Val Ridman weighing herself on a set of scales at the butter factory in Biloela, Queensland
Banana Shire Library
The Banana Shire is a rich farming, grazing and mining region in Central Queensland that is intersected by the Leichhardt, Dawson and Burnett Highways. The Shire, with an appealing mix of larger service centres, rural communities and farms has a population of approximately 13,500 people spread over 15,754 square kilometres. The main population centre of the Banana Shire is the town of Biloela with a population of over 5,000 people. The towns of Moura and Theodore are the two other main centres in the Shire. The town of Thangool, which is approximately 11 kilometres from Biloela, is the location of the Shire’s main racecourse and airport. The townships of Banana, Baralaba, Cracow, Dululu, Goovigen, Jambin and Wowan have facilities that are greatly valued across the Banana Shire.
Coal mining, beef production, power generation, ammonium nitrate, methane gas, dry land cropping and irrigation cropping are the Shire’s major industries. The Shire is fortunate to have rich mineral deposits as well as some of the best grazing, farming and irrigation land in the State.
The Banana Shire Council and community pride themselves in being progressive and ‘opportunity focused’, expanding and encouraging industry, business and tourism development.
The Banana Shire Library Service provides a valued service to the community through the branch libraries at Biloela, Moura and Theodore and the Banana Shire Mobile Library. The Banana Shire Mobile Library services the towns of Banana, Baralaba, Dululu, Goovigen, Jambin, Thangool and Wowan.
The Local History Collection, a majority of which is housed in the Biloela Library, is comprised of a range of items, including the Banana Shire Council photographic collection. The photographic collection is compromised of approximately 2,000 primarily black and white images that have been sourced through members of the Banana Shire community. These images capture a small snapshot of the Banana Shire’s history. Print copies of images may be obtained by contacting the Banana Shire Library Service.
In addition to the photographic images, the local history collection includes:
- Genealogical research materials, including Births, Deaths and Marriages on CD-ROM for several States and Territories
- Maps
- Print and non-print resources relating to the history of the Banana Shire
- Hardcopy and microfilm copies of the Central Telegraph Newspaper
- Microfiche copies of the Births, Deaths and Marriages for Queensland and New South Wales
- Microfiche copies of a variety of Almanacs
The Local History Collection will continue to be expanded as further resources pertaining to the history of the Banana Shire become available for inclusion.
Contact details:
Manager of Library Resources
Banana Shire Library
PO Box 412
Biloela Qld 4715
p: (07) 4992 7362
f: (07) 4992 4137
e: libstaff@banana.qld.gov.au
w: http://www.banana.qld.gov.au/index.php/40
Last updated: 4th October 2007
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