Guide to Wandoan Queensland Australia

Wandoan is a town of about 600 people on the Leichhardt Highway, 65 kilometres north of Miles and 60 kilometres south of Taroom. It stands on open downs that were among the last parts of southern Queensland to be divided into family farms, after the Second World War. Travellers on the inland route between the Downs and Central Queensland use it as a fuel and rest stop, and it has two attractions worth an hour.

Known For

• The Juandah Heritage Site
• Waterloo Plain Environmental Park
• Soldier-settler history

The district produces beef cattle, wheat and sorghum, and lies over large coal deposits that have long been earmarked for mining.

Things To Do in Wandoan

Juandah Heritage Site

The town began as the head station of Juandah, a run taken up in the 1850s. The original store and several other buildings survive in a park on the edge of town, with machinery, a railway carriage and displays kept by the local historical society.

Waterloo Plain Environmental Park

A lagoon beside the highway attracts waterbirds and has a walking path, picnic tables and a camping area for self-contained travellers.

Soldier settlers

After 1945 the big stations around Wandoan were resumed and balloted to returned servicemen, more than a hundred families in all. A memorial in town honours them.

Leichhardt’s route

The explorer passed this way in 1844, and several of the creeks carry names he gave them.

Where To Stay

Wandoan has motels, a hotel, a caravan park and the camping area at the lagoon.

Eat & Drink

The hotel and a cafe serve meals, and there is a supermarket.

History

The railway from Miles reached Wandoan in 1914, and the town was first called Juandah before taking its present name in the 1920s.

Getting to Wandoan

Wandoan is on the Leichhardt Highway, 45 minutes north of Miles.