Charleville, Queensland
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The town of Charleville is located in South Western Queensland, Australia, 758 kilometres by road west of the state capital, Brisbane. It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Murweh Shire, which covers an area of 43905 square kilometres. Shire population is approximately 5000 (Census 2001). Charleville is situated on the banks of the Warrego River, and is the terminus for the Warrego Highway.
The first European exploration of the area was conducted by Edmund Kennedy in 1847. A hotel was built in 1865, and a town began to grow to service the region. Cobb and Co, the legendary Australian stagecoach company, established a coach building business in the town in 1886, however, the railway arrived in 1888, beginning the long demise of coach transport in the area.
Proximity to the Warrego River is sometimes problematic. In April, 1990, major floods hit western Queensland, with Charleville being badly effected. Floodwaters peaked at 8.54 metres, over 1000 homes were inundated, and almost 3000 persons evacuated.
Charleville has several tourist attractions, including a museum of the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, a wildlife sanctuary (including a bilby reserve), and the Cosmos Centre (http://www.murweh.qld.gov.au/cosmos/cosmos.html). It was also enshrined in music by Slim Dusty in his country music song "Charleville."
Weather Information (http://www.worldweather.org/185/c00381.htm) Template:Australia-geo-stub