Calliungal Shire (1909) was the forerunner to Mount Morgan Shire. Named after the Calliungal pastoral run (in which a part of the very rich Mount Morgan gold lode (1882) was located), the shire was merged with the town municipality of Mount Morgan in 1931, forming the Mount Morgan Shire.
Mount Morgan itself was named after early selector Donald Morgan. Morgan and his brothers, who had previous mining experience, prospected the area and exploited the gold find which had been made secretly by one of their stockhands.
The township which formed near Mount Morgan was known as South Calliungal, a name lasting until 1899. North Calliungal, a few kilometres away, became Baree.
Calliungal Shire's census populations were:
Census Date | Population |
---|---|
1911 | 3173 |
1921 | 2100 |
Later information is recorded under the entry for Mount Morgan Shire.