Bogantungan

The town is {{convert|930|km|mi}} north west of the state capital Brisbane and {{convert|350|km|mi}} west of the regional city of Rockhampton.{{Queensland Globe|accessdate=23 March 2020}}

The Central Western railway line passes through the town which was once served by the Bogantungan railway station. The small number of houses in the town are located around the railway station. The Capricorn Highway once passed through the town but now bypasses it to the north.

The name Bogantungan derives from Aboriginal words "bogan" meaning "grass" and "tungan" meaning "tree".

The Central Western railway was built in sections, beginning at Rockhampton and then heading west. Each section involved establishing a temporary settlement to accommodate the workers while they were building the railway. After that section was complete, the workers moved further west were a new settlement was established. Although intended as temporary, some of these settlements continued to survive after the railway workers had moved on, becoming permanent towns. Bogantungan was one of these. In its heyday, it was a town of some thousands of people, with around 30 hotels.

In March 1881, the Queensland Government held a land sale, auctioning 48 town lots in the town of Bogantungan.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article183949067|title=GOVERNMENT LAND SALE.|date=19 February 1881|newspaper=The Week|access-date=15 January 2020|location=Queensland, Australia|page=5|via=Trove|archive-date=2 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201002004735/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/183949067|url-status=live}}

Bogantungan Post Office opened on 8 July 1881 and closed in 1982.{{Cite web | last = Premier Postal History | title = Post Office List | publisher = Premier Postal Auctions | url = https://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=QLD&country= | accessdate = 10 May 2014 | archive-date = 15 May 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140515223132/http://www.premierpostal.com/cgi-bin/wsProd.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=QLD& | url-status = live }}

Bogantungan State School opened on 19 March 1883. It closed on 11 August 1972.{{Citation|author1=Queensland Family History Society|title=Queensland schools past and present|publication-date=2010|edition=Version 1.01|publisher=Queensland Family History Society|isbn=978-1-921171-26-0}} It was on Jackson Street ({{Coord|-23.6501|147.2875|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|name=Bogantungan State School (former)}}).{{Cite web |date=1971 |title=Town of Bogantungan |url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-bogantungan-1971.jpg |access-date=22 July 2022 |publisher=Queensland Government |type=Map |archive-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114214331/https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-bogantungan-1971.jpg |url-status=live }}{{Queensland Globe|access-date=22 July 2022}}

Nearby Medway station, in the Bogantungan ranges, was established by Robert Donaldson and C.E. Glissan.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75350637 |title=OBITUARY Mrs A. D. Donaldson |newspaper=The Central Queensland Herald |volume=18 |issue=1013 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=19 August 1948 |accessdate=2 December 2022 |page=29 |via=National Library of Australia}} The Donaldson family, including Agnes Adelaide Donaldson moved there in 1909, and after the business partnership was dissolved the Donaldsons have continued to manage the property into the present day, as a cattle stud.{{cite web |url=https://medwaydroughtmasters.com.au/about |title=Medway Droughtmasters |author= |date=2021 |access-date=2 December 2022 |quote=Approximately 2100 head of breeders are run on 50,000 acres of grazing land....Medway has been owned by Donaldson family since 1908. |archive-date=2 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221202081945/https://medwaydroughtmasters.com.au/about |url-status=live }}

On 26 February 1960, Bogantungan was the site of the Medway Creek rail disaster, one of Queensland's worst train accidents. The Midlander passenger train, heading east to Rockhampton, passed over the flooded Medway Creek, just west of the town. The bridge collapsed when the train was partly over, with a number of carriages dropping into the water. A total of 4 passengers and 3 crew were killed, with 43 injured.{{Cite news|url=https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/survivor-recalls-horror-of-bogantungan-train-disas/476905/|title=Crash survivor recalls disaster|last=Siegmeier|first=Melinda|date=24 June 2017|work=The Morning Bulletin|access-date=24 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624073505/https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/survivor-recalls-horror-of-bogantungan-train-disas/476905/|archive-date=24 June 2017|url-status=live}}

Boguntungan Railway Station is now a small historical museum and rest area, with a memorial and interpretive panels about the rail disaster and the railway buildings.{{cite web|url=https://centralhighlands.com.au/bogantungan/|title=Bogantungan|access-date=9 October 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225091557/https://centralhighlands.com.au/bogantungan/|archive-date=25 February 2020}}

There are no schools in Bogantungan. The nearest primary schools are in Lochington ({{Convert|48.5|km||abbr=}} south by minor roads), Anakie ({{Convert|55.5|km||abbr=}} east on the Capricorn Highway) or Alpha ({{Convert|71.5|km||abbr=}} west on the Capricorn Highway). The nearest secondary school is in Alpha (to Year 10 only). The nearest secondary school offering education to Year 12 is Emerald State High School in Emerald ({{Convert|98.3|km||abbr=}} east on the Capricorn Highway). Other secondary alternatives are distance education and boarding schools.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book |title=And then there was one : Anakie 1885-1985. |vauthors=((Anakie State School.)) |date=1984 |publisher=Anakie State School}} — via [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma997643424702061 State Library of Queensland]. Includes Sapphire State School, Rubyvale State School, Bogantungan State School, Lochington State School, Taroborah Provisional School, and Withersfield State School.

• {{cite web|url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-bogantungan-1971.jpg|title=Town map of Bogantungan|date=1971|publisher=Queensland Government}}
• [https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/11l3i0/alma99262103402061 Bogantungan Imprints Oral History], State Library of Queensland

{{Central Highlands Region}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Towns in Queensland

Category:Central Highlands Region