29-850: The New Acland Mine is located adjacent to Acland township, about 10 km north of Oakey on the Darling Downs in Queensland , Australia. Geologically it is part of the Walloon Coal Measures and contains more than 500 million tonnes of coal that is removed by the open cut method . The mine is owned and operated by New Hope Group . The mine began operations in 2002. It was officially opened on 13 March 2003 by Premier Peter Beattie . New Acland Mine supplies Tarong Power Station and both domestic and international markets. The mine has previously supplied Swanbank Power Station . To supply Tarong Power Station beyond 2010
58-578: A population between 200 and 400, and the inaugural overall Tidy Town prize in 1989. In 1999, New Hope Coal moved into the area and established the New Acland Mine , an open cut coal mine that since 2005 has been New Hope's main coal producing operation. Anticipating major expansion, the company began to purchase houses in Acland in advance of the area becoming an open cut mine pit , expected to produce 10 million tonnes of coal each year. Ahead of
87-584: A population of 3 people. Acland has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: There are no schools in Acland. The nearest government primary schools are Jondaryan State School in neighbouring Jondaryan to the south-east, Oakey State School in Oakey to the south, Goombungee State School in Goombungee to the east, and Kulpi State School in Kulpi to the north-west. The nearest government secondary school
116-718: A process to formally define their boundaries and to gazette them, which is almost complete. In March 2006, only South Australia and the Northern Territory had not completed this process. The CGNA's Gazetteer of Australia recognises two types of locality: bounded and unbounded. Bounded localities include towns, villages, populated places, local government towns and unpopulated town sites, while unbounded localities include place names, road corners and bends, corners, meteorological stations, ocean place names and surfing spots. Sometimes, both localities and suburbs are referred to collectively as "address localities". In
145-561: A tornado. The Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church, the public hall and butcher's shop were all destroyed beyond repair. St Jude's Anglican Church was dedicated on 21 June 1953 by Reverend Rupert Warner Shand. The church had been rebuilt after the previous church was destroyed by the tornado in December 1952. Its closure on 5 December 2006 was approved by Venerable G. F. Harch, Archdeacon of The Downs. In June 2015, it
174-542: Is Oakey State High School in Oakey to the south. Australian radio broadcaster, Alan Jones attended Acland State School from 1946. Suburbs and localities (Australia) Suburbs and localities are the names of geographic subdivisions in Australia , used mainly for address purposes. The term locality is used in rural areas, while the term suburb is used in urban areas. Australian postcodes closely align with
203-484: Is north of Oakey , on the Darling Downs , 160 kilometres (100 mi) west of Queensland 's state capital, Brisbane . It lies in pasture country where there has been some dairy farming, horse breeding and coal mining. Rainfall was measured at the post office between 1912 and 1993, recording an average annual rainfall of 690 millimetres (27 in). The town of Acland is believed to be named by then Commission of Railways, Charles Barnard Evans, whose mother's maiden
232-486: The Queensland Government has indicated its preferred fuel source will be New Acland connected by a conveyor belt . Local reaction to property resumptions, workmen access and building activities was not well received. To suppress coal dust impacts on communities through which the mine's coal is transported New Hope Coal announced plans to apply a water-based veneer to coal wagons in late 2012. Stage 2 of
261-693: The Oakey Coal Action Alliance appealed to the High Court of Australia . In August 2022, the Queensland government finally gave approval for the mine's expansion. The expansion extends the mine's life by 12 years to 2034. Mining resumed in September 2023. New Acland Mine was caught drilling 27 illegal bores in 2018 and fined $ 3,152 by the Queensland government. Documents obtained under Queensland freedom of information laws show
290-496: The Oakey Coal Action Alliance since 2012. The local land owners are represented by the Environmental Defenders Office . The graziers are concerned that the approval for the mine's expansion will threaten their Darling Downs community and water supply. In 2010, Stage 3 was undergoing an environmental impact assessment . This expansion would have extended the operating life of the mine until about 2042. It
319-538: The State Government about options to continue the operation at the mine. In response to concerns raised in March 2012 by the incoming Queensland Government about the project's potential impacts, the proponent modified the project, including reducing its scope, resulting in a modified project proposal that was 63 per cent, or 2,300 hectares, smaller than the original proposal. New Acland Coal also proposes to move
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#1732779958286348-461: The boundaries of localities and suburbs. This Australian usage of the term "suburb" differs from common American and British usage, where it typically means a smaller, frequently separate residential community outside, but close to, a larger city. The Australian usage is closer to the American or British use of "district" or "neighbourhood", and can be used to refer to any portion of a city. Unlike
377-595: The existing Jondaryan rail coal load-out facility onto the mine site. An eight-kilometre rail spur would connect the facility to the existing rail line. Additional changes to the plan include leaving the Acland town area, including the Tom Doherty Park, the War Memorial and the Acland No 2 Colliery, in place. The revised project has also been changed so that the mining operations will sit 10 km from
406-438: The first instance, decisions about the names and boundaries of suburbs and localities are made by the local council in which they are located based on criteria such as community recognition. Local council decisions are, however, subject to approval by the state's geographical names board. The boundaries of some suburbs and localities overlap two or more local government areas (LGAs). Examples of this are Adamstown Heights , which
