Mundubbera

History

Mundubbera means either Footsteps in the trees or Meeting Place of the waters in the local Aboriginal language. The latter name refers to the confluence of the Burnett, Auburn and Boyne rivers just upstream from Mundubbera.

European settlement took place in the late 1840s. Closer settlement, involving migrants from Germany, Britain and the Netherlands, did not take place until the early 1900s and the town was established in its existing site prior to World War I. The railway arrived in 1914. Mundubbera Post Office opened by 1 July 1912 (a receiving office had been open from 1911).

The Mundubbera War Memorial commemorating those from the district who served in World War I was unveiled by the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Brisbane and Minister for Works, Mick Kirwan, on 27 May 1928.

Henry Zipf planted the first citrus orchards in 1933 and established Mundubbera as a major producer of export citrus. The recent (2006) drought and the after effects of the 2004 Citrus canker outbreak in Emerald has had a dampening effect of the citrus industry in the area.

The Mundubbera Vietnam Veterans Memorial commemorates those who served in the Vietnam War. It is located beside the RSL Memorial Hall.

On 11 November 1995, members of the RSL planted a Lone Pine war memorial from a seedling whose lineage links back to Gallipoli.

Geology

The Mundubbera district is bounded on the east by the Binjour Plateau and on the south and west by the Burnett River. Devonian, Carboniferous, Triassic, and Post-Triassic sediments have all been found in the district. Devonian and Carboniferous sediments are incorporated into the late or post-Permian folds which affect the Yarrol Basin. A large syncline is exposed, commonly called the Mundubbera Syncline. Folded Triassic strata are found in the western part of the district in a fault block. There is evidence of Tertiary or post-Triassic sediments in horizontal sandstone. Near Riverleigh, fossil corals were found in limestone during the 1920s. These were studied by Dorothy Hill of the University of Queensland.

Demographics

At the 2001 national census there were 1,053 persons resident in Mundubbera, 6.1 per cent of those of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry. 8.2 per cent of Mundubbera residents were born overseas.

Industry

Industry in Mundubbera is entirely based around agriculture and forestry. The major agricultural activities in Mundubbera are cattle grazing and, in the irrigated areas, fruit growing. Fruit grown in the Mundubbera area includes citrus, mangoes, avocadoes and stone fruit. In addition, Mundubbera is Queensland's largest producer of table grapes.

During the fruit picking seasons Mundubbera can double in size as many itinerant workers and backpackers from around the world come to the town looking for work on the orchards. Seasonal workers are accommodated in two large caravan parks in Mundubbera itself or in many on-site parks. Since 2010, workers from Tonga and Papua New Guinea have been supported through the Pacific Seasonal Worker Pilot Scheme. The success of this endeavour has meant that the Seasonal Worker Program will be fully operational from 1 July 2012.

Supporting the fruit industry are businesses such as a fruit juice processor and several packing sheds. *Bugs for Bugs, an integrated pest management business, raises insects that act as a biological control for common fruit pests, allowing less chemical insecticide use.

With large areas of State forest in the shire, Mundubbera also has a large timber industry with a mill in Mundubbera town. Other industries include piggeries and dairying. Commercial activity is limited, and consists mainly of small businesses supporting local residents and farmers. The town has two hotels, two motels and an IGA supermarket, plus the usual small town services such as a butcher, baker, newsagency, post office and a public library open to the general public.

Transport

The town is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) south of the intersection of the Burnett Highway and the Mundubbera-Durong road. The Burnett Highway links Mundubbera with Gaydah and Goomeri to the east; and Eidsvold, Monto and Biloela to the north. The Mundubbera-Durong links Mundubbera to Dalby and Toowoomba in the Darling Downs. This road is single lane bitumen in places. Public transport is limited. In 2005 the only public transport servicing Mundubbera had was a bus service operating once a week on Thursdays to Bundaberg and on Wednesdays and Fridays to Maryborough. An active rail link from Mundubbera to Maryborough and the coast was maintained with the line no longer having a passenger service, however in 2012 Campbell Newman, the Queensland Premier, announced that the line would no longer be looked after.

Education

Mundubbera is host to a limited range of primary and secondary school facilities. Primary schools in the area include the small school cluster of the rural schools of Boynewood SS (opened 1915), Binjour Plateau SS (1913), Monogorilby SS (1936) and Riverleigh SS (1914); Riversleigh SS was closed at the end of 2009 due to lack of enrolment.

The main school in Mundubbera is the Mundubbera P-10 school, offering education from Prep to year 10. Mundubbera originally had a Pre-school but following the introduction of prep this has been converted into a music room. High school students wishing to complete Years 11–12 must either attend Burnett State College (formerly Gayndah State High School), 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the east in Gayndah or attend boarding schools in Brisbane, Toowoomba or Rockhampton.

Events and attractions

While Mundubbera attracts seasonal workers from around the world, tourism remains relatively undeveloped. Some attractions include:

Events

Notable residents

Some notable people from Mundubbera include: