Tambo is currently a 2-star accredited Queensland Tidy Town.

Tambo won the title of Queensland’s Friendliest Town in 2014.

Tell us what you think by voting in the poll – you can give a 1-to-5-star rating!

History and Geography Facts

Step back in time when you enter Tambo and experience the peacefulness and relaxation of the oldest town in the Central West. Tambo has a strong community spirit which shows in the well kept streets and homes around the town. With heritage buildings and streets lined with native Queensland Bottle trees it is a place to stop, relax and appreciate Queensland’s heritage.

Located near the south-east extremity of the Mitchell Grass Downs, the treeless plains are in evidence as you travel north along the Landsborough Highway towards Tambo. Mitchell grass, a tussock grass named after the explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell, grows as scattered tussocks, about 20 cm in diameter, up to half a metre high and with roots more than a metre deep, allowing access to deep soil moisture.

The Tambo region supports distinctive fauna of reptiles, grassland birds and small marsupials adapted to the region’s seasonality and variability in annual rainfall. Nearby is Salvator Rosa which can be accessed from the Wilderness Way. The Wilderness way will take you to one of Queensland’s better kept secrets, known to many as the roof of Queensland. This area is a watershed and source of creeks and rivers that form three of Australia’s main river systems. Here you will find extensive ranges with massive formations created in soft sandstone, towering white cliffs and picturesque gorges.

Tambo has a temperate climate with January temperatures ranging from 20o C – 42o C and July temperatures ranging from 3.6o C – 21.2o C. Tambo experiences most of it’s rainfall in the summer months and has an average annual rainfall of 540mm.

Local Government Information

The Blackall-Tambo Regional Council is placed in the heart of Queensland's Outback. The Region is comprised of two towns Blackall and Tambo both which lie along the historic Barcoo River and are positioned on the Warrego Highway (Matilda Highway). Blackall is an attractive town and is classed as a remote community with a population of approximately 1560 people. Tambo is a rural community with a population of around 620 people.

Tambo is located on the Landsborough Highway, approximately 300km east of Longreach and 860km northwest of Brisbane, situated on the banks of the Barcoo River. Settled in 1863, making it the oldest town in Western Queensland.

Like much of the west, sheep became the primary industry – today, cattle and tourism are of major importance to the town. A number of heritage early settlement buildings still stand.

The town takes its name from an Indigenous Australian word, meaning “hidden place” or “resting place, fish, shady waters, hidden waters, a secluded spot, hidden place and native yam.” The area on which the town has evolved was home to many different Aboriginal tribes; Wadjaling, Wadjalad, Wadjabangai and Pitjara. The first European exploration of the district was by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1946.

Tambo was originally known as Carrangarra – renamed to Tambo in 1868. It is the location of QANTAS’ first fatal accident on 24 March 1927 – the plane stalled while landing, killing three people.