Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Tambo QLD

Tambo

Postcode: 4478

Tambo is a town located in central western Queensland, Australia, on the banks of the Barcoo River. Tambo is approximately 100 kilometres southeast of the town of Blackall via the Landsborough Highway, and approximately 930 kilometres north west of the state capital, Brisbane.

The town is the administrative centre of the Tambo Shire, which covers an area of 14109 square kilometres, and has a population of approximately 610 people (ABS 2003 estimate). Town population is approximately 378.

The town was settled in 1863, making it the oldest town in western Queensland. Like much of the west, sheep became the mainstay of the economy. Today, cattle and tourism are of major importance to the town. A number of heritage buildings survive from the earliest days of settlement. The Carnarvon National Park (Salvator Rosa section) lies to the east of the town.

Tambo is a living museum of cultural history and a place for the visitor to gain insight into the lifestyle and heritage of Australia’s forebears. There are the sites of the early European settlement that was to lead pastoralists in the 1860s to flock to Tambo taking up land for grazing. The pastoral industry still remains the basis of Tambo’s economy today.

Tambo’s Heritage Walk through the town will take you back in time, visiting old buildings and historically significant places. The Coolibah Walk follows the banks of the Barcoo where the native trees reach out across the river and provide a cool haven for the birdlife.