Biloela

Etymology

The name Biloela is generally believed to be the Aboriginal word (possibly from the Sydney area) for black or white cockatoo. The Government dockyards in Sydney were known as Biloela during 1870–1913 in an endeavour to remove the perceived stigma of the prior Cockatoo Island convict establishment.

History

The town was gazetted in 1924; it was on the Rannes-Monto railway line. Land sales were held in Rannes in December 1924.

Biloela Post Office opened by January 1925 and Biloela State School opened on 22 June 1925.

The first open-cut mine was established in 1942.

In 1963, work began on the Callide Power Station.

The Biloela State High School opened on 29 January 1963.

Heritage listings

Biloela has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Climate

Biloela has a warm subtropical climate, with hot to warm temperatures all year round. Winter nights can occasionally drop below freezing, however winters are usually warm and dry, with pleasant sunny days. Summers are hot and humid, with most rain falling with occasional thunderstorms. Record temperatures have ranged from 43.1 °C (109.6 °F) to −4.7 °C (23.5 °F). The wettest 24-hour rainfall was 199.6 millimetres (7.86 in) on 31 January 1978.

Industry

Biloela and the Banana Shire, dubbed by the council as 'The Shire of Opportunity', has a diverse range of industries. Extensive grazing and cropping concerns are found in the area. Cotton, sorghum and wheat are grown in the area. The Callide Power Stations lie just north of the town. Coal was discovered on Callide Creek in 1891 and is now mined at the nearby Callide and Boundary Hill mines which supply the power station. The third largest abattoir in Queensland is situated in the town.

Callide is an open-cut mining operation providing low sulphur, sub-bituminous thermal coal primarily for Queensland's domestic power generation.

Callide Dam

The closest fresh water depository is the Callide Dam, however it is often well below capacity due to low rainfall in the area. Despite this, the dam acts as a popular site for water skiing, camping, swimming and fishing. In particular, the dam is a haven for Eel-tailed catfish, Yellowbelly, Saratoga and Barramundi. The largest ever Barramundi recorded was at the 2008 Callide Dam fishing competition, measuring 138 centimetres (54 in).

The Callide Dam was constructed in 1965 to supply water for a nearby power station in Biloela in the state of Queensland, Australia. Callide Dam holds 136,300 megalitres (3.60×1010 US gal) at an average depth of 10.5 metres (34 ft) and a surface area of 1,240 hectares (3,100 acres) at full capacity. The dam supplies water to the Callide Power Station.

Schools

Biloela has two primary schools: St Joseph's Catholic Primary (private), and Biloela State School. It has a private school college, Redeemer Lutheran College, and it has one state high school (Biloela State High School).

Facilities

The Banana Shire Council has its shire chambers at 62 Valentine Plains Road. There is an ambulance station at 32 Kariboe Street.

Events

Biloela holds an annual Rockfest (music festival) in March.

Also in March, the Callide Dam also plays host to the annual Callide Dam Fishing Competition in which a number of introduced stock are caught.

In April, Rotary holds its annual Ute muster.

The Callide Valley Show including the Callide Valley Ball and the Rodeo are held each May.

The Callide Dawson Machinery Preservation Club holds an annual Old Wheels in Motion Rally in July.

November has a number of annual events: the Arts and Crafts Day, the Brigalow Arts Festival and the Biloela Festival.

Sports

Various sporting organisations are active within the community, such as Panthers Rugby League Club, Biloela Rugby Union Club, Biloela Touch Football Association, Callide Valley Tennis Association, Biloela Netball Association, Biloela Golf Club, Biloela Cricket Association, Biloela Valley's Football Club (soccer), Biloela Swimming Club, Biloela Dirt Rider Club and the Biloela Police Citizens Youth Club.

Media

Biloela's local newspaper is the Central Telegraph which is issued weekly. The newspaper is part of APN's Australian Regional Media (ARM) network of newspapers.

Gladstone-based AM radio station 4CC services the Biloela area via a local transmitter which broadcasts on a separate frequency to the main Gladstone transmitter. This enables 4CC to play separate commercial breaks in the Bilolea region, to attract Biloela businesses to buy advertising, to target people in the local area as opposed to the entire Central Queensland region.

Rebel Media Group stations Rebel FM 88.9 (MHz) and The Breeze 89.7 (MHz) also broadcast to Biloela and other centres in the Banana Shire, although neither station has any local programming as all their programs originate from studios in South East Queensland. Rebel FM has a new rock & classic rock music format while The Breeze offers an easy adult contemporary & classics hits format. Both stations are part of the Rebel Media group.

Biloela receives all free-to-air television services but is part of the Central Queensland television market, therefore receives the Rockhampton-based television stations and their associated local news bulletins and commercial breaks.