Abergowrie, Queensland

Abergowrie is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Abergowrie had a population of 305 people.

Geography

The town is located near the confluence of the Herbert River and Gowrie Creek.

Abergowrie has the following mountains:

* Boulder Hill ()
* Duncan Bluff ()
* Mount Cadillah ()
* Mount Echo ()
* Mount Graham ()
* Mount Westminster Abbey ()
* Slopeaway ()

History

Gugu Badhun (also known as Koko-Badun and Kokopatun) is an Australian Aboriginal language of North Queensland. The language region includes areas within the local government area of Charters Towers Region, particularly the localities of Greenvale and the Valley of Lagoons, and in the Upper Burdekin River area and in Abergowrie.

The town is named after the ''Abergowrie'' property, selected by James Atkinson in 1883. He coined the name from the Celtic word ''aber'' (confluence) and ''gowrie'' for Gowrie Creek, reflecting the location.

On Sunday 22 October 1933, Bishop McGuire laid the foundation stone for a Catholic agricultural farm school. The site was with a frontage to the Herbert River with of the total to be used for the college buildings. Boys would be able to take a 2-year course that would prepare them to be farmers. In January 1934, Reverend Brother William Benedict Doran was appointed principal of the college; he had trained in agriculture at the Gatton Agricultural College, the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, and the Lismore Agricultural College. The college opened to students on 1 March 1934. St Teresa's Agricultural College was officially opened the Apostolic Delegate, Filippo Bernardini. It was operated by the Christian Brothers. It is now known as St Theresa's College.

In 1946, a Royal Commission was established to investigate soldier settlement schemes for soldiers returning from World War II. Abergowrie was chosen as a site where 300 farms could be established with sugarcane being the likely crop. It was also proposed that a sugar mill be established, but instead a cane tramway was built to transport the harvested sugarcane from Abergowrie to the Victoria sugar mill near Ingham.

In January 1953, a request for an 'unofficial' post office was requested. Abergowrie Post Office opened on 1 May 1953 and closed in 1974.

Abergowrie State School opened on 23 February 1953.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Abergowrie had a population of 438 people, 31% female and 69% male with 30.8% being Indigenous Australian. The median age of the population was 32 years, 6 years below the national median of 38. 92.5% of people living in Abergowrie were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were Papua New Guinea 1.4%, Italy 1.2% and Fiji 0.7%. 77.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.4% Italian, 1.4% Djambarrpuyngu, 0.9% Kuuk Thayorre, 0.9% Kriol and 0.7% Guugu Yimidhirr.

In the , the locality of Abergowrie had a population of 305 people, 39.9% female and 60.1% male with 10.5% being Indigenous Australian. The median age of the population was 47 years, 9 years above the national median of 38. 84.6% of people living in Abergowrie were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were Fiji 1.6%, 1.3% South Africa, 1.0% Papua New Guinea and 1.0% Italy. 81.0% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 2.3% Yumplatok (Torres Strait Creole), 2.0% Spanish, 1.6% Fijian, 1.6% Creole (nfd) and 1.3% Italian.

Education

Abergowrie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 5 Venables Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 4 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).

St Teresa's College is a Catholic secondary (7-12) school for boys at 3819 Abergowrie Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 201 students with 36 teachers (34 full-time equivalent) and 31 non-teaching staff (25 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 190 students with 35 teachers (34 full-time equivalent) and 34 non-teaching staff (30 full-time equivalent).

There is no government secondary school in Abergowrie. The nearest government secondary school is Ingham State High School in Ingham to the south-east.

Community groups

The Abergowrie-Long Pocket branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 2346 Abergowrie Road, Long Pocket ().

References

External links

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Shire of Hinchinbrook
Towns in Queensland
Localities in Queensland