Quilpie Information

Quilpie Map

View detailed map & surrounding locations

Quilpie Slideshow

Also in the area...

Explore other great holiday locations in Outback Queensland.

Australian Workers Heritage Centre

Located in the iconic outback Queensland town of Barcaldine, the Australian Workers Heritage Centre is the custodian of the rich heritage... read more

Barcaldine

Barcaldine's charming facade, one that has earned it the tag of 'Garden City of the West' hides tumultuous tales of a controversial past. In... read more

Birdsville

Birdsville, between the sands of the Simpson Desert and the gibber plains of Sturt's Stony Desert is the starting point of the famous Birdsville... read more

Blackall

Blackall is where shearing legend, Jack Howe, set a world record shearing 321 sheep in seven hours and forty minutes with blade shears... read more

Boulia

Boulia is located 300 kilometres south of Mount Isa at the junction of the Diamantina and Kennedy Development Roads. The town's fame largely... read more

Camooweal

Camooweal is located on the Queensland-Northern Territory border, 330 kilometres south of Burketown, 188 kilometres from Mount Isa and 440... read more

Charleville

Charleville is in the heart of Queensland's 'mulga country'. It is the largest town in the south west of the Outback region and was gazetted... read more

Cloncurry

The copper mines of Cloncurry quickly made this town one of the most prosperous in the Outback. Down through the years since the copper... read more

Cunnamulla

At the intersection of two major stock routes, an outback town was born – thriving undoubtedly because of a river's course which gave... read more

Eulo

Eulo is a small town but seems to capture the spirit and atmosphere of Queensland's Outback. Once the bustling main centre for the opal... read more

Hughenden

Hughenden is located half-way between Townsville and Mount Isa on the Flinders Highway, North West Queensland and is the major centre of... read more

Isisford

Located in 'The Outer Barcoo' Isisford was established in 1877 by William and James Whitman who were travelling through the country... read more

Julia Creek

Julia Creek is located on the Overlander's Way, the main route from Townsville that runs west to Mount Isa and on to Tennant Creek in the... read more

Jundah

Jundah is the administration centre of the Barcoo Shire. With a population of approximately 100 people it is the largest of the three towns... read more

Kynuna

Kynuna was established in the 1860s and in its early days boasted three hotels. It was a staging post for Cobb and Co Coaches... read more

Longreach

Soak up the history and heritage that surrounds the legendary township of Longreach, home of the Australian Stockman's Hall of Fame, Qantas... read more

Mitchell

Located on the Warrego Highway 587 kilometres west of Brisbane and 176 kilometres east of Charleville, the town of Mitchell marks the Gateway... read more

Mount Isa

Described as the Oasis of the Outback - a gleaming mirage on the horizon for travellers from all directions - Mount Isa nestles among the... read more

Porcupine Gorge

Towering sandstone cliffs and lush vine-forest fringing Porcupine Creek provide a striking contrast with surrounding flat plains... read more

Quilpie

Looking for colour? In these parts there's plenty of it, to be found both in the stories relating to the early settlement of the region... read more

Richmond

Imagine being in a place so diverse, so vast, you feel an indescribable sense of freedom. From the plains of the downs country to the silvery... read more

Tambo

From the rugged cliffs of the Great Dividing Range that the explorer Major Thomas Mitchell once crossed, to the open downs country that... read more

Thargomindah

Follow the tracks of Cobb and Co. Fish mighty rivers like the Bulloo, Wilson and Paroo and Cooper's Creek. For some visitors, the highlight... read more

Windorah

With a panorama of giant red sandhills, Windorah is located in the heart of the Channel Country, beside Cooper's Creek. It doesn't get... read more

Winton

Rich in history, Winton was originally known as Pelican Waterhole and was first settled in 1875. The town is best known as the place that... read more

Yowah

Yowah is a small opal mining town 165 kilometres west of Cunnamulla. It is the home of the unique Yowah Nut Opal and Ironstone Matrix Opal... read more

Quilpie Information

Looking for colour? In these parts there's plenty of it, to be found both in the stories relating to the early settlement of the region and also that precious 'colour' of boulder opal, which is sought from beneath the surface of the bush earth. Quilpie is best known as an opal town. It is often referred to as the home of the 'Boulder Opal' as the area is the largest producer of this type of opal in the world.

Queensland is the world's only producer of ironstone boulder opal and the Quilpie mining district is the largest boulder opal producer in the State with approximately 200 leases currently being worked. Opal produced in the Quilpie Shire finds its way to not only jewellery houses in Australian capital cities, but also to stores in Tokyo, Osaka, New York, Hamburg, Paris, London and Geneva.

Located 980 kilometres west of Brisbane and 208 kilometres west of Charleville, Quilpie is the commercial and social centre of the Quilpie Shire. The name of the town was derived from the Aboriginal word 'Quilpeta' meaning Stone Curlew.

Relatively young, Quilpie was declared an official town on 29 April 1917. In the same year the railway line from Charleville to Quilpie was completed. Quilpie is rich in grazing history beginning with the pioneering efforts of families such as the Costello’s, Tully’s and Duracks.

Quilpie is located on the banks of the Bulloo River in the famous Channel Country of western Queensland. The shire is supported through primary industries such as sheep, cattle grazing, oil, gas and opal mining. Apart from these main industries Quilpie Shire houses a keen and talented artistic community.

Visiting Quilpie?

For comprehensive travel information on travelling to Quilpie, select a category below.