Arrilalah is a ghost town in the locality of Longreach in the Longreach Region of Western Queensland, Australia.[1]

Arrilalah
LongreachQueensland
Chemist building in Arrilalah, 1884
Arrilalah is located in Queensland
Arrilalah
Arrilalah
Coordinates23°40′50″S 143°52′58″E / 23.6806°S 143.8828°E / -23.6806; 143.8828 (Arrilalah (town centre))
Postcode(s)4730
Location
LGA(s)Longreach Region
State electorate(s)Gregory
Federal division(s)Maranoa

History

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The site was originally settled in the 1860s with the name "Forest Grove", but the name was changed to Arrilalah, a word with an uncertain origin, in 1885. The town began a long decline when the railway bypassed it, instead connecting to the nearby town of Longreach.[2]

Arrilalah Provisional School opened circa 1889 and closed in 1906 due to low attendances.[3]

By the 1980s, there were no permanent inhabitants remaining. The local cemetery was rededicated in 2010, and was the site of approximately forty burials.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Arrilalah – population centre in Longreach Region (entry 862)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Harris, Julia (September 2010). "Ghost town cemetery revisited". ABC News. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
  3. ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0