43-609: The Dingo Fence or Dog Fence is a pest-exclusion fence in Australia to keep dingoes out of the relatively fertile south-east part of the continent (where they have largely been exterminated) and protect the sheep flocks of southern Queensland . One of the longest structures in the world, it stretches 5,614 kilometres (3,488 mi) from Jimbour on the Darling Downs near Dalby through thousands of kilometres of arid land ending west of Eyre peninsula on cliffs of
86-488: A 300 km (186 mi) section of the fence twice every week. There are depots at Quilpie and Roma . The Queensland Border Fence stretches for 394 km (245 mi) westwards along the border with New South Wales , into the Strzelecki Desert . The fence passes the point where the three states of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia meet ( Cameron Corner ). At this point, it connects with
129-427: A fence's height, depth under the ground and mesh size. It is also important to choose a construction material that cannot be climbed; furthermore, sometimes it is necessary to create a subsurface fencing element to prevent burrowing under the fence. Fences are usually designed with the target pest species (the species to be excluded) in mind, and the fences are made to effectively exclude those species. This results in
172-399: A guards van and power van. both 3Q02 and 3V02 were withdrawn in 1994 and replaced by TrainLink bus services Quilpie State School opened on 10 September 1918. The school began offering secondary education in 1966. On 5 December 2008, it was renamed Quilpie State College. The first post office was opened in 1921. Two years later the telephone reached Quilpie . A fire destroyed a block of
215-684: A negative story around that.” Drone and satellite technology have illustrated how removing dingos changes vegetation growth. Pest-exclusion fence A pest-exclusion fence is a barrier that is built to exclude certain types of animal pests from an enclosure . This may be to protect plants in horticulture , preserve grassland for grazing animals, separate species carrying diseases ( vector species ) from livestock, prevent troublesome species entering roadways, or to protect endemic species in nature reserves . These fences are not necessarily traditional wire barriers, but may also include barriers of sound, or smell. Animals can be excluded by
258-491: A population of 595 people. In the 2021 census , the locality of Quilpie had a population of 451 people with 16.2% identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander . The area is wholly devoted to grazing . Boulder opal , oil and gas mining are major secondary industries for the local economy. The majority of the employees of these industries are local residents, with low rates of both unemployment and itinerant work. Quilpie has one opal mining field; Toompine Field
301-625: A single teacher between the two schools). Toompine Provisional School closed in July 1902, enabling Duck Creek Provisional School to revert to full-time status. Due to low student numbers, Duck Creek Provisional School closed in 1905. Quilpie was gazetted as a town in 1917 owing to the Western railway line that was laid down from Brisbane. It takes its name from the Indigenous Australian word for stone curlew , quilpeta . The name
344-545: A wide variety of designs for pest exclusion fences (see examples below). Often the fence is encircled in electric wire to ensure that animals can not climb over the fence. Australia has utilised exclusion fencing since the 1860s. The most well known exclusion fences in Australia are the barrier fences. Barrier fences are long (usually linear) barriers erected for the purpose of excluding particular species from large portions of Australia. The most well known barrier fences are
387-622: Is Arid Recovery in South Australia, where feral cat , red fox and rabbit have been removed for the conservation of 5 threatened species. Prior to human settlement New Zealand had no land-based mammals apart from three bat species. The introduced mammal species, such as rabbits, deer, and possum, have since caused huge ecological changes to the biota of New Zealand. Pest-exclusion fences are increasingly used for conservation of indigenous species by excluding all mammals. Locations of predator-proof fences include: Deer-proof fencing
430-763: Is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Margany people. The Margany language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Quilpie Shire , taking in Quilpie, Cheepie and Beechal extending towards Eulo and Thargomindah , as well as the properties of Dynevor Downs and Ardoch. The township of Toompine was surveyed in 1870. The name Toompine is an Indigenous language word meaning leech . Toompine Provisional School and Duck Creek Provisional School both opened in 1900. In 1901, they became half-time schools (meaning they shared
