Editing Roma, Queensland (section)

== History ==


=== Mandandanji ===
Prior to British colonisation, the Aboriginal peoples of the [[Mandandanji]] Nation occupied this region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mandandanji.com.au/mandandanji/|title=Mandandanji People|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008091526/https://mandandanji.com.au/mandandanji/|archive-date=8 October 2018|url-status=live|access-date=8 October 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.qrme.org.au/medical-students/towns/roma.html|title=Roma|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008091737/https://www.qrme.org.au/medical-students/towns/roma.html|archive-date=8 October 2018|url-status=live|access-date=8 October 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[Mandandanji language|Mandandanji]] (also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an [[Australian Aboriginal language]] spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region is within the local government boundaries of the [[Maranoa Region]], particularly Roma, [[Yuleba]] and [[Surat, Queensland|Surat]], then east towards [[Chinchilla, Queensland|Chinchilla]] and south-west towards [[Mitchell, Queensland|Mitchell]] and [[St George, Queensland|St George]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/23?embed=true|title=Mandandanji|date=15 January 2020|website=[[State Library of Queensland]]|access-date=14 January 2020|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204072417/https://maps.slq.qld.gov.au/iyil/view/23?embed=true|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== British exploration ===
The first documented British explorers to enter the region were Sir [[Thomas Mitchell (explorer)|Thomas Mitchell]] and [[Edmund Kennedy]] on their 1846 expedition. Mitchell named a nearby hill [[Mount Abundance, Queensland|Mount Abundance]] due to the rich plains he encountered around what is now Roma. He called these plains the Fitzroy Downs in honour of the newly appointed [[Governor of New South Wales]], [[Charles Augustus FitzRoy]].<ref name="mitchell">{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Thomas |title=Journal of an expedition into the interior of tropical Australia |date=1848 |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9943/9943-h/9943-h.htm |access-date=3 September 2023 |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208153201/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/9943/9943-h/9943-h.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Mitchell and Kennedy encountered a community of around 200 Aboriginal people in this vicinity. After initial friendly communication, hostilities arose with Kennedy's men dispersing a group of Mandandanji after they tried to burn down the explorer's encampment.<ref name="mitchell" />

=== Arrival of British pastoralists and frontier conflict ===
When Mitchell returned to [[Sydney]] from his expedition, he encouraged his friend and head colonial government bureaucrat, [[William Macpherson (bureaucrat)|William Macpherson]], to take up land on the Fitzroy Downs. Macpherson's son, [[Allan Macpherson]], subsequently took 20 men and around 10,000 head of sheep and cattle from his property at [[Keera, New South Wales|Keera]] on the [[Gwydir River]] and headed for the Fitzroy Downs. In October 1847, he established the [[Mount Abundance Homestead|Mount Abundance pastoral station]], which covered 400,000 acres from Muckadilla Creek on the west to Bungil Creek on the east. The township of Roma now stands on the part of the station where Macpherson decided to graze his cattle.<ref name="collins">{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=Patrick |title=Goodbye Bussamarai, The Mandandanji Land War, Southern Queensland 1842-1852 |date=2002 |publisher=UQP |isbn=0702232939}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179058 |title=Maraona 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3941 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=30 June 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231407/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179058 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179130 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3943 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=7 July 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231412/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179130 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179191 |title=Muranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3945 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=14 July 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231409/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179191 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In August 1848, James Blyth attempted to establish a [[sheep station]] on [[Bungil Creek]] but the resident Mandandanji drove him off, spearing Blyth in the leg, killing his stockman and taking 3,000 of his sheep. This incident was the start of a lengthy war between the Aboriginal people of the area and the colonists. In late 1848, Macpherson had several skirmishes with Aboriginal people around Bungil Creek, killing an indeterminate number. By April 1849 the Mandandanji had killed seven of Macpherson's stockmen, and the local [[Commissioner of Crown Lands (Australia)|Crown Lands Commissioner]], John Durbin, with his contingent of mounted [[Border Police of New South Wales|Border Police]] troopers was called in to give armed assistance. Despite this, Macpherson was defeated and forced to abandon his Mount Abundance station in May 1849.<ref name="collins" /><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179272 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Age. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3947 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=21 July 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231412/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179272 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179364 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3949 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=28 July 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=5 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231413/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179364 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179433 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3951 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=4 August 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231412/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179433 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179563 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3955 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=18 August 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231416/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179563 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article98179483 |title=Maranoa 70 Years Ago. |newspaper=[[Western Star And Roma Advertiser]] |issue=3953 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=11 August 1917 |accessdate=4 September 2023 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia |archive-date=9 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240709231913/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/98179483 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon their exit, Macpherson and Durbin requested the government to mobilise the newly formed [[Native Police]] force to eliminate Aboriginal resistance in the region. Subsequently, in July 1849, [[Frederick Walker (native police commandant)|Frederick Walker]] led his Native Police troopers against the "Fitzroy Downs blacks", shooting many
during a large skirmish. In late 1850, the Mandandanji regrouped to attack Paddy McEnroe who had attempted to re-establish the Mount Abundance pastoral station. They killed one of his shepherds, burnt down a hut and took 400 cattle. Roderick Mitchell, the local Crown Lands Commissioner who had replaced Durbin, led a reprisal raid consisting of his police troopers and nearby squatter colonists, which recovered the cattle and killed 13 Aborigines.<ref name="collins" />

