Chinchilla
Chinchilla, a rural town in the western Darling Downs, is 160 km north-west of Toowoomba and 260 km from Brisbane. It is situated on Charleys Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River. Both the creek and the town have names deriving from Ludwig Leichhardt's expedition of 1844: Charley was the name of Leichhardt's Aboriginal guide, and 'jinchilla' was the Aboriginal word recorded as describing the plentiful stands of cypress pine growing on the western Downs.
Further Reading:
Chinchilla centenary 1878-1978: souvenir booklet, Chinchilla, Chinchilla Centenary Celebrations Committee on behalf of the Chinchilla Historical Society and its Historical Research Sub-Committee, 1978
K. Emmerson, From cellars to refrigerators, South Brisbane, Watson and Ferguson, 1969
W.J. McLaughlin, Chinchilla Shire handbook, Brisbane, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, 1971
Tony Matthews, Footsteps through time: a history of Chinchilla Shire, Chinchilla, Chinchilla Shire Council, 2004
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