473-580: Is cleared to a 5 m (5.5 yd; 16 ft) width. Parts of the Dingo Fence are lit at night by 86 mm (3.4 in) cold cathode fluorescent lamps which are alternately red and white. They are powered by long life batteries which are charged by photovoltaic cells during the day. At minor and farm crossings, a series of gates allow vehicles to pass through the fence. Where the fence intersects major roads and highways, cattle grids are used to allow high-speed vehicles through. Maintenance of
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#1732772948782516-671: Is in Channel Country on the banks of the Bulloo River . It is on the Diamantina Developmental Road , 211 kilometres (131 mi) west of Charleville , 829 kilometres (515 mi) west of Toowoomba and 1,099 kilometres (683 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane . Quilpie is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire. The town of Quilpie is in the north of the locality, while
559-500: Is located between Quilpie and Yowah . The most common species of trees in the district are: There are a large range of animals (including reptiles and insects) that can be found in the area including: Quilpie residents enjoy free access to many amenities including a post office, the town library, swimming pool, golf course, museum, sports grounds, an air-conditioned hall and supper room etc. There are well stocked stores and plenty of attractions for visitors with displays of opals and
602-552: Is on the north-west corner of Bulnbuln Street and Quarrion Street ( 26°36′56″S 144°16′08″E / 26.615601°S 144.2689°E / -26.615601; 144.2689 ( St Matthew's Anglican Church ) ). Quilpie State College is a government primary and secondary (Early Childhood-10) school for boys and girls at the corner of Chulungra and Boonkai Streets ( 26°36′54″S 144°16′17″E / 26.6149°S 144.2714°E / -26.6149; 144.2714 ( Quilpie State College ) ). In 2017,
645-414: The 2001 census , the town of Quilpie had a population of 645 people. Around 14% of the population of Quilpie identity as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and around 2% were born outside Australia. In the 2006 census , the town of Quilpie had a population of 560 people. In the 2011 census , the locality of Quilpie had a population of 574 people. In the 2016 census , the locality of Quilpie had
688-703: The Dingo Fence and the Rabbit-proof fence , but there are many others. In more recent years, pest-exclusion fences have been built around singular properties, or groups of properties. This practice is known as cluster fencing. Cluster fencing allows farmers to monitor and mitigate predation pressure on livestock , and monitor Total Grazing Pressure (TGP) through accurate abundance data of native, pest, and domestic herbivores . Australia uses pest-exclusion fencing to separate several high-value or threatened species from introduced predators. One such example
731-654: The Nullarbor Plain above the Great Australian Bight near Nundroo . It has been partly successful, though dingoes can still be found in parts of the southern states. Although the fence has helped reduce losses of sheep to predators, this has been countered by holes in fences found in the 1990s through which dingo offspring have passed and by increased pasture competition from rabbits and kangaroos . The earliest pest exclusion fences in Australia were created to protect small plots of cropland from
774-773: The South Australian Border Fence , which runs for 257 km (160 mi) southwards along the border with New South Wales, these two sections are managed by the New South Wales Wild Dog Destruction Board . It then joins a section known as the Dog Fence in South Australia, which is 2,225 km (1,383 mi) long. The fence varies in construction. Mostly it is made of 180-centimetre (6 ft) high wire mesh , but some sections in South Australia comprise multi-strand electric fence . The fence line on both sides
817-658: The 1940s by the old dingo fence, which was used to drive out dingoes from grazing land to the west and agricultural country in Queensland's Darling Downs . The 2,500 km (1,553 mi) section of the fence in Queensland is also known as the Great Barrier Fence or Wild Dog Barrier Fence 11 . It is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. The Wild Dog Barrier Fence staff consists of 23 employees, including two-person teams that patrol
860-527: The arrival in January 1950 of three Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart , Sisters Macrina, Carmel and Magdalen. By the end of 1950, over 60 children were enrolled. A boarding school for boys and girls was opened in 1951. The first lay teacher, Michael West, was appointed in 1983. When the boarding facility closed in 2008, it was the last rural Catholic primary boarding school in Queensland. In 2009,
903-415: The dingo, as Australia's top predator, has an important role in maintaining the balance of nature. Where dingoes had been excluded by the fence, Letnic found reduced biodiversity , with fewer native mammals. Although the fence has helped reduce the loss of sheep to predators, the exclusion of dingoes has allowed for increased pasture competition from rabbits, kangaroos and emus. In a 2024 report conferred to
