Breddan, Queensland
# Breddan, Queensland

Breddan is a rural locality in the Charters Towers Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Breddan had a population of 485 people.

## Geography

The locality is bounded to the north-east by the Burdekin River, to the south-east by Flinders Highway, and in part to the west by the Lynd Highway.

Sellheim is a town in the easternmost part of the locality (20°00′19″S 146°25′18″E﻿ / ﻿20.0052°S 146.4216°E﻿ / -20.0052; 146.4216﻿ (Sellheim)). It was named after pastoralist Philip Frederic Sellheim who was the gold warden in Charters Towers from 1880 to 1888.

Mount Boddington is in the centre of the locality and is part of the Pinnacles Range (19°58′17″S 146°16′07″E﻿ / ﻿19.9714°S 146.2687°E﻿ / -19.9714; 146.2687﻿ (Mount Boddington)). It rises to 356 metres (1,168 ft) above sea level.

The land use is predominantly grazing on native vegetation with some irrigated cropping in the north of the locality near the Burkedin River.

## History

The Burdekin River Pumping Station was erected as part of the important Charters Towers water supply system, constructed from 1887 to 1891 for the Burdekin Water Scheme Joint Board. When completed the scheme included a pumping station, rising main, reservoir on Tower Hill, chimney stack, engineer's residence, workers' cottages, provisional school, tram track, bridge across the Burdekin River and several trestle bridges to carry the rising main across small creeks between the pumping station and the reservoir in the town. The project cost around £80,000, exclusive of ongoing maintenance, the building of a weir in 1902 and construction of an aerial tramway (flying fox) across the river c. 1911. In August 1975 a new electric pumping station was built at the weir.

Breddan Aerodrome, located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of Charters Towers, was initially constructed as a dispersal field for Charters Towers airfield in April 1942 during World War II. In August 1942, Breddan was occupied by two squadrons of the US 38th Bombardment Group. On the departure of the US squadrons, Breddan was chosen for development as a major aircraft repair and salvage depot under RAAF control. The construction program which took place during 1943 involved the erection of maintenance hangars, engineering workshops, torpedo stores, personnel camps, a power station and medical facilities. The base was abandoned after 1947.

In the 2011 census, Breddan had a population of 388 people.

In the 2016 census, Breddan had a population of 485 people.

## Heritage listings

Breddan has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

* Gregory Developmental Road (19°56′33″S 146°15′15″E﻿ / ﻿19.9424°S 146.2543°E﻿ / -19.9424; 146.2543﻿ (Breddan Aerodrome (former))): Breddan Airfield
* Weir Road (19°58′48″S 146°18′35″E﻿ / ﻿19.98°S 146.3097°E﻿ / -19.98; 146.3097﻿ (Burdekin River Pumping Station)): Burdekin River Pumping Station

## Amenities

There is a boat ramp into the Burdekin River at Weir Road (19°57′32″S 146°17′57″E﻿ / ﻿19.9589°S 146.2993°E﻿ / -19.9589; 146.2993﻿ (Charters Towers Weir boat ramp)). It is managed by the Charters Towers Regional Council.

