Prairie, Queensland
Town in Queensland, Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prairie is a rural town and locality in the Flinders Shire, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Prairie had a population of 116 people.[1]
Prairie | |||||||||||||
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Prairie Hotel Motel | |||||||||||||
  Prairie | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Prairie | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 20.8694°S 144.6022°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
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| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 8,318.3 km2 (3,211.7 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 116 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.01395/km2 (0.03612/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 4821 | ||||||||||||
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Geography
The town is located in the north of the locality. The Flinders Highway enters the locality from the north-east (Torrens Creek), passes through the town and exits to the north-west (Hughenden).[4]
The Great Northern railway line runs parallel and immediately south of the highway, with the following railway stations (east to west):
- Warreah railway station, in the north-east of the locality (20.8280°S 144.8026°E)[5]
- Karoon railway station, now abandoned (20.8453°S 144.7258°E)[5]
- Prairie railway station, serving the town (20.8717°S 144.6009°E)[6][5]
- Baronta railway station, now abandoned (20.8778°S 144.5175°E)[5]
- Tolkuru railway station, now abandoned (20.8757°S 144.4535°E)[5]
- Tindo railway station, in the north-west of the locality (20.8719°S 144.4166°E)[7][5]
- Jardine Valley railway station, now abandoned (20.8694°S 144.3902°E)[5]
History
Demographics
In the 2006 census, the locality of Prairie and the surrounding area had a population of 103 people.[10]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Prairie had a population of 143 people.[11]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Prairie had a population of 116 people.[1]
Education
Prairie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Savage Street (20.8707°S 144.6053°E).[12][13] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 7 students with 1 teacher and 2 non-teaching staff (1 full-time equivalent).[14]
There is no secondary school in Prairie. The nearest is Hughenden State School (to Year 12) in neighbouring Hughenden to the north-west.[4]
Given the size of the locality, these schools will be too distant from those living in the south of the locality.[4] Distance education or boarding schools are the alternatives.