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#1732772948782946-546: The east. Alternatively, Year 11 and 12 students can also study using distance education provided by the Charleville School of Distance Education or move away to various boarding schools. Quilpie experiences a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen: BSh), with very hot, somewhat rainy summers and mild, dry winters. Average maxima strongly vary from season to season: between 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) in January and 20.1 °C (68.2 °F) in July. Annual precipitation
989-526: The entry of many different animals, not just dingoes. Dr Tom Newsome, a researcher at the University of Sydney ’s global ecology lab, stated that by locking dingoes out, the fence may render unique perception into how they interact with the land. He says, “when you look at what happens when you remove an apex predator , there are some negative effects on the ecosystem...We have more herbivores , we have more invasive predators, localised extinctions, there's
1032-421: The fence has been useful for protecting livestock against dingoes, ecologists opine that the fence is a colonial legacy that is more harmful than helpful. Believed to have been introduced into Australia by Aboriginal peoples between 4,600 and 18,300 years ago, the dingo's status as a native or introduced species in Australia has been a controversy. According to Mike Letnic of the University of New South Wales ,
1075-483: The fence on the NSW side is managed by a team of 13 staff who manage portions of the fence between 60km and 100km, where they carry inspections every Monday and Friday. They are paid between $ 26 and $ 31 an hour with accommodation. It seems that there are fewer kangaroos and emus on the northwestern side of the fence where the dingoes are, suggesting that the dingoes' presence reduces the populations of those animals. Although
1118-401: The fence were sealed, and an expansion of the fence is essential. The 5,614km fence begins in South Australia, where it is named the dog fence, and it enters the NSW border near Broken Hill , where it becomes the state's responsibility and is called the wild dog fence. At Cameron Corner , it swerves north into Queensland and becomes the wild dog barrier fence. It travels the route commenced in
1161-478: The fence would be a "step backwards", because the fence was initially established so that landowners "could legally keep First Nations people off the land. It has a violent history and it hasn’t really been acknowledged in these terms", according to Dr Justine Philip, who has a PhD on dingoes at the University of New England . A spokesperson for South Australia's Primary Industries and Regions SA stated that approximately 20,000 sheep perished each year before gaps in
1204-581: The fence – Introduced in 1946, these penalties are still in use today. In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the dingo fence was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an iconic "innovation and invention". In December 2023, construction began on a 32 km extension to the fence, which closes the gap between the NSW and South Australian border fences. It is expected to be completed in late 2024. Though researchers claim that extending
1247-445: The fence. In 1930, an estimated 32,000 km of dog netting in Queensland alone was being used on top of rabbit fences. Prior to 1948, the idea of a Dingo Barrier Fence Scheme had not come into fruition as a statewide project for which annual maintenance and repair were kept. Since this time, there have been pushes to move away from a method of barrier-exclusion to complete extinction of the dingo and wild-dog cross-breeds. Poisoning
1290-926: The first lay principal, Aaron Wells, was appointed and the administration of the school passed from the Sisters to the Catholic Education Office of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba who operate the school in the Mary MacKillop tradition (MacKillop being the founder of the Sisters of St Joseph). Goombie State School opened on Goombie Station (north of the town of Quilpie at 26°06′45″S 144°08′05″E / 26.1126°S 144.1348°E / -26.1126; 144.1348 ( Goombie Station ) ) on 27 January 1875 and closed on 9 December 1977. The current Quilpie Public Library building opened in 2005. In
1333-422: The lands minister, Steve Kamper, the board chair, Andrew Bell, stated that fewer than 10 wild dogs were reported outside the fence, with a full review of the NSW side of the fence accomplished and shown to be in "very good order". Furthermore, Department of Regional NSW spokesperson stated that the fence is "one of a range of tools used in the fight against wild dogs and other biosecurity threats", since it prevents
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1376-406: The locality of Quilpie had a population of 530 people. The town is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire local government area . The town of Toompine is also within the locality. The economy of the area is based on the grazing and mining industries. The area has one of the largest deposits of boulder opal in the world, and also has extensive deposits of gas and oil . Quilpie
