deity in Aboriginal creation stories, who created the waterways and the landscape during the time of the Dreaming.
One Aboriginal Dreamtime story provides an explanation as to why the Emu cannot fly.
The Emu sisters were being chased by the Dingo Men who wanted to marry them. So the sisters, trying to escape the Dingo Men, hid in the caves and boulders along the Maranoa River. The Dingo Men lit a fire and the smoke drove the Emu sisters out from their hiding place. However, the fire also burned the Emu sisters wings and they could no longer fly. But the Emu sisters could still run fast and were able to get away from the fire. This is the story of how the emu lost the power to fly.
The emu ("goolburri" in Mandandanji language) is a
significant cultural totem for the Mandandanji people. Some Aboriginal people may have several totems, which come from animals, plants, the landscape and the weather.
A
diverse range of animal foods was obtained through hunting, fishing and collecting. Certain foods were prepared by women, others by men.
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| Aboriginal person collecting yams, Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), Friday 4 December 1908 |
The Mandandanji resisted Europeans settlement, with a warrior named Bus-samarai, leading the charge. However, Bus-samarai, also engaged with Europeans and attempted a form of rapprochement ( re-establishment of cordial relations) at other times.
Before Europeans arrived, hand-held stone choppers were used to remove bark from trees and to make a range of artefacts and structures.
Decorative and symbolic patterns were sometimes carved into living trees.
The only real item of clothing worn by Aboriginal people of Australia, according to Mathews, was an opossum cloak. However, the cloak was not used in hotter climates. In many areas, younger girls wore a type of belt with a fringe made of fur or vegetable matter.
Many Aboriginal groups carved raised cuts (cicatrices) across their hips, on shoulders and abdomens, which were usually part of initiation rites.
Many tools and implements were needed for the construction of canoes, shields, and paintings. Baskets were woven to carry foods and nets for catching fish. Other tools were
used in ceremonies e.g. implements to create cicatrices and for circumcision, for tooth evulsion and bags for sacred items.
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| These Aboriginal women are stripping bark from roots of a tree to make rope, Table Talk, Wednesday 1 August 1934 |
Aboriginal sites around Roma include Bora Rings, Burial Sites and the second Native Police Barracks.
# THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF AUSTRALIAN TRIBES By A. R. RADCLIFFE-BROWN
1846: European Exploration
Sir Thomas Mitchell, the New South Wales Surveyor-General, journeyed to what would become the town of Roma on 7th May 1846, on his fourth expedition. He passed several Aboriginal camping sites and called the area “Mount Abundance” because of the "
abundance of pasture". He said of the area:
"I ascended an elevated north-eastern extremity of Mount Abundance, and from it beheld the finest country I had ever seen in a primeval state - a champaign region, spotted with wood, stretching as far as human vision or even the telescope could reach."
North of Roma, Mitchell spoke to some Mandandanji men. On May 14th, an elderly
native pointed much to the north-west, frequently repeating the word Maranoa. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792-1855)Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 22 October 1932
Mitchell
also observed Aboriginal scarred trees.
In the following year, Allen McPherson built a bark hut at Mount Abundance, 20 miles from today's Roma. However, the Aboriginal people eventually drove him off the land.
Ludwig Leichhardt visited McPherson at Mount Abundance on 4 April 1848 during his expedition which
aimed to cross Australia from east to west. Leichhardt's last letter was written here April 1848, before his disappearance.
Other explorers also spent time here as they passed through the region, such as, Edmund Kennedy, the first European explorer to attempt an overland expedition of Cape York Peninsula. Kennedy, however, would be speared at Cape York Peninsula, with only three men surviving out of a party of 18.
Mandandanji Land War
McPherson calculated that he lost 10,000 sheep in 1847-1848 and at least 7 workers due to attacks by the Mandandanji and dingoes. McPherson eventually gave up and returned to Scotland.
The Native Police were sent out to Mount Abundance "armed to the teeth", but the attacks by Aboriginals increased.
Native Police Commandant Walker, however, said that he would only take firm actions against the natives when he was compelled to do so, as it was due to the settlers that:
"... the blacks . . . were in a manner outlawed in their own country, being hunted from the river and creek frontages and thus deprived of means of lawfully obtaining food. Driven to desperation, they carried on a constant war of retaliation with the whites, and lived solely on cattle . . ."
