Home Hill is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Burdekin, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Home Hill had a population of 2,954 people.
At the delta of the Burdekin River, it is a sugarcane growing area with underground water supplies to irrigate crops.
Badilla is a neighbourhood in the south of the locality ().
Geography
Home Hill lies approximately south of Townsville and north of the state capital Brisbane on the Bruce Highway. It is a part of the Shire of Burdekin which includes the town of Ayr to the north. Both towns are governed by the Burdekin Shire Council.
The Burdekin River forms the locality's north-western boundary. The town is situated centrally within the locality surrounded by crop farming. The Bruce Highway passes through the town from the south-east (Fredericksfield / Inkerman) to the north-west crossing the river via the Burdekin Bridge to McDesme en route to Ayr.
The North Coast railway line runs immediately parallel and west of the highway, also entering from the south-east (Fredericksfield / Inkerman) and exiting to the north-west (McDesme) via the Burdekin Bridge. There are three railway stations within the locality:
Carstairs railway station, now abandoned, at the Inkerman Sugar Mill in the north of the locality () Home Hill railway station in the town centre () Badilla railway station, now abandoned, in the south of the locality ()
To the west of the town is Gardiner's Lagoon.
Despite its name, the land in the locality is very flat.
History
Yuru (also known as Juru, Euronbba, Juru, Mal Mal, Malmal) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuru country. The Yuru language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Shire of Burdekin, including the town of Home Hill.
Home Hill was originally part of the Inkerman Downs Cattle Station. In August 1910, the Inkerman estate was resumed by the Queensland Government under the Closer Settlement Act. It was subdivided into farming allotments. Although the town of Ayr was very close by, there was no bridge across the Burdekin River and hence it was necessary to establish a separate town to support the new farming community. The first blocks of town land were offered for sale in December 1912 under the name of Home Hill.
The origin of the name Home Hill is much disputed. The Queensland Government claims it was named after Home Hill, a hilltop defended by the British Army in the Battle of Inkerman in the Crimean War. However it has also been claimed that it was named after Colonel Home who lived in the district and had fought in the Crimea. Another claim is that the name was originally Holme Hill which was corrupted into Home Hill, possibly by a signwriter painting the name at the railway station. A newspaper report in September 1912 calls the proposed town Holme Hill but also makes the connection with the Battle of Inkerman. There are also numerous early references to the town as Holm Hill. Certainly the Hill part of the name does not relate to the local geography which is quite flat with the nearest hill is about away.
Home Hill Post Office opened by 1913 (a receiving office had been open from 1912). In the 1990s there were rumours that the post office would be closed. However, eventually the decision was made to privatise it in 1997.
A tent school was opened in the district on 23 March 1913 but was replaced by the Inkerman State School on 25 October 1913 which was renamed Home Hill State School on 19 January 1914.