Thallon

Thallon has long been known as a place of rest and was once a stop for Cobb and Co coaches on the Mungindi to St George route. This large wheat grain growing area features six large capacity concrete silos of which tours can be arranged. The agricultural infrastructure also includes the railway station, which dispatches grain, wool and freight to the surrounding towns. The railway station is open for visitors on Monday and Thursday. Two interesting murals painted by local artists exist at the Thallon School. Bring your tent and do some bush camping at Barneys Beach on the Moonie River. The areas' river banks offer good fishing in unspoilt settings. In 1911, the St George Progress Association asked the Minister for Lands to resume 'Bullamon' for closer settlement and 780 acres were gazetted as a town reserve. Development continued, stores opened and a hotel was built to cater for employees of the railway line which had arrived from Talwood. The town was named after the then Commissioner for Railways Mr J. F. Thallon. The first mention of the Thallon district was made by Sir Thomas Mitchell in his diary when he was held up by flood waters on sand ridge on the Moonie River in 1846. At this site, a bloodwood tree where Mitchell carved his initial still stands today. Another place of historical significance is Bullamon Homestead. It was built in the 1860's and still retains its original shingle roof, slab and log walls and remains of a Chinese garden. It was part of a huge station that at its peak covered over 3,102,023 acres. The word Bullamon is an aboriginal word meaning 'largest waterhole.' 'Bullamon' was an early Cobb and Co. change over station and appears in Steele Rudd's story 'The Memoirs of Corporate Kelly.'