windows broke, and some people were convinced that an air raid had occurred. Thousands of soldiers and civilians attacked the blaze in an attempt to stop it spreading to fuel dumps, but were unable to control it. When the fire got to the explosives it was so powerful it blew the Americans out of their trucks. Many buildings and shops got burnt down from the spreading fires. However the locals were able to save the post office. A police Constable from Torrens Creek Police was awarded the King's Medal of Bravery. In June 1945 it was announced that a new court house would be built in Hughenden in the 1945-1946 financial year with architectural plans drawn up in August 1945. However, it was not until September 1946 that the Executive Council of the Queensland Government approved expenditure of £31,560 for the project. In September 1947, the project stopped because it was determined that the foundations would not support a 2-storey building and that the new court house would have to be redesigned as single-level building. In January 1950, the new plans for the one-storey building were announced and by October that year, the construction was progressing in "leaps and bounds". A shortage of cement appears to have delayed the project until 10,000 tons of cement was imported from England in January 1951. By January 1952, three-quarters of the framing had been completed while the project was suffering from a shortage of skilled labour and the cost having risen to an estimated £60,000. In October 1954 the court house was described as "almost completed", but it was not until 1955 that the court house opened. In 1960, the Hughenden branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association opened their hall. On 9 June 2003 in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, Mrs Jean Eva Anderson of Ballater Station of Stamford was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her "service to the community of Hughenden, particularly through the Country Womens Association". She had given 52 years of service to the Hughenden branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association. Her award was presented to her by the Governor of Queensland, Quentin Bryce. In August 2008, Hughenden hosted the first Arid Lands Festival and The Great Hughenden Camel Endurance Challenge. In the , the locality of Hughenden had a population of 1,136 people. Heritage listings Hughenden has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: