Warkon

Warkon is a rural locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Warkon had a population of 30 people.

Geography

The Balonne River forms the southern boundary of the locality and a number of creek flow through the locality into the river. Bingi Crossing is the ford on the Balonnne River near the current River Road which connects Warkon with neighbouring Noorindoo.
The Roma-Condamine Road passes from west to east through the locality.
The land use is predominantly cattle grazing and there are a number of areas of state forests: Yuleba State Forest, Wallabella State Forest 1, and Tinowon State Forest.

History

The locality name derives from a pastoral run name used from 1850 and is an Aboriginal word group meaning plenty of water.
Warkon Station was established on the Balonne River in 1850 by Henry Bingham, one of the early settlers in the Maranoa district. From 1858 to 1872 the property was operated by Alexander and Harriet Barlow. Warkon Station had Aboriginal workers from a number of different language groups. Harriet Barlow was one of the first people to record the Aboriginal languages of this region, which she called Coongarri, Wirri-Wirri, Ngoorie, Yowaleri, Cooinburri, Begumble, Cambooble and Parrungoom. She published her work in a number of journals. The Warkon Station was subsequently owned by Leonard Reynolds Schwennesen who added further notes to Barlow's material. The State Library of Queensland hold a collection of the manuscripts of Barlow and Schwennesen.
Retreat Provisional School opened circa 1896. It operated from at least 1899 to 1905 as a half-time school in conjunction with Nellybri Provisional School. In 1906 Retreat Provisional School became a full-time school but closed later that year. Retreat is a pastoral property in Warkon.
St Paul's Anglican Church opened at Bingie Crossing circa June 1914. It was served by the Bush Brotherhood. Its last service was 20 December 1942.
Yuleba Creek State School opened on 23 January 1967 and closed on 31 December 1999. It was on Roma Condamine Road with Yuleba Creek flowing beside the school.

Demographics

In the, Warkon had a population of 33 people.
In the, Warkon had a population of 30 people.

Education

There are no schools in Warkon. The nearest government primary schools are:

Yuleba State School in Yuleba to the north
Dulacca State School in Dulacca to the north-east
Glenmorgan State School in Glenmorgan to the south
Surat State School in Surat to the south-west

The nearest government secondary schools are:

Wallumbilla State School in Wallumbilla to the north-west
Surat State School in Surat to the south-west

However, students in the east of the locality will be too distant to attend these secondary schools. Also, there are no secondary schools offering education to Year 12 nearby. The alternatives are distance education and boarding school.