Emu Street Carpark re-named in tribute to Teamsters

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In February Longreach Regional Council issued a public call for suggested names with historical and cultural significance, assembling a three member working group to review the suggestions and make the final recommendation to Council.

The working group consisted of one Councillor (Cr Trevor Smith), one representative of the Longreach Archival and Historical Research Group (Kaye Kuhn), and one representative of the Longreach State High School student council (Rangi Solomon).

Together they reviewed 35 submissions from the community to make the final recommendation. Kaye Kuhn, of the Longreach Archival and Historical Research Group, said there were a number of submissions with a similar theme to ‘Teamsters’ Rest’.

“There were quite a few suggestions around the idea of transport – looking at the carpark; I guess the central roof supports really do look like wagon wheels on a bullock cart! Teamsters’ Rest was particularly appropriate though, because Longreach actually grew up as a camp for the teamsters that carried supplies to Bowen Downs.

“As the submission suggests – the Teamsters would have loved a big shady area to camp under like the one in Emu Street!”

In a twist of fate, the submission ‘Teamsters’ Rest’ happened to come from a sitting councillor – Cr Tony Emslie. The committee judged submissions without knowing who had suggested them, so each name was assessed purely on its merits.

“It is a bit funny, but he made his submission just like anyone else, and we didn’t even know it was him” Cr Smith told reporters. “In the end, we had a bunch of suggestions around the theme of transport and wagons, and ‘Teamsters’ Rest’ was just the most historically appropriate.”

Council will now install interpretive signage at each entrance to the carpark detailing the role Teamsters played in pioneering the region.