"Biloela - Central Queensland" Biloela by cafank

There is not much at Biloela itself but it is a town you can use as a base to visit the surrounding gorges, national parks and coal mines. There is plenty to see around the area and you can easily fill in a couple of days here.

Biloela is about 600k's from Brisbane but only 110k's from Gladstone on the coast or 120K's from Rockhamptom it is a busy town which services quite a few mining communities and new industrial developments - e.g. aluminium refinery, there is also a large power station near the Callide Dam.

There is a shopping centre, great supermarket and plenty of take-aways, a Chinese Restaurant and the local clubs and pubs also serve meals.

There is plenty of accommodation from pubs to motels to caravan and camping parks.

By the way: Biloela is pronounced "Bil-o-wheel-a" - why? no-one seems to know.

Callide Power Station

As well as mining Biloela has a diverse range of agricultural industry: cotton, sorghum and wheat are grown in the area and there is extensive cattle grazing.

Coal was first discovered on Callide Creek in 1890's and there are two main coal mines: Callide[4] and Boundary Hill which supply the power station.

Rest stop on Burnett Highway

There are quite a few small towns and villages around Biloela area and it is easy to roam around the countryside visiting these places.

The gold mining town of Cracow has a great counter lunch at the Cracow Hotel; Not too far away is Goovigen and Bell's Creek Conservation Park.

There is yet another Historical Village, at Baralaba - and you can camp and fish on the Dawson River. At Theodore, is the junction of Dawson River and Castle Creek, a very petty picnic area.

At Wowan is an old Butter Factory which has been made into an historical museum. Mt Scoria, the 'musical mountain', is near Thangool only about 13K's from Biloela and there are great walking tracks around it, there is also picnic and barbeque facilities.

With a 4WD you can go to Kroombit Tops National Park, where you can seethe resting place of the WWII Liberator Bomber "Beautiful Betsy".

• Pros:There's a lot to see in Central Queensland
• Cons:Off the track a bit, very hot and dry in summer
• In a nutshell:More than just coal mines....worth a visit