Yaraka

Yaraka is a small town in Central West Queensland, Australia. It was the terminus of a branch railway line. It is located 220 kilometres (140 mi) south of Longreach, 165 kilometres (103 mi) west of Blackall and 100 kilometres (62 mi) south of Isisford.

The town has a population of 12 with 117 people living in the surrounding area.

The landscape is open Mitchell grass downs country, which provides good grazing country. Grey Range is located near Yaraka and is characterised by rocky ridges, spinifex grass and mulga.

History

The first European to pass through the area was Edmund Kennedy in 1847. In 1860, graziers began to populate the area and farm sheep and cattle. In 1910, the State government authorised the building of a 2,060 km railway line in Western Queensland to support the pastoral industry. However, only a quarter of the line was built and Yaraka became the end of the line.

Yaraka became a town when the rail line from Emmet opened in April 1917. The station was called Yaraka by the Railway Department who said it was the Aboriginal name “of white spear grass which grows in the district”. A photo of the railway station taken shortly after its opening is shown. The town prospered for the next twenty years and in the 1930s had a population of about 100. In 1932 a journalist toured this area and described the town in the following terms.