Clifton is a rural town and

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

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyo ...

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 , Clifton had a population of 1,456 people.

Geography

Clifton is a town in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generall ...

. The town is situated just west of the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...

, about south of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

and west of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. Bange's Airfield, six kilometres west of Clifton, is a centre for ultralight aircraft, and home to the Lone Eagle Flying School and the Darling Downs Sport Aircraft Association Inc. Boab trees are an important cultural heritage feature, particularly alongside the main street. The

runs along the eastern boundary. Gatton–Clifton Road enters from the east, Felton-Clifton Road enters from the north, and Clifton-Leyburn Road exits to the west.

History

The lands around the town was first settled by

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

in 1840. The town takes its name from a pastoral run named by John Augustus Milbourne Marsh around 1844. Clifton Post Office opened on 20 April 1869 (it was known as King's Creek for a short period in 1869). In 1877, were resumed from the Clifton pastoral run and offered for selection on 17 April 1877. Clifton Colliery Provisional School opened on 11 December 1876. It became Clifton Colliery State School on 7 October 1878. It closed in 1936. Clifton Homestead Area State School opened circa 1879 and closed circa 1918. An undated map shows allotments for sale in the township of King's Creek, situated on the Clifton Estate. The allotments were adjacent to the railway line, close to King's Creek railway station, and King's Creek. An article in the

Darling Downs Gazette The ''Darling Downs Gazette'' was a newspaper published from 1848 to 1922 in Drayton and Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia. History ''The Darling Downs Gazette and General Advertiser'' was founded in 1858 by Arthur Sidney Lyon. The first issu ...

on 20 June 1885 notes the sale of allotments at the new township of King's Creek. On Sunday 21 October 1888, the Roman Catholic Church of St James and St John was consecrated by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Robert Dunne Robert Dunne (5 September 1830 – 13 January 1917) was the second Roman Catholic bishop of Brisbane and later he became its first archbishop. Dunne was born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland and was educated at Lismore Grammar School ...

. A Presbyterian church was built in the town in 1890. However, the building became too small for the congregation, so on Wednesday 18 November 1908, there was a

stump-capping ceremony Queenslander architecture is a modern term for a type of residential housing, widespread in Queensland, Australia. It is also found in the northern parts of the adjacent state of New South Wales, and shares many traits with architecture in othe ...

for a new Presbyterian church building capable of seating 250 people. St Andrew's Presbyterian Church opened on Wed 3 March 1909. It was described as a "striking and substantial edifice". The foundation stone for All Saints' Anglican Church was laid by Mrs H. Fisher of Headington Hill with an address by the Anglican Bishop of Brisbane William Webber on Thursday 14 March 1889. It was dedicated later in 1889. In 1905 it was re-built and re-dedicated. Clifton State School opened on 19 September 1892. On 28 January 1964 it opened a secondary department, an arrangement which continued until Clifton State High School opened on 24 January 1966. On Sunday 22 April 1900, the new Roman Catholic church opened at Clifton beside the old church. The ceremony was conducted by Bishop Robert Dunne and was attended by over 2,000 people, many of whom travelled by special trains arranged by the Queensland Railways Department. In 1900, a Methodist Church was built in Clifton at a cost of £192 or £196. It had closed before 2003. It was at 17 Queen Street (). St Francis De Sales' Catholic School was officially opened on 25 February 1917 by Archbishop

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-ser ...

. It was initially operated by four

Sisters of the Good Samaritan The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, colloquially known as the "Good Sams", is a Roman Catholic congregation of religious women commenced by Bede Polding, OSB, Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congreg ...

. The original Clifton Catholic Church was moved to Tooth Street and was renovated to become the school. In 1979 the Sisters ceased to operate the school and it is now under

lay Lay may refer to: Places *Lay Range, a subrange of mountains in British Columbia, Canada *Lay, Loire, a French commune *Lay (river), France *Lay, Iran, a village *Lay, Kansas, United States, an unincorporated community People * Lay (surname) * ...

leadership. The Clifton War Memorial is located on the corner of King and Edward Streets. On Tuesday 4 April 2000, a memorial was erected to

Australian country music Australian country music is a part of the music of Australia. There is a broad range of styles, from bluegrass music, bluegrass, to yodeling to Australian folk music, folk to the more popular. The genre has been influenced by Celtic and English ...

singer-songwriter

Stan Coster Stan Coster OAM (27 May 193025 March 1997) was an Australian country music singer-songwriter. His songs were regularly performed by Slim Dusty and other singers. He is the father of country music singer Tracy Coster. Early life Stan Coster was ...

in Centenary Park. The Clifton Library opened in 2002. In the , the locality Clifton had a population of 1,456 people.

Education

Clifton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Tooth Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 100 students with 10 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent). Clifton State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at 32 East Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 240 students with 30 teachers (27 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). Clifton Cluster Special Education Program is a primary and secondary (Prep-12) special education program at Clifton State High School at 32 East Street (). St Francis De Sales School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 16 Meara Place (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 53 students with 7 teachers (5 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). Vitruvian scroll

Amenities

The Clifton Library is operated by the Toowoomba Regional Council. The library is located on Meara Place and is open five days a week (Tuesday through Saturday). The Clifton branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at 72 Clark Street. All Saints' Anglican Church is at 72 East Street (). St James' and St John's Catholic Church (also known as the Mowen Memorial Church) is at 11 Meara Place (). St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is at 14 John Street (). It is part of the

Presbyterian Church of Queensland The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...

Attractions

The Clifton Historical Museum was located in the old butter factory where there is a range of early agricultural tools and machinery on display. It is staffed by volunteers. A memorial to Australian country music singer-songwriter Stan Coster is in Centenary Park, Mowen Street ().

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Clifton
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Clifton State High SchoolVideo: Clifton - Why we like to live here
A digital story created by Barbara Free about the area of Clifton, as part of the Queensland Stories Project, State Library of Queensland. (Windows Media player, RealPlayer) {{authority control Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Toowoomba Region Localities in Queensland