Alpha is a rural town and a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia. At the , the locality had a population of 559 people. Geography Alpha is in Central West Queensland. It lies on Alpha Creek. The Capricorn Highway runs through from east to west, and the Clermont-Alpha Road enters from the north-east. The Central Western railway line passes through the town, which is served by Alpha railway station. The town is a service centre for the surrounding pastoral properties and travellers on the highway. History The town of Alpha is situated approximately 400 kilometres to the west of Rockhampton, with the name being derived from Alpha Pastoral Station, established in 1863. This was a very large station, dominating the area and growing to more than 1,600 square kilometres by the 1890s. The area was originally visited and partly explored by the New South Wales Surveyor-General, Thomas Mitchell in 1846 and it was his reports that were to encourage settlement, particularly from the 1860s. Early European settlers to move into the region included Robert Donaldson and Agnes Adelaide Donaldson. Alpha was initially established as a temporary terminus during construction of the Central Western railway line (then known as the Great Northern line, a name that would be subsequently assigned to the subsequent more northern line west of Townsville to Mount Isa), which was being built westwards from Rockhampton. The major coastal centre was keen to take full advantage of the inland pastoral wealth being generated and pushed for a central railway line. Construction commenced in 1867, reaching Emerald in 1879 and was opened to Alpha on 22 September 1884. The construction camp continued moving west, but a township remained at the former terminus. Until June 1990, Queensland Rail maintained a locomotive depot in the town. Alpha Provisional School opened on 30 August 1886. It became Alpha State School on 7 September 1894. A preschool centre was added in 1987. Churches followed, with the Catholic Church opening in 1890 and the United Protestant Church in 1894. The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart opened a Catholic primary school in 1902 and a convent school was established in 1904. A hospital was opened in 1913. Jericho Shire, which included the town, was incorporated in 1917, with the main shire offices and council facilities located in the town of Jericho. Killarney Park Provisional School opened in late 1918 as a