Lawgi Dawes 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

Shire of Banana The Shire of Banana is a local government area located in the Capricorn region of Queensland, Australia, inland from the regional city of Gladstone. The shire was named after the first township in the region (Banana), which in turn was named ...

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 , Lawgi Dawes had a population of 144 people. It contains the neighbourhood of Lawgi, a former town.

Geography

Lawgi is an abandoned neighbourhood () within the locality. It is located on the

Burnett Highway The Burnett Highway is an inland rural highway located in Queensland, Australia. The highway runs between its junction with the Bruce Highway at Gracemere, just south of Rockhampton, and Nanango. Its length is approximately 542 kilometres. The ...

. Mardale is a neighbourhood (). It is located on Blackmans Yard Road. The area is a productive agricultural area with cattle and grain farming predominating.

History

During the planning to build the Rannes-Monto railway line, one of the proposed railway stations along the route was assigned the name ''Lawgi'' by the Railways Department in 1926. The name is believed to mean ''home'' in one of the Aboriginal languages. Dawes State School opened on 20 June 1932 and closed in October 1932. It was located near the proposed Dawes railway station at the intersection of the Burnett Highway and Blackmans Yard Road (approx ). Construction of the railway line commenced from Rannes. On Saturday 24 September 1932, the segment from

Thangool Thangool is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Thangool had a population of 741 people. Geography Thangool is north west of the state capital, ...

to Lawgi was officially opened by the Minister for Railways,

John Dash John Dash (31 October 1882 – 1 January 1952) was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly. Biography Dash was born in Blackall, Queensland, the son of John Dash Snr, a German migrant, and his Irish-born wife Margaret (née Mahoney) an ...

(the

Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly This is a list of members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, the state parliament of Queensland, sorted by parliament. See also * Queensland Legislative Assembly electoral districts This is a list of current and former electoral div ...

for Mundingburra). This resulted in the establishment of the township of Lawgi. Yaparaba State School opened on 30 August 1934 and closed on 6 February 1970. It was located on a bend in Yaparaba School Road (approx ) to the immediate south of the never-constructed Yaparaba railway station on the never-constructed section of the railway line. Lawgi State School opened in September 1935. It was renamed Mardale State School in 1952. The school closed on 13 March 1964. It was on Lawgi Connection Road (). Coominglah State School opened circa December 1939 with teacher Miss Viola Petra Goodfellow. It closed circa 1947. It was on Burns Road () just on the border with Coominglah. The last section of the railway line from Lawgi to

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

was never completed, and Lawgi became the terminus. However, the railway line was not profitable and the section from Thangool to Lawgi was closed in 1955. As a result, the township gradually disappeared leaving only the community hall. In 2003, local artists Gary Latcham and Jo Lawrence painted the exterior of the hall with the

silhouettes A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

of bottle trees against a sunset. In the , Lawgi Dawes had a population of 144 people. In 2019, a decision was made to put cladding on the hall, covering the artwork. Gary Latcham assisted by local volunteer artists repainted the artwork.

Amenities

Lawgi Community Hall at the intersection of the

and the Lawgi Connection Road is used for regular community dances, occasional church services, indoor bowls, polling booth and other community functions. The exterior of the hall features a painting of bottle brushes trees against a multi-coloured sky. A memorial in the form of a gravestone marks the point where the proposed Rannes-Monto railway line was terminated at Lawgi. There is a rest area behind the hall for travellers. Free camping is also available at the nearby Lawgi Heritage Park, which boasts 360° views, stunning sunsets and hot showers.

Education

There are no schools in Lawgi Dawes. The nearest primary school is Thangool State School in neighbouring

to the north-west. The nearest secondary schools are Biloela State High School in

Biloela Biloela ( ) is a rural town and locality in Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. It is situated inland from the port city of Gladstone at the junction of the Burnett and Dawson highways. Biloela is the administrative centre of Banan ...

to the north-west and Monto State High School in

to the south-east.

Geography

History

Amenities

Education

References

Further reading