As reported in the OutBack Magaz

'hen even the locals warn visitors not to blink or they'll miss Muckadilla, you know that it must be small. In fact the

township, located on

the Warrego Highway midway between the towns of Mitchell and Roma in Queensland's Western Downs, has a population of nine, one pub, one servo, a couple of houses and a war memorial that doubles as a direction marker.

It's hard then to believe that this was once a thriving service town with a national reputation as a centre for healing. The town's bore was sunk in 1889 and its sulphurous waters were believed to be radioactive, which, at that time, was considered a great boon to sufferers of all kinds of ailments including rheumatism and other forms of arthritis and crippling debilities. The Muckadilla Bore Bathhouse, conveniently located at the rear of the hotel, boasted hot baths and showers, plunge baths, a swimming pool and a hot mud and blanket bath as well as full-time nursing staff to minister to the needs of its patients. When the Muckadilla Hotel and Motel was opened in 1912, 1417 clients patronised the facility, leaving glowing testimonials about arriving as stretcher cases and walking straight and tall upon leaving.

Today, publicans Darren Wilson and Janet Mayfield, who recently traded their careers in construction on the Queensland coast, can only dream of those kinds of visitor numbers. Nonetheless, in the few months they've been at the helm, their counter meals have encouraged locals to return to the pub and they're now serving about 120 meals a week.

As well as running the pub and motel, which was rebuilt after a fire in 1960, Darren and Janet are the town's news agency and operate the local caravan park. They're looking forward to the harvest season in September/October, when itinerants bolster the workforce, as well as the construction of a power station north of Roma that will swell the population.