Welcome to Warra, Queensland

Originally known as Warra Warra, named after the Warra Warra pastoral run, Warra is about 260km from Brisbane, and about 50km from Dalby along the Warrego Highway. We stopped here at the donation camp - The Richard Best Memorial Park - for lunch on our way to Wandoan. 

The area, Barunggam lands, is the traditional land of the Cobble Cobble people.

On 4th October, 1844 Ludwig Leichhardt and his party set up camp by the Cooranga Creek, near where the school is now located. There is a memorial plaque on the site with details of the camp.  

The pastoral run of Warra Warra was established in the 1840's by Henry Dennis and from 1848 was operated by Colin McKenzie. About 1864 it was operated by a Mr Thorne.

European settlers came in the 1870's, with a promise of the western railway line extension from Dalby. With the establishment of Jimbour Homestead and property, farming was promoted in the area in early 1900's. The station was relocated from the other side of the Warra Hotel to the Richard Best Memorial Park, where many of the old town buildings have been relocated.

The announcement of the railway line extension prompted Richard Best to move to Warra in 1875 and he later opened the first hotel, post office and store. The first school was opened in 1881 to cater for the farm children and the railway workers children. The post office was located across the road from the park where the hall is now located. All that is left is this horse hitching rail.

 

Just west of Warra a coal mine was opened in 1914 and supplied coal to run the trains. By 1914 the town had two hotels, three butchers, three stores, a church, a school, and a sawmill. The school buildings at the park have been relocated from Haystack, a nearby town.

The mine was worked until 1919 and closed due to continual water seepage in the mine, and the miners strike. 

Shortly after the mine closure, the area was infested with prickly pear and the population almost halved. The story of the prickly pear eradication is an interesting one and information can be found in Chinchilla. Following years saw WWII soldiers settled in the area and another population increase. However, in the 1960's as Dalby grew in size, towns around, including Warra were again in decline.

The Richard Best Memorial Park is on the highway/main street of town, opposite the memorial hall and next to the Warra Hotel. We stopped for lunch and had a walk around. There are picnic tables and bbq's, toilets, and historic buildings. It is also a donation overnight camp.

The old lockup, built in 1904.

 

All the buildings have been relocated to this park.

This map is the town in 1900. Thorn Street is the main street now, and the historic park is on the corner of Robinson and Thorn streets.

The pub is still in the same location where it was built. Originally known as the Sun Hotel, it was established in 1876 by Richard Best as a meeting / drinking place for the workers on the railway. Best also established the post office and general store about the same time. The hotel was renovated in 1901 by Theo and Eliza Burghardt to the two story building one sees today. Shortly after it was renamed Rising Sun Hotel the new symbol worn by the Australian Imperial Forces introduced in 1902. Today it is known as the Warra Hotel and is still an operating hotel, but with limited hours of operation.

Today Warra has a school, a hotel, a hall, and a petrol station. Well worth a visit.