Longreach - Culture and History

Longreach was named as a description of the 'long reach' of the Thomson River which passes near the town. The river was discovered and named by the explorer Edward Kennedy in 1847. He named it after Sir Edward Deas Thomson (1800-1879), a notable member of the NSW Legislative Council.

The area around Longreach was first explored by William Landsborough and Nat Buchanan in 1861. Landsborough subsequently gained a lease to approximately 2000 sq. miles of land. In 1863 sheep and cattle were overlanded into the area and the mighty 'Bowen Downs' station was established.

By the early 1870s the Mount Cornish outstation (named after the first general manager of the 'Bowen Downs') had been established and Longreach grew up as a camp for teamsters who carried supplies to the property. It was officially gazetted as a town in 1887 and the following year land lots were sold. By 1892 the railway from Barcaldine and the coast reached the town.

The success of wool in the 1920s saw the town boom. Later that year Qantas established a booking office (a model of it is now the Information Centre at the east end of the main street) which became the centre of their operations. The company, known at the time as the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Ltd. was set up on 16 November 1920 by Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinniss. Local graziers funded the airline and in 1921 a hangar was built. It subsequently became an important maintenance depot and in 1926 it was converted to a workshop where seven DH50 biplanes were constructed. The hangar, which is nothing but a large shed, is located at the airport opposite the Stockman's Hall of Fame south of the town.