1419-455: The main street in 1926. With no town water the residents watched helplessly. In 1927, the first court house was established. Prior to 1930, Quilpie was within the Shire of Adavale , headquartered at Adavale . However, the decision to route the railway line through Quilpie rather than Adavale had led to a population drift away from Adavale making Quilpie the larger town. On 17 July 1930, there
1462-469: The predation by marsupials. In the 1860s and 1870s, introduced rabbit populations began to spread rapidly across southern Australia. By 1884, a rabbit-proof fence was built. Having been unsuccessful at keeping rabbits out, and more successful at keeping out pigs , kangaroos , emus and brumbies , and as more sheep farms were established, the interest for a dingo-proof barrier increased enough that government funds were being used to heighten and expand
1505-496: The school had an enrolment of 30 students with 5 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 26 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 3 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). For students wanting to study Years 11 and 12, the closest secondary school is Charleville State High School in Charleville , 211 kilometres (131 mi) to
1548-544: The school had an enrolment of 61 students with 12 teachers (11 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 65 students with 13 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent). St Finbarr's School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Jabiru Street ( 26°37′00″S 144°16′12″E / 26.6167°S 144.2701°E / -26.6167; 144.2701 ( St Finbarr's School ) ). In 2017,
1591-572: The smaller town of Toompine ( 27°13′21″S 144°21′40″E / 27.2225°S 144.3611°E / -27.2225; 144.3611 ( Toompine, Queensland ) ) is in the south of the locality. Quilpie has quite a few trees but sometimes drought takes over and the landscape can become dry and desolate. Quilpie is believed to lie on the border of the Bunthamurra and Margany Indigenous Australian tribal areas. Margany (also known as Marganj, Mardigan, Marukanji, Maranganji)
1634-436: The species with compound 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) baits has been seen as a much cheaper alternative than fence maintenance. A compromise in the form of the continued use of poison and the shortening of the fence from its previous length of over 8000 km has been made. Laws were appointed to protect the fence; jail terms of three months for leaving a crossing gate open, and six months for damage or removal of part of
1677-788: The works of local artists and as well as an information centre. The Brick Hotel has been restored to house displays of opal and art and provide a community learning space. Quilpie Shire Council operates Quilpie Shire Library at 52 Brolga Street. The Quilpie branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 17 Brolga Street. St Finbarr's Catholic Church is on the south-east corner of Bulnbuln Street and Quarrion Street ( 26°36′58″S 144°16′09″E / 26.616203°S 144.2692°E / -26.616203; 144.2692 ( St Finbarr's Catholic Church ) ). The altar and baptismal font are decorated with local opals. St Matthew's Anglican Church
1720-535: Was a re-organisation of local government in the district, resulting in the abolition of the Shire of Adavale and the creation of the Shire of Quilpie with Quilpie as its headquarters. St Finbarr's Catholic Church was officially opened and dedicated on Sunday 14 December 1930 by the Bishop of Toowoomba , James Byrne . It was built from timber. In 1972, it was replaced with a brick church designed by W. Durack. A bore
1763-593: Was proposed by pastoralist James Hammond of Tenham Station. The Queensland Railways Department mistakenly named the railway station Quillpill . The town and station name were standardised to Quilpie on 16 June 1917 by the Governor in Council. From 1954 to 1994, The Westlander was split at Charleville . the Quilpie Section (3Q02) was known as the "Flying Flea" and it consisted of two passenger carriages,
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1806-535: Was sunk into the Great Artesian Basin in 1933. It provided drinking water for the town and between 1952 and 1963 the hot water was used to generate electricity for the town. On 15 October 1936, St Matthew's Anglican Church was officially opened and dedicated by Bishop Dixon . It was built from timber and could seat 100 people. The church bell was donated by the people of Cunnamulla . St Finbarr's Catholic School opened in early 1950, shortly after
1849-482: Was used in Nagano Prefecture , Japan in a conservation effort to maintain plant diversity. The methods were effective for increasing species richness, but not as effective for conserving rare plants. Quilpie Download coordinates as: Quilpie ( / ˈ k w ɪ l p i / KWIL -pee ) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census ,
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