Belgian Gardens is an inner coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. In the Belgian Gardens had a population of 2,069 people.

Geography

Belgian Gardens is located from the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

. It is a suburban area and has restricted zoning laws to reduce the amount of corporate buildings and apartments. Offshore to the north is a sandy beach along the edge of Rowes Bay (), a part of the larger

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relatio ...

().

History

Before the advent of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the suburb was named ''German Gardens'' after a vineyard owned in 1867 by German settler, Heinrich Fredrich Alfred Robinson. However, during the course of the war due to

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began with t ...

, the suburb was renamed to ''Belgian Gardens''. Townsville North State School was opened on 4 July 1887. On 20 June 1930, the school was renamed Belgian Gardens State School. During the influenza epidemic in 1919, schools were closed and Belgian Gardens school was converted into an isolation hospital with the army erecting tents in the grounds; 195 patients were hospitalised at the school with 6 deaths. In 1954, 246 students were enrolled. Cleveland School opened on 15 July 1994 as a school within the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre. On 9 February 2006 it was renamed Cleveland Education and Training Centre. In the 2011 census, Belgian Gardens had a population of 1,935 people. In the Belgian Gardens had a population of 2,069 people.

Heritage listings

Belgian Gardens has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including: * 13 St James Drive: Bishop's Lodge

Education

Belgian Gardens State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 43 Potts Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 587 students with 47 teachers (41 full-time equivalent) and 24 non-teaching staff (16 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Townsville Police Academy is at 26 Heatleys Parade (). There is no secondary school in Belgian Gardens. The nearest government secondary school is

Townsville State High School Townsville State High School, also known as Town High, is a secondary school in Railway Estate, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. History Townsville State High School was established in 1924 as part of the Townsville Technical College at th ...

Railway Estate Railway Estate is a suburb of Townsville in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the Railway Estate had a population of 2,852 people. Geography Railway Estate is located on the south end of Ross Island, bounded by Ross Creek ...

to the south-east.

Facilities

The Belgian Gardens Cemetery was once in the suburb but boundary changes means the cemetery is now in the neighbouring suburb of Rowes Bay.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville European-Australian culture German-Australian culture