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| "The black police of Queensland : reminiscences of official work and personal adventures in the early days of the colony" (1902) |
This period, from 1842 until 1852, became known as the Mandandanji Land War, as Aboriginal people resisted European settlers in the district. The Native Police during this period were very aggressive, conducting punitive raids and killings.
Stephen Spencer purchased Mount Abundance station in 1857, and his home, a single-storeyed timber homestead was built c. 1860. The Spencer family
grew the first wheat in the area and experimented growing grapevines, fig, peach and apricot trees.
The first grapevines planted in Roma were grown by Mr. F. G. McKay
in his garden at the old Post Office in McDowall Street.
Roma was the first gazetted settlement after Queensland’s separation from New South Wales in 1859.
1860s: First Post Office
At Mount Abundance station Spencer ran a supply store and opened a post office in September 1861.
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| Homestead and grounds at Mount Abundance station, Queensland, ca. 1895. John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland |
The first hotel at Roma was the Bowen Hotel, the second the, Maranoa Hotel, and the third, Thomas Reid's hotel. Early houses were made of bark.
The post office at Mount Abundance homestead closed at the end of 1863, when the Roma Post Office opened.
The
explorer and surveyor-general, Augustus Charles Gregory, arrived at Mount Abundance in 1862 and selected the site for a township, which would become Roma.
A court and a post office were established by 1864.
Queensland's first wine was produced at Roma in 1866.
Romavilla Vineyards, on the outskirts of Roma
was established in 1866 by Samuel Symons Bassett. Around 1870, Bassett built a house at Romavilla.
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| Bassett's farm, Roma, QLD, Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Wednesday 1 December 1909 |
Electric Telegraph
Roma was connected by telegraph to Dalby and Brisbane in 1866.
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| Post and Telegraph, Roma, QLD, Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934) |
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| Typical residence in Roma, QLD, in the early days. Erected by Mr. B. J. Cottell in 1865. Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Qld. : 1875 - 1948) |
In 1865, a reserve for court and police purposes was selected in Roma, on the hill west of the town centre.
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| Original Roma Town Hall, QLD, Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Qld. : 1875 - 1948) |
Roma was proclaimed a municipality in 1867 and named after Lady Diamantina Bowen (Contessa Diamantina di Roma), wife of the first Governor of Queensland, George Bowen.
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| Lady Diamantina Roma Bowen, Contessa Diamantina Roma was born in Zante, an Ionian island, in 1833. She married Sir George Bowen on 28 April 1856 at Corfu. He was appointed first Governor of Queensland and they arrived in Brisbane on December 10, 1859 and declared Queensland a separate state. Lady Bowen carried out her official duties with conscientiousness, compassion and aplomb. She stimulated the formation of benevolent and charitiable organizations in Queensland such as the Lady Bowen Lying-in Hospital and the Diamantina Orphanage. The Bowens spent eight years in Queensland, leaving in 1868 when Sir George was appointed Governor General of New Zealand. From 1873-1879 Sir George was Governor of Victoria and afterwards became the Governor of Mauritius. Lady Bowen died in London in 1893. State Library of Queensland |
In 1867 the centre of Roma was Gregory Street and an area known as Chinatown. There were 300-400 Aboriginal people living in a camp near the town.
Getting There
In the early years, according to a newspaper article, getting to Roma was like this: "when the journey from Brisbane to Ipswich was made generally by boat, thence by the first trains to Toowoomba, and on to Dalby and Roma by coach".
In 1875, Mrs Warner travelled to Roma by Cobb & C0. Coach, travelling
"by river to Ipswich, and then by the new railway to Dalby. From there, said Mrs Warner, they went to Roma by one of Cobb and Co.'s coaches, travelling through the night. There were six horses to the coach, and at times there was no track to follow, and they just dodged between the tree trunks. Roma in those days was just a bush township, with a few rough wooden buildings that could hardly be called houses. The walls were unlined and gave little protection from the fierce summer heat."
"Women's World" The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954) 7 April 1936
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| Early coaching days in QLD, Sunday Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1926 - 1954) |
1870s: A Growing Town
Roma State School, a timber school building and teachers residence opened in 1870 with an enrolment of 133 pupils. A second school building facing Wyndham Street, was built in 1899.
The census at Roma in 1871 was 841 people.
