Cue, Western Australia

Gold was discovered in 1892 though there is uncertainty as to who made the first find. Michael Fitzgerald and Edward Heffernan collected 260 ounces after being given a nugget by an Aboriginal known as "Governor". Tom Cue travelled to Nannine to register their claim. The townsite was gazetted in 1893 and named after Tom Cue.

In 1895 the town had 7 ten-head stamp mills operating around the town; these were the Cue Public Battery, Cue One Proprietary, Kangaroo, Lady Mary Amalgamated, Red, White and Blue, Rose of England, Reward and the Cue Victory.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33118492|title=Batteries at the Murchison|newspaper=Western Mail|location=Perth|date=4 October 1895|access-date=22 March 2013|page=3|publisher=National Library of Australia}}

The town's first water supply was a well in the centre of the main street; after an outbreak of typhoid fever, the well was capped with a rotunda built over the top. The water supply was replaced by another well dug near Lake Nallan; water was carted 20 km south to the townsite.

The town of Day Dawn, 8 km south, was established within a year; by 1900 a hospital and cemetery were established between the two towns and they had three newspapers operating. The rivalry between the towns fuelled a diverse sporting culture in the area. Cycling and horse-racing groups held regular events attracting competitors from as far away as Perth and Kalgoorlie.

Following heavy rains in 1913 the old Cue Battery Dam broke away from the force of the water pressure; the dam had only been repaired a few months earlier.

The township had its own dedicated municipality, the Municipality of Cue, from 1894 to 1912, when it amalgamated into the surrounding Cue Road District (now the Shire of Cue).

Cue was the terminus for the Northern Railway in 1898 until the route was extended to Meekatharra almost ten years later, and was also the junction for the branch line to Big Bell. The line closed in 1978.

Cue is served by Cue Airport.

By around 1900 Cue was the centre of the Murchison goldfields and boasted a population of about 10,000. As World War I drew men from the goldfields into the Australian Army the townsite of Day Dawn was abandoned. After the war many of the mines did not reopen and this started the decline of Cue as a major population centre. After the Great Depression and the fall in the price of gold, by 1933 the population of Cue had dropped to fewer than 500. The current population is around 120; the major employer is Westgold but few employees actually live in the town, accessing a fly in/fly out roster. The Shire of Cue has ten employees and most other residents are self-employed as prospectors or government support workers.

Cue was recently{{when|date=March 2020}} heritage listed{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} as a town of significant historical value. The main street has changed little since it was first built. There are several buildings within the townsite that are icons in their own right.{{cn|date=August 2020}}

File:Cue Shire Offices.jpg|Cue Shire Offices

File:Former Masonic Lodge.jpg|Former Masonic Lodge

File:Rotunda and former bank.jpg|Rotunda and former bank

File:Day Dawn Great Fingal mine.jpg|Day Dawn Great Fingal mine

File:Day Dawn.jpg|Day Dawn mine offices

Cue has a semi-arid climate with hot summers and mild to cool winters.

The area is prone to the occasional inundation: In 1912 the area was struck by drought, followed by flooding in 1913 when the town received {{convert|2.19|in|mm|0}} of rain over the course of a day resulting in washaways and other storm damage.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26863829|title=Rains on the Murchison|newspaper=The West Australian|location=Perth|date=7 January 1913 |access-date=22 March 2013|page=7|publisher=National Library of Australia}} In 1925 several buildings in the town collapsed following heavy rain and flood waters. The town received {{convert|2.59|in|mm|0}} of rain over the course of two days.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article67092317 |title=Heavy Rain on the Murchison. |newspaper=Geraldton Guardian |location=Western Australia |date=5 March 1925 |access-date=26 July 2012 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

{{Weather box

|location = Cue

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 45.0

|Feb record high C = 44.6

|Mar record high C = 43.4

|Apr record high C = 38.9

|May record high C = 34.4

|Jun record high C = 28.3

|Jul record high C = 27.8

|Aug record high C = 30.0

|Sep record high C = 37.7

|Oct record high C = 40.4

|Nov record high C = 41.8

|Dec record high C = 44.7

|year record high C = 45.0

|Jan high C = 37.8

|Feb high C = 36.7

|Mar high C = 34.0

|Apr high C = 29.0

|May high C = 23.2

|Jun high C = 19.1

|Jul high C = 18.4

|Aug high C = 20.4

|Sep high C = 24.6

|Oct high C = 28.3

|Nov high C = 32.8

|Dec high C = 36.2

|year high C = 28.4

|Jan low C = 22.8

|Feb low C = 22.4

|Mar low C = 20.1

|Apr low C = 15.8

|May low C = 11.1

|Jun low C = 8.2

|Jul low C = 6.9

|Aug low C = 7.7

|Sep low C = 10.1

|Oct low C = 13.1

|Nov low C = 17.2

|Dec low C = 20.7

|year low C = 14.7

|Jan record low C = 11.3

|Feb record low C = 8.0

|Mar record low C =8.1

|Apr record low C = 3.8

|May record low C = 0.7

|Jun record low C = 0.4

|Jul record low C = -0.5

|Aug record low C = -0.5

|Sep record low C = 2.1

|Oct record low C = 3.8

|Nov record low C = 6.7

|Dec record low C = 11.3

|year record low C = -0.5

|Jan precipitation mm =26.6

|Feb precipitation mm = 30.0

|Mar precipitation mm = 23.4

|Apr precipitation mm = 19.4

|May precipitation mm = 25.0

|Jun precipitation mm = 28.3

|Jul precipitation mm = 26.1

|Aug precipitation mm = 17.2

|Sep precipitation mm = 6.9

|Oct precipitation mm = 6.6

|Nov precipitation mm = 9.0

|Dec precipitation mm = 14.7

|year precipitation mm = 233.2

|Jan precipitation days =3.0

|Feb precipitation days = 3.5

|Mar precipitation days =3.3

|Apr precipitation days = 3.3

|May precipitation days = 4.5

|Jun precipitation days =6.0

|Jul precipitation days = 5.8

|Aug precipitation days = 4.4

|Sep precipitation days = 2.1

|Oct precipitation days = 1.8

|Nov precipitation days = 1.8

|Dec precipitation days = 2.5

|year precipitation days = 42.0

|source 1 = {{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_007017_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for Cue |access-date = 15 October 2011}}

|date=October 2011

}}

{{Commons category|Cue, Western Australia}}

{{reflist}}

• "Along the Cue railway. Inspection of line with suggested improvements, visit to Georgina Siding". West Australian, 11 June 1898, p. 5
• {{cite book|title=Agnew|author=Palmer, Alex|publisher=Hesperian Press, Victoria Park, Western Australia|year=2000|isbn=0-85905-267-2}}

• [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Cue/2005/02/17/1108500208371.html Cue]

{{Towns Mid West WA}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Mining towns in Western Australia

Category:Towns in Western Australia