In 1851, a large Native Police barracks was established at nearby [[Moraby, Queensland|Wondai Gumbal]] which housed up to 35 troopers. These troopers under officers George Fulford, James Skelton and Richard Dempster, conducted several patrols of the Mount Abundance area, shooting Aborigines when hostile contact was encountered. In November 1852, Mandandanji resistance on the Fitzroy Downs was finally crushed when Skelton dispersed with "severe means" a large group of Aborigines, killing at least six including Mandandanji leader Possum Murray (Bussamarai).<ref name="collins" />

In 1858, the Mount Abundance pastoral station was sold to Stephen Spencer who was able to peacefully re-occupy the property with his family, 13 stockmen and 1,000 head of cattle. A new Native Police barracks was formed in 1859 on Bungil Creek under Sub-Lieutenant William Morehead which ensured British control of the region.<ref name="mcmanus">{{cite book |last1=McManus |first1=Mary |title=Reminiscences of the Early Settlement of the Maranoa District |date=1903 |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1300171h.html |access-date=9 September 2023 |archive-date=17 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017122012/https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1300171h.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Township of Roma ===
In 1862, the [[Government of Queensland]] issued instructions for a town to be created in the [[Maranoa Region]]. Surveyors [[Robert Austin (explorer)|Robert Austin]] and [[A.C. Gregory]] chose a site adjacent to Bungil Creek on Stephen Spencer's Mount Abundance pastoral station. This site became the township of Roma. Initially consisting of nothing more than three [[pub|public houses]], Roma was named after Lady [[Diamantina Bowen]] (Contessa Diamantina di Roma), wife of the first [[Governor of Queensland]], [[George Bowen]].<ref name="mcmanus" /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ashton|first=Paul|date=2006|title=Australians and Greeks: Volume III: The Later Years By Hugh Gilchrist. Sydney: Halstead Press, 2004; PP432 notes, appendicies, bibliography, index; clothbound, $49.95|journal=Public History Review|volume=12|pages=120–122|doi=10.5130/phrj.v12i0.194|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Steam locomotive 'Pioneer' on the Western Railway construction site between Roma and Mitchell, ca. 1885.jpg|thumb|right|Steam locomotive 'Pioneer' on the Western Railway construction site between Roma and Mitchell, ca. 1885]]
[[File:StateLibQld 2 74929 Apparatus for separating natural gas from artesian water at the Roma Gas Works, Queensland, ca. 1906.jpg|thumb|right|Apparatus for separating natural gas from artesian water at the Roma Gas Works]]