The
Western Star and Roma Advertiser, later published as the
Western Star, was first published in 1875.
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| Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1875 - 1948), Friday 15 November 1940 |
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| McDowall Street, Roma, Queensland. ca. 1876. |
In 1872 Roma gained a public reserve and a site for Showgrounds.
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| Station hands on a property near Roma, QLD, 1870-1880, SLQLD |
Roma Gaol
Roma Gaol opened in December 1872 on the corner of May and McDowell Streets. It became known as "Donnelly’s Hotel", after Peter Donnelly, the first superintendent.
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| Roma Gaol, QLD, Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 15 September 1923 |
Captain Starlight
The bushranger Harry Redford (Captain Starlight) was accused of stealing 1,000 cattle, and was arrested in 1872.
He was tried in Roma the following year. Despite
plentiful evidence, including a white pedigree bull, the jury voted him “not guilty”. The judge, in amazement declared, “I thank God that verdict is yours, gentlemen and not mine”. This case is the basis of the novel “Robbery Under Arms”.
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| Henry Readford (1841-1901) Taken prior to 1. Januar 1955 (Readford died 1901) and of Australian Origin. According to the State Library of Queensland is the copyright expired. |
The first All Saints Catholic Church, Roma was built about 1873.
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| Town Hall in Roma. QLD, c1877, State Library of Queensland |
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| A bottle tree near Roma, QLD, 1877. SLQLD |
1880s-90sThe rail line arrived at Roma in 1880.
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| Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 18 June 1898 |
In the 1890s, three socialist communes were established near Roma: Excel Pioneer, Nil Desperandum and Obertown Model. By the end of 1895, all three communes were abandoned.
Roma had a population of 1,838 in 1881.
The tapping of the vast Great Artesian Basin in the late 1880s and early 1890s, which provides the only source of fresh water through much of inland Australia, stimulated regional development.
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MacDowall Street, Roma, circa 1884, SLQLD
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| Locomotive, E class, no. 30, at Bungil Creek, near Roma, Queensland, 1890-1900, SLQLD |
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| Packing grapes at Atkins vineyard, Roma, c 1898, Queensland State Archives |
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| Harvesting in Roma, Qld c1899 |
1900s: Natural Gas
In 1900, natural gas was found at Roma when a team was drilling a water well.
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| Roma bore, QLD, Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912), Saturday 19 October 1901 |
The Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society built their first hall at Roma in 1900. Later, an open-air cinema was established beside the Hibernian Hall. After being destroyed by fire on 22 July 1931, a new Hibernian Hall was built.
By 1903, the Australian handbook noted that Roma had twelve hotels.
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| Western Star and Roma Advertiser (Toowoomba, Qld. : 1875 - 1948), Saturday 23 May 1903 |
Wine PrizesThe Romavilla Winery won four first prizes out of eight at the 1900 Queensland Exhibition, nine first prizes out of ten at the 1901 Exhibition, and medals at international competitions in continental Europe.
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| Roma Villa, Roma, QLD, Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 1 November 1903 |
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| Roma Villa vineyards, Roma, QLD, Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Sunday 1 November 1903 |
Place of RestThe homestead, "Winnathoola" on the Northern Road, means "Place of Rest". Building was completed in 1904 by TA Spencer as a wedding present for his new wife, Lily Gordon.
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| Winnathoola on the Northern Road, Roma, QLD, completed in 1904 |
Tuberculosis (TB), a contagious bacterial disease spread through the air, was once a major cause of death in Australia.
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| Sanitorium at Roma, Qld - 1906 - for Tuberculosis patients, Kaye |
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| Home and Photographic Studio of H.M. Holloway, Roma, Qld - 1906, Kaye |
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| Members of the Fire Brigade in Roma, Qld - 1909, Kaye |
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Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Tuesday 1 June 1909
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| Maronoa wheat fields, QLD, Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Wednesday 1 December 1909 |
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| Main Street in Roma, Qld - circa 1910, Kaye |
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| McDowall Street, Roma, Qld - circa 1910, Kaye |
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| Roma, QLD, Queensland Country Life (Qld. : 1900 - 1954), Tuesday 1 June 1909 |
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| Oil Bore in Roma, Qld - circa 1910, Kaye |
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| Roma Villa and Wine Cellars, Roma, Queensland - circa 1910. Aussie Mobs |
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| Mr Johnson's first prize pair of buggy ponies, Roma Show, QLD, Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), Friday 29 July 1910 |
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| Co-operative Butter Factory, Roma, QLD, Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), Friday 6 January 1911 |
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| Catholic Convent, Roma, QLD, opened 1912, Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 3 August 1912 |
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| Three boys and a goat cart in Roma, Qld - circa 1912, Kaye |
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| New Town Hall. Building of the new Council Chambers next to the old timber Court House in Roma, Qld - circa 1913 Building of the new Council Chambers next to the old Town Hall. Printing on the photo looks like the Old Town Hall is ready to be demolished. Kaye |
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| General Hospital in Roma, Qld - after 1912. Built in 1912 on the site of the old Roma hospital. Kaye |
St. Paul's Church of England opened on 14th November 1915.
