Dimbulah is a town located in Far North Queensland, Australia, 114 kilometres from Cairns by road, on the Atherton Tableland. It is within the local government area of Shire of Mareeba (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region). At the 2011 census, Dimbulah had a population of 1414.
History
The town was established in 1876 to service the Tyrconnell Gold Mine, one of the richest mines on the Hodgkinson Gold Fields. The name "Dimbulah" is thought to have come from the local Indigenous Australian word for "long waterhole", referring to the Walsh River that runs nearby the town.
The area around Dimbulah was originally home to the Djankun and Kuku Djungan tribe. During the 1920s the Queensland government forcibly removed most of their children, forcing the tribe to scatter.
In the early 1900s the area received an influx of Italian migrants and in 1928 tobacco was introduced, becoming the area's major industry soon after. At its peak, there were 800 growers in the area, producing over 8,000 tonnes (60% of national yield) of tobacco a year. 'The Way Back In' is an Australian heritage project that documents a small selection of Australian heritage within the Italian communities in Dimbulah, Innisfail and Cairns.
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