The town lies on the Tropic of Capricorn with a population of 2,976 (by
2006 census). The main industries of the area are cattle, sheep, and,
more recently, tourism. The town is home to the Australian Agricultural
College's Longreach Campus, which prepares students for work in the
agricultural and pastoral industries. It was known previously as the
Longreach Pastoral College. The campus was opened in 1967. Adjacent to
the college is the Longreach School of Distance Education, which
provides lessons to remote students, formerly by UHF radio but now using
telephone lines
A number of Queensland towns have their streets
named to a theme. In Longreach, the streets are named after species of
birds, with the streets running east-west named after water birds and
those running north-south after land birds. The main business street is
called Eagle Street. Other streets honour Hudson Fysh, an Australian
aviation pioneer, and Sir James Walker, a farmer and long-serving mayor
of the former Longreach Shire Council.
In early April 2010, Longreach
experienced a significant locust plague described by local residents as
the worst in three decades.
Notable Australians to have been born or
lived in Longreach include Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce,
comedian Carl Barron and rugby league footballer Matthew Scott.
All of the Qantas Boeing 747-400's have "Longreach" printed on both sides of the first jetway entry/exit doors
