Population 380 (2011 census) LGA(s) Shire of Winton Corfield Prairie
Tablederry Local time Monday 8:24 PM | Postcode(s) 4733 State electorate(s) Mount Isa Postal code 4733 Federal division Division of Maranoa | |
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Location 1,438 km (894 mi) NW of Brisbane
513 km (319 mi) SW of Townsville
553 km (344 mi) SE of Mount Isa
85 km (53 mi) NE of Winton Weather 32°C, Wind SW at 8 km/h, 35% Humidity | ||
Corfield is a town and locality in the Shire of Winton in north-western Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Corfield and the surrounding area had a population of 380.
Contents
Map of Corfield QLD 4733, Australia
Geography
The town is on the Kennedy Developmental Road—the road linking Winton and Hughenden—1,438 kilometres (894 mi) north west of the state capital Brisbane and 513 kilometres (319 mi) south east of regional centre of Townsville.
History
In its earlier incarnation as a Cobb & Co changing station along the Hughenden to Winton mail route, the locality was named Manuka—after a nearby sheep station. When the railway linking Hughenden and Winton was built in 1899, the town was moved 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west to the line and renamed Corfield after William Henry Corfield—a local carrier and businessman and later, a politician. The population of the town peaked at around thirty to forty residents and facilities included "five railway houses, plus the station master’s house, a post office, two petrol depots, a hotel and a school and teacher’s house ... a goods shed and railway building."
Corfield Post Office opened on 5 October 1898 and closed in 1991.
Corfield State School opened on 4 February 1957 and closed on 31 January 1975. It reopened on 27 January 1976 but closed again on 15 December 1989.
At the 2006 census, Corfield and the surrounding area had a population of 162.
Facilities
Corfield has since declined and now has a permanent village population of seven. The Corfield Pub is the main community facility in the village.
Events
The major social event in Corfield is the Corfield Cup—a pun on the better known Caulfield Cup run in Melbourne—run in early August.