[[File:Romavilla Winery, circa 1910.jpg|thumb|left|[[Romavilla Winery]] founded in 1866 by [[Samuel Symons Bassett]]]]
[[File:Queensland State Archives 2524 Kueyers vineyard Roma c 1898.png|thumb|left|Kueyers vineyard Roma c 1898]]
[[File:Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building Roma Queensland 1975.jpg|alt=Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building in Roma, Queensland 1975|thumb|Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building in Roma, Queensland 1975]][[File:Romavilla Winery, circa 1910.jpg|thumb|left|[[Romavilla Winery]] founded in 1866 by [[Samuel Symons Bassett]]]]
[[File:Queensland State Archives 2524 Kueyers vineyard Roma c 1898.png|thumb|left|Kueyers vineyard Roma c 1898]]
[[File:Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building Roma Queensland 1975.jpg|alt=Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building in Roma, Queensland 1975|thumb|Queens Arms Hotel and Hunters Emporium building in Roma, Queensland 1975]]
In 1863 [[Samuel Symons Bassett]] brought Queensland's vine cuttings to Roma and established the [[Romavilla Winery]] in 1866 on [[Bungil Creek]] north of Roma.<ref>{{cite book |last=Wilson |first=Paul D. |title=Bassett, Samuel Symons (1840–1912) |work= |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |chapter=Samuel Symons Bassett (1840–1912) |access-date=2020-05-24 |chapter-url=http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bassett-samuel-symons-80 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811164938/http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bassett-samuel-symons-80 |archive-date=11 August 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1864, Reverend Adam McIntyre of the [[Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900)|Free Church of Scotland]] commenced services at pastoral stations in the Maranoa district with the intention that he would be established as a permanent minister in Roma.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Presbyterian Churches On The Downs - Downs Folk|url=http://downsfolk.wikidot.com/presbyterian-churches-on-the-downs|website=Downs Folk|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524032308/http://downsfolk.wikidot.com/presbyterian-churches-on-the-downs|archive-date=2020-05-24|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref> However, on 22 May 1866 he died at Brucedale pastoral station on Bungil Creek south-east of Roma ({{Coord|-26.8892|148.9312|type:landmark_region:AU-QLD|display=|name=Brucedale pastoral station}}), now in [[Tingun]] .<ref>{{cite news|date=7 June 1866|title=NOTES AND NEWS.|page=2|newspaper=[[Dalby Herald And Western Queensland Advertiser]]|location=Queensland, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article215452020|access-date=25 May 2020|via=Trove|archive-date=4 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204072326/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215452020|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Captain Starlight]], a cattle rustler, was tried and acquitted in the [[Roma Courthouse]] in February 1873.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1309393 |title=ROMA DISTRICT COURT. |newspaper=[[The Brisbane Courier]] |date=18 February 1873 |access-date=23 October 2013 |page=3 |publisher=National Library of Australia |archive-date=4 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204072326/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1309393 |url-status=live }}</ref> 

Roma State School, the first school in Roma, opened on 21 March 1870 and closed on 31 December 1986.<ref name=":0">{{Cite QldSchool|access-date=18 April 2019}}</ref>

St John's School was established by the [[Sisters of Mercy]] in 1881.<ref>{{Cite web|title=St John's School|url=http://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/our-schools/primary-schools/roma/st-johns-school/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202044306/http://www.twb.catholic.edu.au/our-schools/primary-schools/roma/st-johns-school/|archive-date=2 February 2017|access-date=29 January 2017|publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba|Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba Catholic Schools]]|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Roma was the site of Australia's first oil and gas discoveries.<ref>{{cite web|date=2010|url=http://www.discoveraustralia.com.au/queensland/roma.html|title=Roma Tourism Guide and Travel Deals|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226171337/http://www.discoveraustralia.com.au/queensland/roma.html|archive-date=26 February 2011|website=Roma Tourism. Kalhaven Group|access-date=27 April 2012}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], Roma was the location of [[List of RAAF inland aircraft fuel depots|RAAF No.22 Inland Aircraft Fuel Depot]] (IAFD), completed in 1942 and closed on 29 August 1944. Usually consisting of 4 tanks, 31 fuel depots were built across Australia for the storage and supply of aircraft fuel for the [[RAAF]] and the [[US Army Air Forces]] at a total cost of £900,000 ($1,800,000).<ref>{{Cite book|author1=Australia. Royal Australian Air Force. Historical Section|title=Logistics units|date=1995|publisher=AGPS Press|isbn=978-0-644-42798-2}}</ref>

