The western Queensland town of Charleville was once a major stopover in the aerial link from Australia to England.

The first ever Qantas service in 1922 was a two-day flight linking Charleville with Cloncurry, and the town became an important base when international routes to and from Australia opened a decade later.

A century on and Charleville remains an important transport hub with a lucrative accommodation market.

Jim Beard, from Premier Business Sales, is marketing Charleville’s 20-room Rocks Motel which is turning over close to $900,000 a year, with a net return of more than $350,000.

The lease is on offer for $995,000.

“It’s a great property that is trading its head off,” Mr Beard said. “It’s just seven years old and in great condition with terrific occupancy levels.

“The Rocks is a 4-star motel so it gets a lot of government clientele with terrific tariffs – a lot of doctors, nurses and other government employees stay there on a regular basis.

“The property also has a good restaurant that has already been leased. It’s in a great location and close to the many attractions in the town which has a strong economy.

“It’s a great property to put under management.”

Mr Beard said the motel was built with exceptional inclusions and fit outs in all of the rooms.

The manager’s residence has four large bedrooms, separate to the motel.

Charleville is 750km west of Brisbane, and the terminus for the Warrego Highway.

The Mitchell Highway also connects the town with places such as Cunnamulla, Bourke, Dubbo and Sydney. And there are regular rail services.

The stagecoach company Cobb & Co established a coach building business in Charleville in 1886 but the railway arrived in 1888 and soon made the coaches relics of another age.

A half century later the Charleville airport was playing host to Australia-London flights.

The Charleville Historic House Museum preserves much of the town’s past but there are futuristic attractions as well.

Powerful telescopes give visitors to Charleville’s Cosmos Centre and Observatory stunning views of the Milky Way and other wonders of the outback night sky.

The Charleville Bilby Experience is a must-see attraction that highlights The Save the Bilby Fund which is preserving these extraordinary and endangered nocturnal animals.

Charleville has bred more than 50 Bilby babies in the last couple of years, helping build up the bilby populations across Australia to prevent extinction.

At Charleville’s WWII Secret Base visitors can discover why 3500 United States Army Air Force personnel were stationed there in the early 1940s.

Visitors learn about aviation history, wartime romances, and top secret missions.

Charleville is also a base for Travel West Outback Tours, which specialises in nature-based experiences and Australian history, especially the travels of the ill-fated explorers Burke and Wills.

“Charleville is at the centre of so many transport routes,” Mr Beard said, “and quality accommodation is in big demand.

“That’s what makes The Rocks Motel so inviting and such a good business.”