Blackwater is a rural town and locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is within a significant coal mining area in Central Queensland. The name of the township was inspired by the dark colour of local waterholes. In the , the locality of Blackwater had a population of 4,702 people.
Geography Six major open cut coal mines and one underground dot the landscape surrounding the town and provide its main employment opportunities. The town is also situated close to the Blackdown Tableland National Park which lies to the southeast and Blackwater coal mine located south of the town. Emerald is to the west.
Bonnie Doon is a neighbourhood in the centre of the locality () and is associated with the Bonnie Doon pastoral station established in 1893.
Rangal, a neighbourhood in the locality (), is associated with former Rangal railway station (originally called Frasers Siding), assigned by the Queensland Railways Department on 7 June 1927. It is an Aboriginal word referring to a species of Callistemon (ti tree), although the language of origin is unknown.
Climate Blackwater has a subtropical semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSh) with very hot, somewhat wetter summers and very mild, dry winters. On average, the town experiences 92.3 clear days and 82.4 cloudy days per annum. The wettest recorded day was 30 March 2017 with of rainfall. Extreme temperatures ranged from on 4 January 2014 to on 12 July 2014.
The Water Treatment Plant had a weather station. It recorded temperature, precipitation, 9 am and 3 pm conditions from 1995 to 2010.
A weather station at the town's airport opened in 2013. It records temperature and precipitation data.
History Blackwater was established on Gangulu territory, and is named after the Blackwater Creek which apparently was first observed to flow with black water, believed to be caused by the local coal deposits.
Coal deposits were discovered there by Ludwig Leichhardt on his expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington (now Darwin, Northern Territory) in 1845. Leichhardt saw "beds of coal indistinguishable from those on the Hunter at Newcastle"., available online
Blackwater Post Office opened on 19 July 1877.Blackwater Provisional School opened on 21 November 1877 but closed sometime after September 1878. It reopened in 1883 and on 1 January 1909 became Blackwater State School.
It wasn't until over a century after Leichhardt first discovered the beds of coal at Blackwater that the town saw major coal mining development. With the opening up of several coal mines near the town in the 1960s, Blackwater's population rapidly increased as people searching for work found employment in the town's booming mining industry.
Blackwater State High School opened on 30 January 1973.
By the mid-late 1970s, the town had 3 Rugby League clubs: South Blackwater, Blackwater Devils and Blackwater Centrals.
Blackwater North State School opened on 30 January 1979.
Approximately 100,000 workers have been employed in coal mining at Blackwater over its 50-year history. The town has provided considerable economic development for Queensland and Australia more generally.
1867 Gold Escort murders Blackwater is located close to the site of the infamous double murder of two police constables at the hands of gold commissioner Thomas Griffin.
Griffin killed the two troopers, John Power and Patrick Cahill, on 6 November 1867 on the banks of the Mackenzie River near the present day site of Blackwater's Bedford Weir, which is located approximately 25 kilometres north of the town.(23 October 2018) Head for the water , Central Queensland News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. The three men had been a part of a gold escort, escorting £4000 in cash from Rockhampton to the Clermont goldfields, which Griffin stole after he killed Power and Cahill. Griffin was later convicted of the crime and hanged in Rockhampton.
A memorial to Power and Cahill was erected at the Bedford Weir in 2013.Shield, Tanya (19 July 2013) Memorial for officers - Double murder: Two constables killed 1867 , myPolice Rockhampton. Retrieved 2 October 2020. The 150th anniversary of their murders, in 2017, was commemorated in both Blackwater and Rockhampton.
1980 John Howard visit Blackwater attracted national media attention in 1980 after violent scenes occurred outside the Capricorn Hotel on 1 August 1980, when angry striking coal miners confronted Federal Treasurer, John Howard.(2 August 1980) Angry miners jostle Howard , The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 October 2020.(4 August 1980) Qld miners attack Canberra , Papua New Guinea Post-Courier. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
Howard had arrived in Blackwater with Deputy Prime Minister, Doug Anthony, and Queensland Treasurer, Llewellyn Edwards, to negotiate with union officials in an attempt to end the protracted industrial action. The strike by the miners was in protest against a government plan to make coal miners pay tax on housing subsidised by the mining companies.
The miners, who had been supplied with free alcohol, confronted the politicians as they left the hotel after negotiations reached a stalemate. As police officers attempted to hastily escort the politicians to the safety of waiting police vehicles, Howard was shoved, jostled, sworn at and grabbed in a headlock. A police officer sustained a suspected broken nose, a camera operator was punched in the face and eggs were thrown. A police vehicle was also damaged when its tail light was kicked in.