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| Picking grapes at Roma, Qld. - 1915, Kaye |
WWI
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Hilda Hibberd and Gladys Harvey (Nurses), and Claude Wanstall (wounded
soldier), who collected £5/2/9 at a children's Coin Afternoon. Roma, QLD, Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Saturday 21 August 1915 |
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| A recruiting march in the Main Street of Roma, QLD, 1916, AWM, First World War, 1914-1918 |
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| Studio portrait of 3235 Private Robert James Bassett, 53rd Battalion of Roma, Qld. A carpenter prior to his enlistment on 30 July 1915 Bassett embarked from Sydney on board HMAT Euripides on 2 November 1915 and returned to Australia on 1 August 1916. AWM |
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Municipal Buildings, Roma, Qld, 1916. Bryant & McLean Ltd is on the corner.Kaye |
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| Stripping Wheat on Bungeworgorai State Farm, Roma, Qld - 1916, Kaye |
The Royal Hotel in Roma replaced an earlier hotel, Cook’s Royal Hotel, which burnt down in 1870. Again, in 1915, the hotel burnt to the ground, and a brick structure was built, which opened in December 1916.
Hunter's Emporium at Roma, was constructed in 1916 at 88 McDowall Street.
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| Royal Hotel, Roma, Qld - pre 1917, Kaye |
In 1919, the State Butchers Shop was built at 75 Arthur Street. This state-wide system of butcheries provided cheaper meat to thousands of Queensland families in the years 1915-1929.
1920s
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| Looking out over the rooftops in Roma, QLD - circa 1920. (SLQLD) |
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| Kenafake's Empire Hotel (now demolished) on the corner, Roma, QLD, 1920s |
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| Natural Gas at Roma, Qld - circa 1920, Kaye |
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| Hunter's Emporium in Roma, Qld - circa 1920, Kaye |
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| Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903; 1916 - 1926), Tuesday 21 February 1922 |
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| Daily Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1903 - 1926), Tuesday 21 February 1922 |
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| Fire at Roma QLD in 1922 in McDowall, between Quintin & Hawthorne Streets - photo taken from the veranda of the Empire Hotel, Quintin Street looking down McDowall Street to the School of Arts Hotel and beyond |
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| Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Saturday 24 July 1926 |
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| Roma Show, QLD, Week (Brisbane, Qld. : 1876 - 1934), Friday 25 May 1928 |
Dinosaur Finds
The fossil remains of
Rhoetosaurus brownei, a primitive sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Queensland,
was discovered near Roma in 1924, on Durham Downs station (the site is now on Taloona Station, it is a subdivision of the original holding).
When
Rhoetosaurus brownei lived, the Australian continent was at high latitudes, and south-central Queensland had lush vegetation and a wet humid climate. The dinosaur would have been about 12-15 mores long and about 4 metres high at the hip.
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| MONSTER OF THE PAST: — Fossil remains of a Dinosaur have been found near Roma, Queensland. Reproduced from 'a work in the possession of the National Museum, Melbourne. Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), Wednesday 31 March 1926 |
Theatre
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| Roma's Capitol Theatre was built in 1928 at 49 Wyndham Street, Roma Queensland, by Arthur Crawford. The building was destroyed by fire in February 1989. |
1930s |
| Qantas plane 'Diana' at Roma, Qld - 1930, Kaye |
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| The Hibernian Hall. Roma, QLD, before its destruction by fire. Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette (Qld. : 1922 - 1933), Saturday 25 July 1931 |
During the first three decades of the 20th century many of Roma's buildings were reconstructed in brick.