Roma Special School opened on 25 January 1982 and closed on 31 December 1995.<ref name="qfhs">{{Citation |author1=Queensland Family History Society |title=Queensland schools past and present |publication-date=2010 |edition=Version 1.01 |publisher=[[Queensland Family History Society]] |isbn=978-1-921171-26-0}}</ref><ref name="schoolclosures">{{Cite web |date=20 August 2013 |title=Queensland state school - centre closures |url=https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2013/5413T3241.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320144902/https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tp/2013/5413T3241.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2022 |access-date=7 April 2022 |website=[[Queensland Government]]}}</ref>

In 2004, Roma had a low unemployment rate of 2.9%,<ref>{{cite web |title=ABS employment figure |url=http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/LGA36400Economy12000-2004?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=LGA36400&issue=2000-2004&num=&view= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001082431/http://abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/LGA36400Economy12000-2004?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=LGA36400&issue=2000-2004&num=&view= |archive-date=1 October 2007 |access-date=14 April 2018 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> which is among the lowest unemployment rates in Australia. 68.5% of the people in the labour force living in Roma were employed full-time, with 21.9% working on a part-time basis.<ref>{{cite web |title=Roma Demographics (QLD) Local Stats |url=https://localstats.com.au/demographics/qld/western/south-western/roma |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524084706/http://localstats.qpzm.com.au/stats/qld/western/south-western/roma |archive-date=24 May 2015 |access-date=17 August 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The Roma State College opened on 1 January 2006 as an amalgamation of Roma Junior School and Roma Middle School, and the addition of a new senior component.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2019-11-18|title=Our school|url=https://romasc.eq.edu.au/our-school|access-date=2021-12-19|website=Roma State College|language=en|archive-date=27 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227003757/https://romasc.eq.edu.au/our-school|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Photograph_of_Roma_State_School.jpg|thumb|Photograph of Roma State School]]
In 2010, a Santos project study investigated the possibility of introducing treated [[Coal seam gas|CSG]] produce water into Roma's existing underground aquifer which supplies the town's water needs, including drinking water<ref>{{cite web |title=Santos - Our Responsibilities - Groundbreaking study looks at water solutions to top up Roma town water |url=http://www.santos.com/blog/archive/2010/11/16/aquifer_recharge.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015180140/http://www.santos.com/blog/archive/2010/11/16/aquifer_recharge.aspx |archive-date=15 October 2014 |access-date=2014-10-11 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Roma Managed Aquifer Recharge Study is the first of its kind in Australia. It is also considered experimental in nature as the risks are largely unknown. The Roma CSG Field pilot trial (Hermitage) Stage 4 is in operation (Completed Q4 2012) and Roma CSG Field (The Bend) Stage 4 operation is due to commence Q3/Q4 2014. The project will allow for the injection of up to 24 ML/d of treated coal seam gas water into the Gubberamunda Sandstone aquifer for up to 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Santos - Water Portal |url=http://www.santoswaterportal.com.au/media/pdf1873/140328_santos_glng_cwmmp_annual_report_2013.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141017050749/http://www.santoswaterportal.com.au/media/pdf1873/140328_santos_glng_cwmmp_annual_report_2013.pdf |archive-date=17 October 2014 |access-date=14 April 2018 |website=www.santoswaterportal.com.au |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Water bores have been shut down and hence been restarted at nearby Wallumbilla due to [[methane]] being detected in the Gubberamunda Sandstone aquifer (2014).<ref>{{cite web |title=Water contamination may be linked to coal seam gas wells |url=http://www.qt.com.au/news/contamination-is-confirmed/2219462/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043021/http://www.qt.com.au/news/contamination-is-confirmed/2219462/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |access-date=17 August 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=27 May 2014 |title=Methane Contaminated Town Water in Wallumbilla - Shine Lawyers |url=http://www.shine.com.au/methane-contaminated-town-water-wallumbilla/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009141603/https://www.shine.com.au/methane-contaminated-town-water-wallumbilla/ |archive-date=9 October 2015 |access-date=17 August 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>