| Blair Athol Queensland | |
|---|---|
  Blair Athol | |
| Coordinates | 22°41′49″S 147°32′44″E / 22.69694°S 147.54556°E |
| Established | 1863 |
| Postcode(s) | 4721 |
| LGA(s) | Isaac Region |
Blair Athol is a former town within Clermont in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] It was obliterated by the development of the Blair Athol coal mine.
Early settler James MacLaren took up a pastoral run in the area in 1863 and named it Blair Athol after the village Blair Atholl, the location of Blair Castle of the Duke of Atholl in Scotland.[1] While sinking a well in 1864, he discovered coal on the property.[2]
By 1873, early shafts were dug, revealing extensive seams of coal. At that time, around 100 people were living in the town and there was a hotel, although no township had been officially surveyed.[3] The town was surveyed in 1878.[4]
Blair Athol Provisional School opened on 6 November 1893. It became a State School in 1909.[5][6]
Blair Athol Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a receiving office had been open from 1910) and closed in 1966.[7]
On 18 May 1922, the Queensland Governor Matthew Nathan officially opened Australia's first open cut mine at Blair Athol.[8]
By the 1970s, it became apparent that there were significant coal seams under the town. In order to construct an open cut mine, the town had to be sacrificed.[2]
The school closed on 31 December 1974.[5]
In 1981 a reunion was held at the community hall to mark the final end of the town, following which all of the town was demolished. Only the cemetery remains.[2]
