Apart from Jacky Howe, Blackall's other claim to fame is that it was the location of the origin of the term "Beyond the black stump". The stump ion the left of the photo in front of the large information board is a petrified stump that sits on the site of the original stump which burned down in the 1980s.
For O/S 365ers, the Australian expressions 'Beyond the black stump' or "Back of the black stump" refers to any place that is considered remote or uncivilised or beyond the limits of established settlement.
According to the good people of Blackall the term originated when in 1887, a group of surveyors arrived in Blackall and established an Astro Station to conduct survey readings to establish a principal meridional circuit traverse around the town. A black stump, rather than a set of legs, was used for the heavy theodolites because it gave more stability when taking longitudinal and latitudinal observations.
This Astro station was used as part of the survey to fix the position of principal towns extending from Brisbane to Boulia via Roma, Charleville and Blackall and enabled the mapping of Queensland on a more accurate basis.
It was considered at the time that country to the west of Blackall was beyond the 'black stump'.
Two other towns in Australia also lay claim to being the location of the original black stump but both towns are in NSW so the authenticity of these claims can immediately be ignored.
Unfortunately, the term, along with many others of the Australian lexicon is slowly disappearing.
