Finch Hatton 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

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 , the locality of Finch Hatton had a population of 499 people.

Geography

Finch Hatton lies in the valley of Cattle Creek (a tributary of the Pioneer River) which flows from west to east through the locality. Although the centre of the locality beside the creek is at 100 metres above sea level, the northern and southern parts of the locality are mountainous rising to 970 metres in the north and 870 metres in the south. The valley contains the town, roughly centre of the locality. The Mackay–Eungella Road passes through the valley and the town from west to east, although it is called Anzac Parade within the town.

History

Cattle Creek Sugar Mill, Finch Hatton, 1913

The town is believed to be named after

Harold Heneage Finch-Hatton Harold Heneage Finch-Hatton (23 August 1856 – 16 May 1904) was a British politician and Australian federationist. Early life Finch-Hatton was born in Eastwell Park, Kent, England, the fourth son of George Finch-Hatton, 10th Earl of Winchilsea ...

(1856-1904), a grazier of Mount Spencer run (1881–83), and imperial federationist in

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(1884-1904). He gave an account of his experiences in the area through his book entitled Advance Australia! This book covers various topics including the sugar industry, cattle grazing,

Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentie ...

, Aboriginals,

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Queensland (Australia) in the 19t ...

and gold mining techniques. The first settlers were Hermann Wilhelm Zahmel and his wife Adeline Wilhelmina (née Grawunder), who had immigrated from Germany to Queensland in 1872 and 1876 respectively. They married in Mackay in 1877. In 1889 the Zahmels acquired a parcel of land (Portion 1044 in the Parish of Mia Mia) to the west of the present-day town, where they raised a family of nine children. War memoral, Finch Hatton, 2016

The Cattle Creek Sugar Mill commenced in 1906, closing in 1990. It was located on the south side of Anzac Parade between the railway station and the school (). Finch Hatton Post Office opened by December 1906 (replacing a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

named Pelion open from December 1895). Finch Hatton State School opened on 5 July 1909. The

Finch Hatton War Memorial Finch Hatton War Memorial is a heritage-listed memorial at Anzac Parade, Finch Hatton, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Melrose & Fenwick and built in 1921 by Melrose & Fenwick. It was added to the Queensland Heritage ...

was erected in 1921. It commemorated those servicemen from Finch Hatton and

Netherdale Netherdale is a sports complex in Galashiels, Scottish Borders, consisting of two adjacent stadiums used for rugby union and football. The rugby ground is the home of Gala RFC and was formerly used by the professional Border Reivers team. It host ...

who died in

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 ...

. Later an additional plaque was added with the details of those who died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The memorial is located in Anzac Parade (). On 18 February 1958,

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...

was hit with massive flooding caused by heavy rainfall upstream with 878 mm of rain falling at Finch Hatton in 24 hours. The flood peaked at . The water flowed down the valley and flooded Mackay within hours. Residents were rescued off rooftops by boats and taken to emergency accommodation. The flood broke Australian records. In the , the locality of Finch Hatton had a population of 499 people.

Heritage listings

Finch Hatton 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: * Anzac Parade:

* Mackay-Eungella Road: Finch Hatton railway station

Education

Finch Hatton State School is a co-educational government primary (P-6) school located on the Mackay-Eungella Road (). In 2016, it had an enrolment of 49 students with 8 teachers (5 equivalent full-time) and 7 non-teaching staff (3 equivalent full-time).

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 esti ...

operates a mobile library service on a fortnightly schedule at the corner of Zahmel Street and Mackay-Eungella Road.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Mackay Region Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland