Guthalungra, Queensland

Guthalungra is a rural town and coastal locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, the locality of Guthalungra had a population of 112 people.

Geography
The northern boundary of the locality is the Coral Sea including the large headland of Cape Upstart (-19.7062°N, 147.7527°W) rising to 680 metres. The northern half of Cape Upstart is protected as the Cape Upstart National Park. Cape Upstart was named by Lieutenant James Cook on 5 June 1770 during his voyage along the eastern coast of Australia in the HM Bark Endeavour.

Being a coastal locality, much of the land is low-lying but there are a number of peaks, including (from north to south):


 * Station Hill (-19.7752°N, 147.8092°W) 724 m
 * Nobbies Lookout (-19.8702°N, 147.8122°W) 134 m
 * Moosie Hill (-19.9056°N, 147.8766°W) 127 m
 * The Maiden Mountain (-19.9249°N, 147.876°W) 127 m
 * Mount Curlewis (-19.9262°N, 147.9507°W) 222 m
 * The Seven Sisters (-19.9458°N, 147.8968°W) 167 m
 * Mount Carew (-19.9717°N, 147.9885°W) 38 m


 * Mount Abbot (-20.0996°N, 147.7452°W) 1059 m
 * Mount Mackenzie (-20.1006°N, 147.9522°W) 515 m

The Bruce Highway traverses the locality from east to west passing through the town. The North Coast railway line runs almost immediately parallel with the highway with a number of rail stops within the locality (from north to south):


 * Broadlands railway station, now abandoned (-19.8854°N, 147.7038°W)
 * Kyburra railway station, now abandonedy (-19.8994°N, 147.7491°W)
 * Guthalungra railway station, serving the town (-19.9243°N, 147.842°W)
 * Wilmington railway station (-19.9655°N, 147.9894°W)

The Elliot River flows from south to north through the locality and the town into the Coral Sea (-19.8833°N, 147.8833°W) to the west of Cape Upstart. The river was named by explorer George Elphinstone Dalrymple after Gilbert Eliott, the first Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1860 to 1870.

History
The town was named in 1889, using the name of a significant local Aboriginal Australian.

Guthalungra Provisional School opened in 1948, becoming Guthalungra State School on 27 February 1957. The school closed in 1988. It was located on the north side of the Bruce Highway (-19.8333°N, 147.7°W).

Demographics
In the, the locality of Guthalungra had a population of 112 people.

In the, the locality of Guthalungra had a population of 112 people.

Economy
Guthalungra is predominantly an agricultural area, mostly grazing with some crop production. Pacific Reef Fisheries operate the Guthalungra Prawn Farm near the mouth of the Elliot River. The company uses the farm as a hatchery for black tiger prawns (Penaeus monodon) and a place to conduct their breeding program. The prawns are then raised for harvest and processing at the company's 93 hectare facility at Ayr.