Ballaroo is a semi-arid rural locality in the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Ballaroo had a population of 51 people.

Geography

The Cogoon River (Muckadilla Creek) flows, most often with little flow, through the locality from the north (Mount Abundance) to the south-east (Weribone) where it becomes a tributary of the Balonne River.

Mount First View is in the centre of the locality (27°05′15″S 148°33′26″E / 27.0875°S 148.5572°E / -27.0875; 148.5572 (Mount First View)) rising to 326 metres (1,070 ft) above sea level. It was named on 3 May 1846 by the New South Wales Surveyor General, Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell.

History

The colonial surveyor-general Thomas Mitchell and party followed the Cogoon River from the Balonne to Mount Abundance, when passing through this area in 1846.

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Ballaroo had a population of 41 people.

In the 2021 census, Ballaroo had a population of 51 people.

Education

There are no schools in Ballaroo. The nearest government primary schools are Dunkeld State School in neighbouring Dunkeld to the west, Begonia State School in neighbouring Begonia to the south-west and Roma State College in Roma to the north-west. The nearest government secondary school is Roma State College in Roma, but it is so distant that distance education and boarding school would be other options.