Chelona 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

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 estima ...

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 , Chelona had a population of 100 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the south by Sandy Creek. The Bruce Highway enters the locality from the south ( Balberra) and exits to the north (

Rosella Rosellas are in a genus that consists of six species and nineteen subspecies. These colourful parrots from Australia are in the genus ''Platycercus''. ''Platycercus'' means "broad-tailed" or "flat-tailed", reflecting a feature common to the ...

). The North Coast railway line also enters the locality from the south and exits to the north, further west than the highway. There is also a network of cane tramways that transports harvested

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) 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 ...

to the sugar mills. The predominant land use is sugarcane farming. Most of the residential development is along the Bruce Highway.

History

The now-abandoned Chelona railway station () on the North Coast railway line was named on 30 October 1913 after Mount Chelona (), which was named by surveyor

William Charles Borlase Wilson William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

. The locality takes its name from the railway station. Chelona State School opened on 23 January 1893. A postal receiving office opened at Chelona in August 1902. It became a post office on 1 July 1927 and closed on 2 March 1964. In the , Chelona had a population of 100 people.

Education

Chelona State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 13 Chelona School Access Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 107 students with 8 teachers (6 full-time equivalent) and 7 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Chelona. The nearest government secondary school is

Mackay State High School Mackay State High School is located at 123 Milton Street, South Mackay, Mackay, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. Mackay State High School is a public educational institution located in the city of Mackay, Queensland, Australia. The school of ...

in Mackay to the north.

Amenities

The

Mackay Regional Council 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 estima ...

operates a mobile library service on a fortnightly schedule at Dunrock Road near the school.

References

{{Mackay Region Mackay Region Localities in Queensland