Columboola

The town of Columboola is slightly north-east of the centre of the locality.

The Warrego Highway enters the locality from the east (Goombi), passes through the town, and exits the locality to the west (Miles).

The Western railway line runs immediately parallel to the highway, also passing through the town which was served by the now-abandoned Columboola railway station ({{coord|-26.6732|150.3398|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Columboola railway station}}). Just west of the town, the railway has a balloon loop with the Cameby Downs railway station ({{coord|-26.6534|150.3356|type:railwaystation_region:AU-QLD|name=Cameby Downs railway station}}) serving the Camby Downs coal mine.{{Cite web |date=2 October 2020 |title=Railway stations and sidings - Queensland |url=https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005070354/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd |archive-date=5 October 2020 |access-date=5 October 2020 |website=Queensland Open Data |publisher=Queensland Government}}

Dogwood is a neighbourhood in the south-west of the locality ({{coord|-26.7333|150.2833|type:city_region:AU-QLD|name=Dogwood (neighbourhood)}}). It takes its name from Dogwood Creek, named by naturalist and explorer Ludwig Leichhardt on 23 October 1844, because of the profusion of dogwood shrubs (Jacksonia sp.) in the area.{{cite QPN|10265|Dogwood|locality unbounded in Western Downs Regional|access-date=14 August 2022}}

File:Columboola State School, Queensland, circa 1919.jpgThe town takes its name from Columboola Creek, an Aboriginal word, meaning plenty of white cockatoos.{{cite QPN|7794|Columboola Creek|creek in Western Downs Region|accessdate=26 December 2017}}

Columboola Provisional School opened on 20 July 1896 with 20 students. On 1 January 1909, it became Columboola State School. From 1942 through World War II, the school was closed so it could be used in connection with the ammunition storage facility on Cameby Downs.{{Cite web|date=2014-06-30|title=Columboola Ammunition Dump (United States Army)|url=https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-06|website=Queensland WWII Historic Places|publisher=Queensland Government|language=en-AU|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424215930/https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/place |archive-date=24 April 2019 }}{{Cite web|title=Columboola Ammunition Dump|url=https://www.ozatwar.com/usarmy/columbooladump.htm|access-date=2021-11-06|website=www.ozatwar.com|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514204402/https://www.ozatwar.com/usarmy/columbooladump.htm|url-status=live}} The school building was relocated to Miles State School. On 23 October 1954, Columboola State School reopened with a new building. It closed permanently on 28 April 1978.{{Citation | author1=Queensland Family History Society | title=Queensland schools past and present | publication-date=2010 | publisher=Queensland Family History Society | edition=Version 1.01 | isbn=978-1-921171-26-0 }} The school was at 25 Boort Koi Road ({{Coord|-26.6712|150.3406|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|display=|name=Columboola State School (former)}}).{{Cite web|date=1969|title=Town of Columboola|url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-columboola-1969.jpg|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201229050312/https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-town-columboola-1969.jpg|archive-date=29 December 2020|access-date=29 December 2020|publisher=Queensland Government|type=Map}}{{Queensland Globe|access-date=16 February 2023}} Since 1991, the school site has been used by the Columboola Environmental Education Centre.{{Cite web|date=2020-04-23|title=History|url=https://columboolaeec.eq.edu.au/about-us/history|access-date=2021-11-06|website=Columboola Environmental Education Centre|language=en|archive-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106191702/https://columboolaeec.eq.edu.au/about-us/history|url-status=live}}

Dogwood Provisional School opened in January 1925. In 1928, the Queensland Government decided that a better building was needed and relocated the Condamine Road State School building (that school having been closed for some years) to Dogwood where it opened as the Dogwood State School on 1 July 1929.{{cite news |date=25 April 1928 |title=WORKS DEPARTMENT. |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21246353 |accessdate=4 June 2025 |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |location=Queensland, Australia |page=16 |via=National Library of Australia |issue=21,917}}{{cite news |date=12 July 1928 |title=COLUMBOOLA |volume=LXVII |page=12 |newspaper=Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette |issue=163 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article254031485 |accessdate=16 February 2023 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216044252/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/254031485 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |date=2 August 1929 |title=DOGWOOD STATE SCHOOL. |page=13 |newspaper=The Brisbane Courier |issue=22,313 |location=Queensland, Australia |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article21433624 |accessdate=16 February 2023 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216044248/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/21433624 |url-status=live }} It closed in March 1940. It was located immediately south of Columboola Creek and west of Freemans Road (approx {{Coord|-26.73665|150.30460|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|name=Dogwood State School (former)}}).{{Cite web |date=1939 |title=Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m83 |url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-2mile-qld-2m83-surv-control-1939.jpg |access-date=16 February 2023 |publisher=Queensland Government |type=Map |archive-date=6 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106074420/https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/cad_scans/cad-map-2mile-qld-2m83-surv-control-1939.jpg |url-status=live }}

In the early 1920s, the area had an active Scottish association, the Columboola and District Caledonian Society, which held their first highland gathering on New Year's Day 1923.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article253786577 |title=Columboola |newspaper=Toowoomba Chronicle |volume=LXI |issue=133 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=7 June 1922 |access-date=13 August 2022 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216043409/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253786577 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article253756342 |title=Columboola |newspaper=Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette |volume=LXIII |issue=68 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=19 March 1924 |access-date=13 August 2022 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216043415/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253756342 |url-status=live }} They even had sufficient people to form a pipe band.{{cite news |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article253288068 |title=Columboola |newspaper=Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette |volume=LXI |issue=292 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=20 December 1922 |access-date=13 August 2022 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=16 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230216043414/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/253288068 |url-status=live }}

