Quilpie ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Quilpie, Queensland, Australia. In the , Quilpie had a population of 595 people. The town is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire local government area. The town of Toompine is also within the locality. The economy of the area is based on the grazing and mining industries. The area has one of the largest deposits of boulder opal in the world, and also has extensive deposits of gas and oil. Geography Quilpie is in Channel Country on the banks of the Bulloo River. It is on the Diamantina Developmental Road, west of Charleville, and west of the state capital, Brisbane. Quilpie is the administrative centre of the Quilpie Shire. The town of Toompine () is within the locality of Quilpie Other townships in the shire include Adavale and Eromanga. Quilpie has quite a few trees but sometimes drought takes over and the landscape can become dry and desolate. History Quilpie is believed to lie on the border of the Bunthamurra and Margany Indigenous Australian tribal areas. Margany (also known as Marganj, Mardigan, Marukanji, Maranganji) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Margany people. The Margany language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Quilpie Shire, taking in Quilpie, Cheepie and Beechal extending towards Eulo and Thargomindah, as well as the properties of Dynevor Downs and Ardoch. Toompine Provisional School and Duck Creek Provisional School both opened in 1900. In 1901 they became half-time schools (meaning they shared a single teacher between the two schools). Toompine Provisional School closed in July 1902, enabling Duck Creek Provisional School to revert to full-time status. Due to low student numbers, Duck Creek Provisional School closed in 1905. Quilpie was gazetted as a town in 1917 owing to the Western railway line that was laid down from Brisbane. It takes its name from the Indigenous Australian word for stone curlew, quilpeta. The name was proposed by pastoralist James Hammond of Tenham Station. The Queensland Railways Department mistakenly named the railway station Quillpill. The town and station name were standardised to Quilpie on 16 June 1917 by the Governor in Council. Quilpie State School opened on 10 September 1918. The school began offering secondary education in 1966. On 5 December 2008 it was renamed Quilpie State College. The first post office was opened in 1921. Two years