Windorah is a 3-star accredited Queensland Tidy Town. 

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History and Geography Facts

Windorah is one of three small towns located in the Barcoo Shire in central west Queensland. It is stated that the town is named after the local Aboriginal word for “Big Fish” although according to an account of the Durack settlers, the name means high, stony place.

Situated on Cooper’s Creek in the heart of the Channel Country 35km below the junction of Barcoo and Thomson Rivers – this is the only place where two rivers form to make a creek. It is one of only two inland flowing systems, with Cooper’s Creek flowing into Lake Eyre.

Windorah is on the edge of Red Sandhill Country to the west, and the Channel Country to the south. The Channel Country can stretch to around 100km span of water in flood time, causing natural irrigation of the best natural beef fattening Country in Australia.

Windorah is 136 metres above sea level. Located just 35 kilometres downstream from where the Thomson and Barcoo Rivers join to form the multi-channelled Cooper Creek, Windorah is known as “The Heart of the Channel Country” and offers a welcome and interesting stop for travellers to western Queensland.

With a small population of about 80 people (and has remained around the same for 125 years), Windorah’s main industries are sheep and cattle grazing, with a growing tourism industry offering stunning vistas, picturesque ruins and historical sites.

The weather could be called hot and dry, with July, traditionally the coldest month, with the lowest recorded temperature of -1.8 to the extreme temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature recorded was 47.1 in 1990.

Main water supply to the town is from Cooper’s Creek, which is treated for household use and left untreated and sent through a different pipeline to the household for garden and outside usage. The country around Windorah is mainly flat flood plains and red soil. Common trees being Mulga, Eucalypts, Gidgee, Lignum and Coolibah.

Major industries have been beef cattle and wool, with oil, gas and tourism becoming increasingly important to the area.

Local Government Information

Located in Far West Queensland, in the heart of the Channel Country, Barcoo region is one of the more remote shires with an area of 61,974 square kilometres in far Western Queensland, incorporating the townships of Jundah, Stonehenge and Windorah. The Barcoo Shire lays claim to the most exceptionally unique place in Australia and the world. It is the only place where two prominent and significate inland rivers, the Thomson and Barcoo meet to form a creek the Cooper Creek. Rich in history, the Barcoo Shire has an outback experience to offer everyone. Along with unique rustic landscapes, distinctive flora and fauna, spectacular wildlife, freshwater fishing, golf, bird watching and stunning sunsets. The Barcoo is also home to Magee’s Shanty, birthplace of the famous Bush Christening renowned by Banjo Paterson. The welcoming three outback towns of Windorah, Jundah and Stonehenge can all be easily accessed via sealed roads and are located within a leisurely drive to the major towns of Longreach or Quilpie. Barcoo Shire is the gateway to Birdsville, Bedourie, Innaminka, Quilpie or Longreach and Winton to the north.