| Type: | suburb |
| Hail Creek | |
| State: | qld |
| Coordinates: | -21.4386°N 148.3589°W |
| Pop: | 179 |
| Postcode: | 4742 |
| Area: | 891.3 |
| Timezone: | AEST |
| Utc: | +10:00 |
| Lga: | Isaac Region |
| Stategov: | Burdekin |
| Fedgov: | Capricornia |
| Near-N: | Eungella Dam |
| Near-Ne: | Mount Britton |
| Near-E: | Mount Britton |
| Near-Se: | Nebo |
| Near-S: | Strathfield |
| Near-Sw: | Kemmis |
| Near-W: | Glenden Elphinstone |
| Near-Nw: | Turrawulla |
Hail Creek is a rural locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, Hail Creek had a population of 179 people.
The Hail Creek coal mine is within the locality . It is operated by Glencore Australia.[2]
The Suttor Developmental Road (State Route 11) runs through from the south-east (Nebo) to the south-west (Kemmis).[3]
The Hail Creek branch of the Goonyella railway line enters the locality from the south-west (Kemmis) and terminates at the Hail Creek railway station on a balloon loop at the Hail Creek coal mine (-21.4985°N 148.3675°W).[4]
The Hail Creek Mine also has a heliport to the north-west of the railway station (-21.4888°N 148.3586°W).[5]
Hail Creek Mine is an heliport (-21.4888°N 148.3586°W).
The locality contains the following mountains (from north to south):
The Homevale National Park is in the north-east of the locality extending into neighbouring Mount Britton .[13] [14] The national park features cliffs and peaks in a vast dry landscape. There are a number of important fossil sites.[15]
Apart from the national park and the coal mine, the land use is predominantly grazing on native vegetation with a small amount of crop growing in the east of the locality around Oaky Creek.[16]
Hard granite formations were created by a series of volcanic eruptions 30 million years ago which covered older basalt rocks with lava. As the basalt erodes more easily, the remaining formations are visually dramatic. Fossils found in the area have been dated back to the Permian period between 280-225 million years ago.[17]
Homevale National Park was previously the Homevale pastoral station where cattle were grazed.[18] [19] Te national park was gazetted in 1995 under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 by regulation, Nature Conservation (Protected Areas) Amendment (No.5) 1995. Its area was extended in 1996, 2009, and 2024.[20] As at 2024, the homestead of the Homevale pastoral station remains within the national park on Homevale Homestead Road (-21.4399°N 148.5259°W) and conservation plans are to be developed for it.
In the, Hail Creek had a population of 148 people.
In the, Hail Creek had a population of 179 people.
Apart from the mine, the locality has a number of homesteads (from north to south):[21]
There are no schools in Hail Creek. The nearest government primary schools are Nebo State School in neighbouring Nebo to the south-east, Glenden State School in neighbouring Glenden to the west, and Eungella State School in Eungella to the north. The nearest government secondary school is Glenden State School (to Year 12), but some parts of Hail Creek would be too distant from this school and other options would be distance education and boarding school.[22]