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Bowen Basin mining town renamed to end emergency services chaos

Mistake Creek Station Central Queensland
Mistake Creek Station Central Queensland

A Bowen Basin town with 38 residents will be swallowed up by the nearest city to help end confusion for emergency services.

Mistake Creek will officially become a part of the city of Clermont, which lies 101 km east of the town. The State Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy confirmed this was because addresses and road signs were so confusing the Queensland Ambulance Service found it hard to reach patients in time.

“Feedback from the community was that the locality’s isolation has resulted in emergency services being called out, only to be confused by addresses and road signage in the area,” Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said in a public statement. “Local landholders have also reported the different locality has made it harder to understand an already complex rural addressing system.”

Early settler Jerimiah Rolfe named Mistake Creek back in 1854 after realising his station was not actually on the Belyando River bank rather a tributary or stream that flows to a larger river.

Historical landmarks like buildings will keep their existing names.

“The creek itself, and landmarks such as the Mistake Creek State School, will remain unchanged in the interest of preserving local history,” Lynham said.

Mistake Creek has been removed from Central Queensland maps but can still be viewed using Google Maps.

Isaac Regional Council previously lobbied the department to consider dividing Mistake Creek and Peak Vale to create a third locality called Quetta.

“Residents in the Mistake Creek and Peak Vale areas have expressed concern about the difficulties they experience with essential service delivery, such as mail and emergency assistance,” Mayor Anne Baker said in a public statement.

Baker blamed locality names and property names for being too similar or identical to each other.

“We are aware of one instance where emergency services were inadvertently dispatched to the incorrect location as a result of this confusion,” she said.

Other communities face a similar fate including Muttaburra, Aramac, Barcaldine, Jericho and Alpha.

“Barcaldine Council has received several complaints from residents who claim several small, remote localities confuse and delay essential services jeopardising the health and safety of residents,” Lynham said.

Under the proposed changes the following localities will also be discontinued, including Bangall, Tablederry, Cornish Creek, Upper Cornish Creek, Galilee, Dunrobin, Upland, Sardine, Pelican Creek, Ibis, Ingberry, Garfield, Surbiton, Saltern Creek, Hobartville, Beaufort, Pine Hill, Port Wine, Tara Station, Patrick, Barcaldine Downs, Home Creek, Evora, Narbethong, Grant, Mexico, Drummondslope and Sedgeford.

Public submissions about these changes can be made until July 19.

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