Population 5,100 (2011 census) State electorate(s) Gregory Postal code 4717 Number of airports 1 | Postcode(s) 4717 Blackwater Bluff Local time Sunday 4:10 AM Federal division Division of Flynn | |
 | ||
Location 825 km (513 mi) NW of Brisbane
198 km (123 mi) W of Rockhampton
79 km (49 mi) E of Emerald Weather 24°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 89% Humidity Lga Central Highlands Regional Council | ||
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.
Contents
Map of Blackwater QLD 4717, Australia
Geography
Six major open cut coal mines and one underground dot the landscape surrounding the town and provide its main employment opportunities. The town is also situated close to the Blackdown Tableland National Park which lies to the southeast and Blackwater coal mine located south of the town. Emerald is 74 kilometres (46 mi) to the west.
History
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".
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 1960s, 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 peaked in the early 1990s with 6,760 people living in Blackwater in 1991. Since then, the population of the town has gradually waned. In the 2011 census, there were still over 5,000 people living in the Blackwater community.
Blackwater Post Office opened on 19 July 1877.
Notable people from Blackwater
Olympic track cyclist Anna Meares was born in Blackwater in 1983. In 2012, Anna Meares had a street named after her in the town when Meares Street was constructed as part of a new subdivision in the centre of Blackwater. Australian television personality, actor and comedian Josh Thomas was born in Blackwater in 1987 but moved with his family to Brisbane soon after.
Australian rugby league players PJ Marsh and David Taylor both grew up in Blackwater and have represented various teams in the National Rugby League competition.