Beecher is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Gladstone Region Gladstone Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The council covers an area of , had an estimated resident population at 30 June 2018 of 62,979, and has an estimated operating budget of A$84 million. History Gladstone Reg ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Beecher had a population of 863 people.

Geography

The Calliope River forms the western boundary of the locality. Clyde Creek flows through the locality from the south towards the north-west where it flows into the Calliope River at the most north-western part of the locality. The residential and farming mainly occurs on the lower land (0–10 metres above sea level) surrounding the creek. The Dawson Highway and the

Moura railway line The Moura railway line is a railway in central Queensland, connecting several coal mines to the port of Gladstone. It connects the remnants of several lines that previously connected to Rockhampton, originally by a rack railway. History The ...

also passes from north to south through the locality in this lower-lying area. The land in the east of the suburb is hillier (rising to 130 metres) and is protected as the Mount Maurice State Forest. Mount Beecher (156 metres) in the south-west of the locality, much of which is protected as the Beecher State Forest.

History

Beecher is named after Mount Beecher, which was named in 1853 by surveyor

Francis MacCabe Francis Peter MacCabe (1817 – 27 June 1897) was a surveyor in the colony of New South Wales (later a state of Australia) in the 19th century. He surveyed and mapped the lower reaches of the Murrumbidgee, Darling and Murray Rivers in New South W ...

apparently after Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U ...

''. McCabe also named Mount Tom and Mount Stowe in the same area. Calliope River State School opened on 11 August 1874 and closed in December 1881. Calliope River Provisional School on 1 November 1882 and closed in 1893. Calliope River Provisional School opened in 1897 but closed in 1905. Calliope River State School opened on 27 May 1912, it was renamed Beecher State School in 1919, and closed on 4 July 1943. The locality was served by the Beecher railway station () on the Moura railway line, but the station is now abandoned. In the , Beecher had a population of 863 people.

Education

There are no schools in Beecher. The nearest government school is Clinton State School in Clinton to the north. The nearest government secondary schools are Gladstone State High School in West Gladstone to the north and Toolooa State High School in South Gladstone to the north-east.

References

{{Gladstone Region Gladstone Region Localities in Queensland