Alexandra is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Mackay in the

Mackay Region The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimat ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , Alexandra had a population of 189 people.

Geography

Alexandra is flat low-lying land bordered to the north by the

Pioneer River The Pioneer River is a river in North Queensland, Australia. The long river flows through the city of . History Captain John Mackay and his party were the first Europeans to discover the river in 1860. Mackay named it Mackay River after his ...

and to the south by Bakers Creek. The

Peak Downs Highway The Peak Downs Highway links the towns of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay and Clermont, Queensland, Clermont in the Australian state of Queensland. It represents the main link between Queensland's Whitsunday Islands, Whitsunday Coast and the Central ...

passes from east to west through the centre of the locality; there is a junction with the

Mackay–Eungella Road Mackay–Eungella Road is a continuous road route in the Mackay Region, Mackay region of Queensland, Australia. The entire route is signed as State Route 64. It is a state-controlled regional road (number 532). At the western end it becomes E ...

which exits the locality in the north-west. Most of the housing is clustered around these two roads. Most of the land in the suburb is used for

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

farming. The Finch Hatton branch of the

Mackay Railway The Mackay Railway was a line situated in the Pioneer River valley in North Queensland, Australia. It opened in a series of sections between 1885 and 1911. It had three short branches, parts of which were initially built by the local governmen ...

ran through the locality from east to west with the local area served by the now-dismantled Alexandra railway station (). After the closure of the railway, a sugarcane tramway replaced it to provide transport for the harvested sugarcane from the canefields to the sugar mills.

History

The suburb's name is taken from the Alexandra sugar mill. The mill, in turn, was named by mill owner Thomas Henry Fitzgerald after Princess

Alexandra of Denmark Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

who married Prince Edward (later King

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

) of Great Britain on 10 March 1863. The mill was constructed in 1868 and was the largest sugar mill in Queensland. It operated until 1884. It was located immediately south of the Alexandra railway station ().

Demographics

In the , Alexandra had a population of 193 people. In the , Alexandra had a population of 189 people.

Education

There are no schools in Alexandra. The nearest government primary school is Walkerston State School in neighbouring Walkerston to the west. The nearest government secondary school is

Mackay State High School Mackay State High School is a government secondary school at 123 Milton Street, South Mackay, Mackay, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. The school offers education to students from grades 7 to 12 and provides a range of academic programs ...

in Mackay to the east.

References

External links