Collinsville

Collinsville is a mining town in the coal-rich Bowen Basin region of central Queensland, Australia, 1245 km north of Brisbane and 87 km south-west of the coastal town of Bowen. The town is part of the Whitsunday Region. At the 2006 census, Collinsville had a population of 2,063.

European settlement of the region began in 1861 with the opening of the lands to pastoralists, with some cattle stations still in operation. Coal was discovered in 1866 but it wasn't until 1912 that large-scale mining operations commenced. The town was originally known as 'Moongunya', an aboriginal word that roughly translates to 'place of coal'. On the 20 September 1921 it was officially renamed Collinsville after Charles Collins who was the Labor Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for the Electoral district of Bowen from 1915 to 1936.

Now two new mines are planned to begin operation in the next two years and hope to supply 250 new jobs. The current population of Collinsville is approximately 2500.

Facilities in Collinsville include two primary schools (Collinsville Primary and St John Bosco's Catholic Primary), a high school, four churches (Catholic, Anglican, Uniting, Assembly of God), a pharmacy, a district hospital, some shops and sporting facilities. Sporting facilities include a golf course, rugby league grounds, tennis courts, a public swimming pool, squash courts, and lawn bowls. Compared to larger regional centres shopping opportunities in Collinsville are restricted to one newsagent, a bakery, two fuel stations, two medium size grocery stores, two places to buy clothing and a hardware shop.