Cloncurry is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia. It is also known by locals as The Curry. Cloncurry is the administrative centre of the Shire of Cloncurry.
Cloncurry is known as the Friendly Heart of the Great North West and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2017. Cloncurry was recognised for its liveability, winning the Queensland's Friendliest Town award twice by environmental movement Keep Queensland Beautiful, first in 2013 and again in 2018.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 3,167 people.
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Geography
Cloncurry is situated in the north-west of Queensland, 770 kilometres (480 mi) west of the city of Townsville via the Flinders Highway. The town lies adjacent to the Cloncurry River.The Flinders Highway enters from the east and the Barkly Highway exits to the west. The Landsborough Highway enters from the south-east and the Burke Developmental Road exits to the north.
The Cloncurry–Dajarra Road exits to the south from the Barkly Highway.
Cattle grazing is the significant industry in the region, and a large sale yard is located in the town.
The town has one of the richest geological layers in the world with copper (and gold) mining being core industries since 1867.
Open cut mining has impacted the landscape and the former mine-site Mary Kathleen is a tourist attraction.
History
The Aboriginal traditional owners of Cloncurry are the Mitakoodi people (pronounced Mee-tah-koo-dee). In August 2024, the Mitakoodi and Mayi people were formally acknowledged and officially obtained native title determination. The region of Cloncurry is traditionally known as Pimurra and the Mitakoodi people were known as the River people.
The first Europeans to traverse these tribal lands of peoples such as the Maithakari and the Wanamara, were Burke and Wills on their epic, and ultimately fatal, transcontinental expedition. The Cloncurry River was named by Burke after Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry, his cousin, with the town eventually taking its name from the river.
Ernest Henry discovered copper in the area in 1867, and the town sprang up to service the Great Australia Mine to the south. Roger Sheaffe established the first pastoral run in the Cloncurry district - "Fort Constantine". Gold was discovered at Top Camp.
The town was surveyed in 1876. Cloncurry was proclaimed a town in 1884.
Cloncurry Provisional School opened on 19 March 1884. In 1894, it became Cloncurry State School.
The Cloncurry Advocate was a newspaper published in Cloncurry between 1889 and 1953.
Queensland's Northern Line railway reached Cloncurry in December 1907 and was officially opened the next year.
St Joseph's School opened on 29 October 1909 by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
In 1914, a fire broke out in the town resulting in the destruction of the Post Office, the hotel, eleven shops, two store-rooms and a cottage. The telegraph office was saved by employees who kept the office damp and protected with wet blankets. One man died in the blaze which cost an estimated £15,000 in damages.
Demographics
The population in Cloncurry decreased from 3,898 people in 1996 to 2,900 in 2002.
In the 2016 census, the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 2,719 people.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Cloncurry had a population of 3,167 people, of whom 23.8% identified as Indigenous.
Heritage listings
Cloncurry has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Mount Elliott Company Metallurgical Plant and Mill, via Sheaffe Street
Cloncurry Courthouse, 42–48 Daintree Street
Cloncurry Post Office, 47 Scarr Street
Education
Cloncurry State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep–12) school at Daintree Street (20.7042°S 140.5056°E / -20.7042; 140.5056 (Cloncurry State School P-12)). In 2015 the school had 281 students enrolled with a teaching staff of 28 FTE (Full-time equivalent) and 15 FTE (Full-time equivalent) non teaching staff. The general population in the community is highly transient with approximately 40% turnover in student enrolment in 2015. Approximately 60% of student enrolment identify as Aboriginal and or Torres Strait Islander. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 277 students with 32 teachers and 18 non-teaching staff (14 full-time equivalent). It has a special education program. In 2025 the school had 312 student enrolled.
St Joseph's Catholic School is a Catholic primary and junior secondary (Prep–9) school at Sheaffe Street (20.7014°S 140.5056°E / -20.7014; 140.5056 (St Joseph's Catholic School)). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 156 students with 20 teachers (18 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).
Amenities
Cloncurry has a public library, gallery, public swimming pool, showground, golf-course, and racecourse.
The Cloncurry Shire Council operates a public library in Cloncurry at Scarr Street.
The Cloncurry branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at Charlotte Scott House in Scarr Street. Charlotte Scott was a dedicated member of the Cloncurry QCWA who died in 1992 having spent most of her life in Cloncurry. She was well known for her dancing, especially the Charleston.
Cloncurry Uniting Church is at 19 Meldrum Street (corner of King Street, 20.7090°S 140.5084°E / -20.7090; 140.5084 (Cloncurry Uniting Church)). The church operates the McKay Patrol, an aerial service of the Uniting Church in Australia. Supported by other denominations, the McKay Patrol operates a Cessna 182Q aeroplane to provide spiritual and practical help to people living in remote areas in the north-west of Queensland and the eastern Tablelands of the Northern Territory, an area of approximately 625,000 square kilometres (241,000 sq mi) with a population of less than 10,000 people. The patrol also provides regular church services in the towns of Cloncurry, Julia Creek, McKinlay, and Karumba and at Adels Grove homestead.
Attractions
Attractions in Cloncurry include:
John Flynn Museum
a mineral display in the visitor centre.
Events
The Beat the Heat Festival is an annual celebration which transforms Cloncurry for 3 days and nights. It includes a street party, mine cart rally, curry cook off, live music, spring racing, markets and more.
Climate
Cloncurry has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh Trewartha: BShb) with two distinct seasons. There is a very hot, moderately humid and quite uncomfortable wet season from December to March and a warm to hot, generally rainless dry season usually extending from April to November. Until the 1990s, Cloncurry was widely regarded as holding the record for the highest temperature recorded in Australia at 53.1 °C (127.5 °F) on 16 January 1889. Investigations published in 1997 revealed that this temperature was measured in an improvised screen made from a beer crate and that it equated to 47–49 °C (117–120 °F) under standard conditions. The highest temperature ever recorded at Cloncurry's current weather station is 46.9 °C (116.4 °F), well short of the disputed 1889 temperature record. The average annual rainfall is 506.9 mm (19.96 in), almost all of which falls In the months of December to March.
Because of the area's extreme solar conditions, Cloncurry was expected to become Australia's first solar-powered town. Nevertheless, the planned 10MW Thermal solar plant was scrapped due to light pollution concerns and a 2.128MW flat panel photovoltaic solar farm was to be built in its place. However, the Queensland Government withdrew financial support for the solar farm in May 2012.
Transport
Cloncurry has linkages to other destinations via major coach operators such as Greyhound and Bus Queensland. A weekday service to Mount Isa is operated by Cloncurry Coaches as well as local charter services within the area for mining, school, sporting bodies and special events.
See Cloncurry Airport
Trains run two times per week between Townsville and Mount Isa.
Mines
The area became more populated when several copper&gold mines opened. The Great Australia Mine is just south of the town, Rocklands is 16 km west of the town. The Lorena mine is 14 km east, and Ernest Henry mine opened in 1998 35 km northeast, and Mount Margaret is 10 km east of Ernest Henry. Wallace South is 30 km southeast. Further south is the Mount Elliott mine along with Starra-Selwyn in the Mount Elliott Mining Complex which opened in 1908.
The USD 1.7 billion open-pit Eva Copper Mine Project is being built in the area, powered by an off-grid system with 104 MW thermal power, 118 MWp solar power and a 250 MWh battery.
Notable residents
Alexis Wright (born 1950), writer
Kasey Wehrman (born 1977), association footballer
Bob Katter (born 1945), politician
Robert Crowther (born 1987), athlete
Valerie Beddoe (née McFarlane, born 1960), athlete