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| Elephants and spectators stand outside the large circus tent at Roma. A telegraph pole appears to the far left of the image. A motorcycle with side car is parked outside the marquee, 1934. State Library of Queensland |
In 1936, a municipal swimming pool was built in McDowall Street.
Roma Government Complex was constructed in 1937, as the main building of Roma State School.
The Cenotaph in Queen's Park, which honours the 93 local men who fell in the First World War, was unveiled on Anzac Day, 25 April 1938, by Colonel Sir Donald Cameron.
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| NEW STREAMLINED RAIL MOTOR FOR TOOWOOMBA-ROMA RUN, QLD, Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Friday 29 July 1938 |
The State School opened in 1939.
1940s and WWII
The General Hospital opened in 1940.
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| King George Hotel in Roma, QLD, 1940, SLQLD |
The turret of the School of Arts building was used as a lookout for enemy aircraft during World War II.
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| Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), Thursday 16 July 1942 |
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| Portrait of 404787 Squadron Leader (Sqn Ldr, later Wing Commander [Wing Cdr]) Basil Howard of Roma Qld, at No. 456 (Mosquito) Squadron RAAF at RAF Station Ford. Wing Cdr Howard was accidentally killed in the United Kingdom on 29 May 1945 while serving with 456 Squadron, RAAF. AWM |
1950s
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| McDowall Street, Roma QLD, in 1952 |
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| McDowall Street, Roma, QLD, Vintage Queensland |
1960s
1970s
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| Corporal Jeff Poulter of Roma, Qld (right), a member of 104 Signal Squadron and Lance Corporal John McCahill of Cannon Hill, Qld, a member of Support Company, 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. Dat Do, South Vietnam. March 1971. Delicate radio equipment is manned twenty four hours a day by Australian, American and South Vietnamese personnel at the nerve centre in Dat Do. AWM |
1990s
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| Roma, QLD, Entered on the Queensland Heritage Register 7 August 1998, the Police Buildings, which are single-storeyed timber structures, were erected in 1919. They comprise offices and barracks, addressing McDowall Street, and a cell block at the rear of the Police Reserve. Queensland State Archives |
On 26 July 2009, Roma Region was renamed Maranoa Region.
Around Roma
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| The newspaper office for Roma's Western Star newspaper, Roma QLD RegionalQueenslander |
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| The Roma Courthouse, QLD, was constructed between 1900 and 1901 |
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| St Pauls Anglican Church foundation stone was laid in 1913 and opened in 1915 replacing an earlier church from 1876, Roma, QLD |
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| The Roma Butter Factory building was opened in December 1910, QLD |
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| The fossil remains of Rhoetosaurus brownei, from near Roma, Queensland Museum |
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| The King George Hotel which was built in 1939, replaced an earlier hotel of the same name. The hotel closed in September 2000, Roma, QLD |
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| Former Roma State School Building, built from 1937, designed in the Inter War Mediterranean style, as the main building of Roma State School, In 1987, the Bungil Street buildings were remodelled as Roma Government Complex, Roma QLD |
Former Municipal buildings, Roma QLD
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| The Commonwealth Hotel Roma, Roma, QLD, opened in 1927, replacing the Queensland Hotel or Diggers' Arms which had been built in 1881 |
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| The Royal Hoel and School of Arts, Roma, QLD |
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| Hibernian Hall , Roma, QLD, was built from 1931 to 1932 |
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| Lenroy Slab Hut was built in 1893, by John Thomas Keegan, the son of an Irish transported convict, was transported to Roma Qld in 1980 |
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| Classic McDowall Street St house, Roma, QLD |
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| Adungadoo Pathway in Roma, Queensland |
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| Classic Queenslander house, Roma, QLD |
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| 52 Arthur Street, ROMA, QLD |
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| This shop at Roma, QLD, was erected in 1919 for the Queensland Government as a purpose-designed State Butcher's Shop |
Things To Do and Place To Go
Lenroy Slab Hut -Riggers Road, Roma QLD 4455
Roma Saleyards Interpretive Centre and Tour -44589 Warrego Hwy, Roma QLD 4455
Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell (1792-1855)Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Saturday 22 October 1932Mitchell also observed Aboriginal scarred trees. 
Former Municipal buildings, Roma QLD
