from the penetration of decaying cyclones this far inland. For example, in 1964 TC Audrey which had formed in the Gulf of Carpentaria passed about 20 km to the east of the square. The most dangerous climatic extremes are heatwave and drought.
Cyclone tracks within 200 km of the confluence, 1906 to 2006 (Bureau of Meteorology web site) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The National Earthquake Database maintained by Geoscience Australia records three earthquakes within the degree square. Two were small (around ML 2.5), however the third which occurred on 28 December 2005 measured ML 4.1. It was located about 23 km south-west of the confluence point. No damage was reported. The Indigenous Story: The area is the traditional lands of the Kooma people. MORE DETAILS NEEDED. European Exploration and Settlement: INFORMATION REQUIRED Today: The total population of the degree square at the 2011 national census was approximately 400. This has been in decline for at least a decade as the rural industries that dominate the area have been under drought and other hardships.
Property of Mona The property of Mona is South-west of the degree confluence. Sheep and cattle are the main sources of income. The owners grow many of their own vegetables. Children study through distance education. The area has no apparent drainage pattern. However, owners generally make use of bore water, which run across the properties in long bore drains. Site Summary:
Compilers: Jane Terrell-Payne and Les Payne with additional material from Ken Granger 2008 and Col Grant. Edited by: Hayley Freemantle No references | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