435-401: The local park established by his parents. On Monday 4 June 2012, during a live broadcast of ABC TV show Q&A from Toowoomba's Empire Theatre , a question was asked by an audience member which made reference to Glenn Beutel being the last resident of Acland. In the 2016 census , the locality of Acland had a population of 32 people. In the 2021 census , the locality of Acland had
464-529: The mine was opened on the 21 March 2007 by Anna Bligh . A total of 300 staff were expected to be working at the New Acland Mine in 2009, producing 4.2 million tonnes of coal a year. 60% of the coal was exported. In 2019, the mine was fined $ 9,461 by the Department of Environment & Science for breaching noise limits more than 30 times. Stage 3 has been challenged and delayed by
493-534: The mine's closure in 1984, to the sale of the site to the Shire of Rosalie in 2000, the workings were operated as a mining museum by Kath and John Greenhalgh, the owners of the farm on which the mine was located. In September 2006 Kath & John Greenhalgh sold the land to New Acland Pastoral Company. In the 1980s Acland was a six-time winner of the Queensland Tidy Town Award for towns with
522-485: The mine's development, several Queensland bottle trees were prepared for transplantation to the new National Arboretum in Canberra . Acland reported a population of just 53 in the 2006 census . In December 2008 Glenn Beutel was the only remaining homeowner, having rejected the company's offer to purchase his house. In mid-2010 Beutel continued to resist the company's offers, and was reported to still be maintaining
551-562: The mine. Investigations focused on non-compliance in the areas known as West Pit. On 22 August 2019, New Acland Thermal coal mine workers were made redundant as the stage 3 deadline approached. Acland, Queensland Acland is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region , Queensland , Australia. In the 2021 census , the locality of Acland had a population of 3 people. Originally built to support what would become Queensland's oldest continuously worked coal mine,
580-752: The project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) were unchanged. On 26 March 2013, the Queensland Coordinator-General released the final Terms of Reference (ToR) for the New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project. In 2016, the project passed through the Queensland Land Court where it was described as the largest case of its kind. Environmental approval was granted for Stage 3 in 2019. In 2020,
609-473: The state Department of Environment and Science believed the Darling Downs miner had committed a “major” breach of environmental laws. A formal “decision memo” detailed that the mine had conducted exploration drilling activities – including drilling at 27 sites and prepping 41 more – on land not designated for mining activity. In 2020, the federal environment department found no wrong-doing on behalf of
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#1732779958286638-406: The town had a population of between 200 and 400 prior to the mine being shut down in 1984. In 2008 almost all properties comprising the town were purchased by the new mine operators with the intention that they be demolished as the open cut mine expands into the town site. By 2009 there was only one remaining resident, Glenn Beutel, who had refused the company's offer to purchase his property. Acland
667-553: The township of Oakey; the introduction of profiling and veneering technology at the project's rail loading facility and no longer require that the Lagoon Creek be diverted for mining operations. On 9 November 2012 the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities confirmed it had accepted the modified project proposal. The controlling provisions for the assessment of
696-664: The use in British or American English, this term can include inner-city, outer-metropolitan and industrial areas. Localities existed in the past as informal units, but in 1996 the Intergovernmental Committee on Surveying and Mapping and the Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia (CGNA) decided to name and establish official boundaries for all localities and suburbs. There has subsequently been
725-478: Was Acland. It was originally known as Lagoon Creek. Lagoon Creek Provisional School opened on 22 July 1885. On 1 January 1909 it became Lagoon Creek State School. From 1915 to 1920 it was called Acland State School. It closed on 31 August 1930. Acland town developed following the mining of coal in the area by the Acland Coal Company. The town had a police officer by 1913, at which time there
754-440: Was also a primary school nearby, known as Lagoon Creek. Acland Railway Station Post Office opened on 1 May 1913. It was replaced by Acland Post Office in 1969, which closed October 1998. Acland State School opened on 28 February 1921. A declining population meant the primary school had just 12 students by 2004 and it was mothballed in December 2004. It was permanently closed on 24 August 2005. The school faced Allen Street and
783-423: Was bounded by Allen Street, William Street, Bellevue Street and South Streets ( 27°18′19″S 151°41′30″E / 27.3054°S 151.6918°E / -27.3054; 151.6918 ( Acland State School (former) ) ). The Acland number two colliery opened in 1929, and in the 1940s and 1950s it employed 52 people. On Saturday 8 December 1952, most of the buildings in the town were damaged by
812-446: Was planned that annual production would rise to 7.5 million tonnes. In preparation for the mine's expansion directly into the township of Acland most residents left. The last resident in the town, who has refused to leave, is Glenn Beutel. In March 2012, the incoming Newman government announced it did not support the proposed New Acland Coal Mine Stage 3 Project in its then current form. New Hope then entered into discussions with
841-514: Was relocated to the Jondaryan Woolshed to be used as a wedding chapel there. By 1971, with demand for coal for transport in decline, Acland was home to the only remaining coalmine on the Darling Downs. The mine was Queensland's "oldest and smallest continuously worked coal mine" at the time of its closure in 1984. The old colliery is state heritage-listed, being "the most intact mine site of its age and type in Queensland". From
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