Taroom is a town in the Shire of Banana and locality split between the Shire of Banana and the Western Downs Region in Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroom had a population of 885 people.
Geography The town is located on the Dawson River and the Leichhardt Highway, north-west of the state capital, Brisbane, 300 kilometres (186 mi) west of Maryborough, South-west of Rockhampton and from Toowoomba.
The Leichhardt Highway runs through from south to north, and the Roma-Taroom Road enters from the south-west.
Climate
History
Prussian explorer Ludwig Leichhardt passed through the district in 1844, carving his initials and date on a coolibah tree that now stands in the centre of town.
The name Taroom is said to be an aboriginal Waka word tarum meaning wild lime.
The town was surveyed by Clarendon Stuart in 1860.Taroom State School opened on 11 April 1871 as a primary school. In 1964, the school had a secondary department added to provide secondary education to Year 10.
In 1883, Taroom police officer William O'Dwyer was killed after being struck in the head with a tomahawk by a man he was attempting to arrest near Wandoan. The suspect was immediately shot dead by an accompanying police constable. O'Dwyer died from his injuries thirty minutes after being struck, and was buried at Wandoan.Constable William O'Dwyer , Monument Australia website. Retrieved 7 November 2016 A plaque was unveiled on 7 September 2012 by Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Wilson on a rock in front of the Taroom Police Station to commemorate O'Dwyer being killed in the line of duty.Fallen officer recognised 120 Years On , ABC News, ABC online, 7 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
St Mary's Catholic Primary School opened in May 1921. In April 2015, the Catholic Education office in Toowoomba announced that it would be closing St Mary's School in Taroom on 26 June 2015. The closure of St Mary's means St John's School in Roma and St Joseph's School in Chinchilla became the closest Catholic schools to Taroom. The principal of St Mary's said he was not allowed to publicly comment about the matter but the executive director of Catholic Education in Toowoomba said in a statement the decision to close the school was made with "careful consideration".St Mary's School closure leaves parents short of option , Hayden Smith, Chinchilla News, 1 May 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
Taroom Aboriginal Mission operated until 1927, when it was closed and its residents moved to Woorabinda, Queensland.
In the 1972 Taroom explosion, three men were killed when a stationary truck carrying ammonium nitrate which had caught fire exploded on the Taroom-Bauhinia Road, north-west of Taroom. The three men included the driver and two brothers from a nearby property who had ridden up to the burning truck on motorbikes to assist with the initial fire, which was believed to have been caused by a fault with the truck's electrical system.Three die in chemical blast , The Canberra Times, 1 September 1972. Retrieved 11 November 2016. As the three men were standing near the truck, a significant explosion occurred which burnt out more than 2,000 acres of surrounding bushland, uprooted trees and left a deep crater in the ground where the burning truck had been parked. It was reported that the explosion was so loud that it was heard in Moura and Theodore with debris from the destroyed truck scattered up to two kilometres away. A memorial to the three men was unveiled in Taroom, which led to another one being erected at the accident site in 2013.Enduring tribute binds community , Rebecca Elliot, Central Telegraph, 5 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2016.Truck explosion memorial unveiled , Jacquie Mackay, Breakfast with Jacquie Mackay, ABC Capricornia, 4 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
The Taroom War Memorial commemorates residents of Taroom Shire who served in World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. It is located at the Ludwig Leichhardt Park in Yaldwyn Street and was dedicated in about 1973.
The Taroom Town Hall was built in 2004, immediately next door to the shire council chambers. It was intended to serve as a civic and recreational centre for the town and has a main auditorium that seats 300 people as well as a commercial kitchen and bar. The hall was awarded a regional commendation by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 2004.
The current Taroom Public Library opened in 1976.
Taroom made national news headlines in December 2014 when a man and two children were found near the town after being missing for eleven days.Brisbane man Steve Lonkhuyzen, two sons found safe in outback Queensland , ABC News, ABC online, 21 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016. The trio, consisting of Steve Van Lonkhuyzen and his two young sons, had departed the Brisbane suburb of Lota on 11 December 2014 for a road journey to Cairns when they became stranded in Expedition National Park north-west of Taroom, after their four-wheel-drive vehicle became bogged. The Queensland Police Service appealed to the public to help locate the father and his two sons after they were reported missing when they failed to reach Cairns as scheduled on 15 December 2014. The last known communication from the man was a phone call made from Taroom.Help needed to find family last seen on Darling Downs , Chinchilla News, 18 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016. A local Taroom grazier eventually located the trio on 21 December 2014 while he was searching the national park looking for them after seeing media reports about their disappearance and realising he had witnessed their vehicle enter the national park several days earlier.Grazier who located father, sons stranded in outback Queensland says they were 'pretty hungry' , Marlina Whop, ABC News, ABC online, 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016. It was reported they had survived by collecting rainwater and eating mouldy bread.Remarkable tale of survival for Queensland family lost for 11 days in the outback , 9 News, 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016. The two boys were admitted to Taroom Hospital as a precautionary measure due to malnutrition.Father rationed food to keep sons alive in outback , Kim Stephens, Brisbane Times, 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016.Hero farmer Tom Wagner 'just had to find' missing boys and father in outback Queensland , news.com.au, 23 December 2014. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
On 29 September 2018, Taroom & District Historical Society Inc and Taroom RSL Sub Branch worked together to preserve the 1973 War Memorial by moving it from Ludwig Leichhardt Park to the Taroom Museum at 17 Kelman Street, Taroom (on the original site of the Taroom State School 1871–1956). A new war memorial was erected in the park on 18 August 2019 (Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day).
