Moura is a small town and locality in the Shire of Banana in Central Queensland, Australia. It services the surrounding coal mining and rural activities. It is situated approximately west of Biloela on the Dawson Highway, west of the port city of Gladstone, and south west of Rockhampton. As of the , the locality of Moura had a population of 1,993 people. Economy A number of industries are represented in the local economy. Chief amongst these is coal mining. The name of the local coal mine changes each time it is sold, currently Dawson Mine, owned and operated by AngloAmerical Coal. Only open-cut mining has been used since 1994. Beef, cotton and cereals are other major industries of the area. History In 1854 Charles Marshall named his leased pastoral selection Moura. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name. One is that it is named after Moura in Portugal where he served in the British Army during the Peninsular Wars. The other is that it is an Aboriginal word meaning native camp dog. The Moura property was developed into a homestead in 1880 by Edward Homer. The town was first established in 1936 as a farming centre near the existing Moura Station. The Moura Post Office opened in late 1939. Moura Provisional School was opened on 10 September 1940. It became Moura State School on 1 January 1948. In 1965 a secondary department was attached to the school. By 1975, there were sufficient secondary students to warrant a formal high school and so Moura State High School was opened on 25 January 1976 with 263 pupils. Mining disasters There have been three mining disasters that have occurred near Moura: The first was the Kianga mining disaster occurring due to an explosion in the underground workings of the Kianga No. 1 mine on 20 September 1975, claiming 13 miners' lives. The second, on 16 July 1986, was an explosion in the Moura No. 4 underground mine, claiming twelve miners' lives, the youngest miner being 18. The third was an explosion in the Moura No. 2 underground coal mine on 7 August 1994. Rescue and recovery attempts were abandoned after a second, more violent explosion occurred 18 hours later. Eleven miners' lives had been lost and the mine was sealed at the surface. After 1994, underground mining ceased and the area was operated as an open-cut coal mine. In November