File:Loading bombs onto the back of a truck at Columboola Ammunition Depot, Queensland, circa 1943.jpg

During World War II in 1942, an ammunition storage facility was built at Columboola adjacent to the railway line with a camp for 50 men. The site was used from 1942 to 1945 by the US military forces for the storage of large ammunition with the first ammunition arriving on 5 October 1942. Initially, the facility was for conventional munitions, but in June 1943, the facility was converted to store chemical munitions including mustard gas in artillery shells and aerial bombs. After the war, local residents occasionally found munitions at the site which were removed or destroyed by the Australian Army. When a mining company surveyed the site in 2009 with a view to establishing a coal mine, they identified a number of burial pits on the site. With the assistance of US military experts, the contents of the pits were determined to be 144 mustard gas munitions, the largest find of abandoned chemical munitions in Australian history. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention to which Australia is a signatory, the government had to report the find and the Australian Safeguards and Nonproliferation Office had to cooperate with the international Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to plan and implement the safe destruction/disposal of these munitions. A transportable munition destruction facility was brought to the site from the USA. Between April and May 2011, each munition was detonated in a controlled explosion inside a chamber in the computer-controlled facility, destroying both the munition and its chemical content. The project cost $34 million.{{Cite web |last=Heiman |first=Scott |title=Columbooa: A Short Historical Overview |url=https://mustardgas.org/wp-content/uploads/Columboola-A-Short-Historical-Overview.pdf |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Mustard Gas |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021093033/https://www.mustardgas.org/wp-content/uploads/Columboola-A-Short-Historical-Overview.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Fetter |first=Leila |title=Chemical Cleanup 70 Years On |url=https://mustardgas.org/wp-content/uploads/Chemical-Cleanup-70-Years-On.pdf |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Mustard Gas |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021082251/https://www.mustardgas.org/wp-content/uploads/Chemical-Cleanup-70-Years-On.pdf |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Rego |first=Fidelis |date=2011-06-02 |title=Defence destroys WWII ammo dump |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-02/defence-destroys-wwii-ammo-dump/2742416 |access-date=2023-02-16 |archive-date=30 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030150940/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-06-02/defence-destroys-wwii-ammo-dump/2742416 |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=2014-10-19 |title=Columboola Munitions Destruction |url=https://opecsystems.com/article/columboola-munitions-destruction/ |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=OPEC Systems |language=en-US |archive-date=3 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003221357/https://opecsystems.com/article/columboola-munitions-destruction/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Dunn |first=Peter |title=Columboola Ammunition Dump |url=https://www.ozatwar.com/usarmy/columbooladump.htm |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=Australia @ War |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514204402/https://www.ozatwar.com/usarmy/columbooladump.htm |url-status=live }} In 2012, a memorial plaque was placed to commemorate the international collaboration involved in the destruction of the chemical weapons.

In the {{CensusAU|2016}}, the locality of Columboola had a population of 72 people.{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC30660|name=Columboola (SSC)|accessdate=20 October 2018|quick=on}}

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, the locality of Columboola had a population of 68 people.{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL30655|name=Columboola (SAL)|access-date=28 February 2023|quick=on}}

Columboola Environmental Education Centre is at 25 Boort-Koi Road ({{coord|-26.6714|150.3402|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|name=Columboola Environmental Education Centre}}) on the former site of Columboola State School which has been operational since 1991.{{cite web |date=9 July 2018 |title=State and non-state school details |url=https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121065959/https://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/state-and-non-state-school-details/resource/5b39065c-df32-415c-994c-5ff12f8de997 |archive-date=21 November 2018 |access-date=21 November 2018 |publisher=Queensland Government}}{{Cite web |date=2020-11-29 |title=Columboola Environmental Education Centre |url=https://columboolaeec.eq.edu.au/ |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=Columboola Environmental Education Centre |language=en |archive-date=1 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301151855/https://columboolaeec.eq.edu.au/ |url-status=live }}

There are no mainstream schools in Columboola. The nearest government primary schools are Miles State School in Miles, {{convert|15.3|km}} to the west and Chinchilla State School in Chinchilla, {{convert|31.5|km}} to the east. The nearest government secondary schools are Miles State High School, and Chinchilla State High School.

There is a memorial plaque at the environment education centre to commemorate the international collaboration in the safe destruction of the chemical weapons ({{Coord|-26.67161|150.34050|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|name=Chemical weapons destruction memorial}}).{{Cite web |title=Assistance of the United States of America |url=https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww2/display/112208-assistance-of-the-united-states-of-america |access-date=2023-02-16 |website=Monument Australia |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423083900/https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/ww2/display/112208-assistance-of-the-united-states-of-america |url-status=live }}

{{reflist}}

• {{Citation|author1=Robb, Ken|title=History of Columboola School and district|url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/8428739|publication-date=1996|publisher=Columboola Advisory Council}}
• {{Citation |author1= |title=A short history of Columboola's first 100 years |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/19157201 |publication-date=1959 |publisher=Columboola Branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association}}

{{commons category|Columboola, Queensland}}

• {{Cite web |date=7 August 2013 |title=Columboola Munitions Destruction Project |url=http://www.defence.gov.au/id/columboola/default.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130807141811/http://www.defence.gov.au/id/columboola/default.htm |archive-date=2013-08-07 |access-date=16 February 2023 |website=Australian Department of Defence}}

{{Western Downs Region}}

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Category:Towns in Queensland

Category:Western Downs Region

Category:Localities in Queensland