The 10-week strike ended in September 1980 when the Federal Government eventually reached an agreement with the Combined Mining Unions.(9 August 1980) Howard regrets house-tax confusion , The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 October 2020.(3 September 1980) Miners to vote on ending tax strike , The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 October 2020.(6 September 1980) Union muscle wins again , The Canberra Times. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
1999 Australian Story controversy In 1999, a production crew from ABC Television's documentary series Australian Story arrived in Blackwater to film jazz musician Don Burrows' visit to the town.(15 June 1999), TV crew to film concert, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020. Burrows had already visited Blackwater on two previous occasions. On this occasion Burrows performed a concert in the town with pianist Kevin Hunt and briefly spent time with members of Blackwater State High School's concert band.(13 July 1999), All eyes on TV screens, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020. The Australian Story program, entitled "Mr Burrows goes to Blackwater" and introduced by Julie Anthony, aired on 29 July 1999.(29 July 1999) Mr Burrows goes to Blackwater (transcript) , Season 4; Episode 24, Australian Story. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
The Blackwater community's reception to the program was mostly negative.(3 August 1999), Program angers band supporters, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020. Complaints ranged from the way Blackwater was portrayed in the program, to the way the program implied that Burrows was single-handedly responsible for the success of the high school band when in actuality he had only played a very minor role. Principal of Blackwater State High School, Jim Reay, said he was disappointed with the program, particularly by the failure of the program to acknowledge the contribution of bandmaster and music teacher John Evenhuis. It was also a sentiment shared by many local residents who felt that Evenhuis had achieved much more than Burrows regarding the success of the concert band and was more deserving of the praise which had been afforded to Burrows.(3 August 1999), Letter: Band credit where credit's due, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020.(3 August 1999), Letter: Comments disappointing, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020.(3 August 1999), Letter: Comments distort the truth, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020.
The substantial negative reaction prompted Australian Story producer John Millard to write a lengthy open letter to the Blackwater community which was published in local newspaper, the Blackwater Herald, in an attempt to explain why the program was produced the way it was.(10 August 1999), Letter: Producer responds, Blackwater Herald. Accessed 2 October 2020.
2008 Bedford Weir fabridam failure On 23 November 2008, a fabridam barrier at the Bedford Weir on the Mackenzie River near Blackwater suddenly failed, causing 6,000 megalitres of water to surge downstream into a popular recreational area where people were swimming.(25 November 2008) Weir to be drained after child drowns , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. A four year old girl, Nelani Koefer, who had been paddling in shallow water, was washed away and drowned. Her body was recovered the following day.
The Bedford Weir's operator SunWater Limited and the manufacturer of the fabridam wall, Trelleborg Engineered Systems, were held responsible for the failure.(8 November 2013) SunWater fined over death of child at Blackwater weir , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. In 2013, SunWater pleaded guilty to a breach of the Workplace Health & Safety Act in the Rockhampton Industrial Magistrates Court and was fined $80,000, but no conviction was recorded. Trelleborg Engineered Systems was also fined $80,000.
A coronial inquest was held in 2015, the findings of which were delivered on 17 March 2016.Edwards, Alyse (7 December 2015) Nelani Koefer inquest: Mother recalls moment 4yo was swept to her death after dam wall burst , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. The coroner found that the collapse had been caused by a manufacturing fault in the wall, which had been designed by Trelleborg.Higgins, Isabella (18 March 2016) Nelani Koefer inquest: Coroner warns against inflatable barriers after 4yo's Bedford Weir drowning , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. The coroner advised that the walls should be removed, never to be used again.(17 March 2016) Findings of Inquest: Inquest into the death of Nelani Ciara Koefer , Office of the State Coroner, Queensland Courts. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
In 2016, it was reported that Nelani Koefer's mother had filed a claim in the Rockhampton Supreme Court suing SunWater and Trelleborg for $1.48 million.Lodge, Jess (14 January 2016) Nelani Koefer's mother suing for almost $1.5 million over Bedford Weir death in central Queensland , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
2020 COVID-19 scares In 2020, it was feared that the Blackwater community was potentially exposed to COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia after it was confirmed on two separate occasions that there had been positive COVID-19 test results. On both occasions it was confirmed the initial test results had been false positives.
In the first incident, it was reported on 11 April 2020 that a Rockhampton-based worker employed at BHP's BMA coal mine at Blackwater had tested positive to COVID-19.Evans, Jack (11 April 2020) BMA confirms CQ miner is positive for COVID-19 , The Morning Bulletin. Retrieved 2 October 2020. The positive result prompted BHP to contact people who may have been in contact with the employee who had not been on site since 1 April 2020.Allen, Steph (13 April 2020) Blackwater miner tests positive for COVID-19 , Central Queensland News. Retrieved 2 October 2020. However, several days later the Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service confirmed that the man had tested negative to COVID-19 following a secondary test and that the first test had been a false positive.Gunders, Peter (17 April 2020) Blackwater mine worker returns 'false positive' COVID-19 test result , ABC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.Smith, Leighton (17 April 2020) CQ miner free of COVID-19 feeling 'very grateful' , Central Queensland News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.