Local government Taroom was part of the Shire of Taroom until the local government amalgamations of 2008 resulted in the Shire of Taroom being split with the northern part (including Taroom itself) becoming part of the Shire of Banana and the southern part becoming part of the Dalby Region, later renamed Western Downs Region.
The Banana Shire Council has an administration office in Yaldwyn Street; this building is the former Taroom Shire Council Chambers.
The last person to hold the position of Taroom Shire Council mayor, Don Stiller, was critical of the decision to place Taroom into the Banana Shire. In 2011, he said the town would have been much better off had it been incorporated into the Western Downs Regional Council area, which concurred with previous statements by State Member for Callide Jeff Seeney who had described the decision to make Taroom a part of Banana Shire as "outrageous".Merger did Taroom no favours , Russel Guse, Central Telegraph, 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2016
However, Western Downs Regional Council mayor Ray Brown did not support Don Stiller's viewpoint, stating that his priority was to deal with issues in his existing council area and was not interested in looking at any proposed changes to council boundaries that would bring Taroom into the Western Downs Regional Council area.Taroom's neighbours not interested , Russel Guse, Central Telegraph, 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2016
Education
Taroom State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep to Year 10) school for boys and girls at Wolsey Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 157 students with 18 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 11 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent).
There are no secondary schools providing education to Year 12 in or near Taroom. The alternatives are distance education and boarding school.
Facilities Banana Shire Council operates a library at 24 Yaldwyn Street.
Tourism
There is a lookout at the top of Kelman Street, known as Gilbert's Lookout in honour of John Gilbert, a naturalist with Ludwig Leichhardt's 1844 expedition. There is a memorial to Gilbert at the lookout. Gilbert was killed when he was speared by an Aboriginal at the Mitchell River near Dunbar, Queensland near the Gulf of Carpentaria. The lookout offers panoramic views of the town and surrounding countryside.
In 2013, a proposal was put forward to renovate and convert the former Taroom Shire Council Chambers into a tourist attraction that would detail the life and achievements of Ludwig Leichhardt. Banana Shire councillor Vaughan Becker said the characteristics of the Leichhardt Centre would incorporate the feeling of a museum, interpretive centre, educational resource and a tribute to the explorer's achievements. Councillor Becker met with representatives from the German Embassy, Department of Foreign Affairs, Queensland Museum and the University of Queensland to discuss the proposal.Councillor keen for Ludwig Leichhardt museum , Paul Robinson, ABC News, ABC online, 29 July 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2016. Sue Boyce, Ken O'Dowd and Banana Shire Council mayor Ron Carige all publicly supported the proposal.Leichhardt Centre Steps Forward , Rebecca Hafner, Central Telegraph, 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
Transport Coach service Greyhound Australia provides long-distance coach services throughout inland Queensland, including a Toowoomba-Rockhampton service that Taroom residents are able to utilise. The Rockhampton-bound service stops in Taroom on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays while the return Toowoomba-bound service stops in the town on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Airport The Taroom Airport is located 20 kilometres south-east of the town and is used by private aircraft, emergency services and the resource industry to fly workers in and out of the region. In 2015, it was announced that Banana Shire Council was awarded over $124,000 in funding to upgrade the animal-proof fence at the airstrip. At the time then-Banana Shire mayor Ron Carige said the council was negotiating with QGC hoping the company would increase their usage of the airport. He also said an upgrade of the airport was in progress as it had become an integral part of the shire's infrastructure.24 rural airstrips to get upgrade fund boost , Andrea Crothers, Queensland Country Life, 10 December 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2016
Proposed rail link There is no rail link to Taroom. The lack of government interest combined with World War I and the infestation of invasive Prickly Pears the region endured constantly stonewalled the proposed rail link to the town.Public Works Commission: Juandah to Taroom Railway; The Prickly Pear Problem , Darling Downs Gazette, 5 September 1916. Retrieved 11 November 2016Juandah-Taroom Line: Adversely Reported On; Spread of Prickly Pear , Darling Downs Gazette, 8 November 1916. Retrieved 11 November 2016