Hampton 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 bey ...

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 , the locality of Hampton had a population of 356 people.

Geography

Hampton is on 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 general ...

, west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. Situated at the top of an escarpment on the Great Dividing Range, Hampton is one of the small town located along 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 ...

between

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 ...

, (29 kilometres away) and Crows Nest (12 kilometres). There are three local dams that supply water to the surrounding area, all within a short distance of Hampton. These are

Cooby Dam The Cooby Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with an ungated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of Condamine River, at Groomsville in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for potable water ...

, Perseverance Dam and Cressbrook Dam. Recreational activities are available on some of the dams.

Climate

Hampton has moderate summer temperatures with high temperatures around . The summer low temperature is around . Hampton also has mild winters with temperature highs close to , and low temperatures around . The local flora and fauna are abundant to include many species of birds and mammals. Eucalypt and pine forests as well as grass land are present in this area.

History

The town was named after its former railway station, which in turn was named after

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, England. In 1886, the Crows Nest railway line reached the town. Hampton Post Office opened on 19 May 1913 (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 s ...

had been open from 1887) and closed in 1977. Hampton State School opened on 22 August 1938. It closed in 1959. In the , Hampton had a population of 345 people. In the , the locality of Hampton had a population of 356 people.

Education

There are no schools in Hampton. The nearest government primary schools are Geham State School in Geham to the south-west and Murphys Creek State School in Murphys Creek to the south. The nearest government secondary schools are Crows Nest State School (to Year 10) in Crows Nest to the north and Highfields State Secondary College (to Year 12) in Highfields,

, to the south-west.

Attractions

Hampton is known for the antique shop and gift stores as well as local produce, including citrus and

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

s grown on the many farms located around the district. The Hampton Information Centre is located on the New England Highway at the junction of the

Esk–Hampton Road The Esk–Hampton Road is a state highway in Queensland. It leaves the Brisbane Valley Highway at Esk and travels in a westerly direction for until it reaches the New England Highway at Hampton, where it ends. This road is part of State Route ...

. The road provides access to

Ravensbourne National Park Ravensbourne is a national park in Ravensbourne and Buaraba in South East Queensland, Australia, 33 km west of Esk. It is a small scenic park on the Great Dividing Range within the Lockyer Creek water catchment area and overlooking the ...

and connects Hampton to Esk. Ravensbourne National Park features short bushwalking tracks, a scenic lookout and picnic facilities. In May the park surrounding the Visitor Information Center plays host to the Hampton High Country Food and Art Festival. The festival gives local producers from all over the Darling Downs a chance to showcase their produce.

References

External links

Town map, 1980

Hampton High Country Food and Arts Festival

Ravensbourne National Park
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Toowoomba Region Localities in Queensland