Macalister 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

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...

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 Macalister had a population of 153.

Geography

The locality is located 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 general ...

and the town is in centre of the locality. The

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

enters the locality from the south-east ( Dalby), passes through the town, and exits to the north-west ( Warra). The Western railway line runs immediately parallel and north of the highway, with three railway stations in the locality (from west to east): * Broadmead railway station (now abandoned) in the north-west of the locality () * Macalister railway station, serving the town () * Apunyal railway station (now abandoned) in the south-east of the locality () There are two neighbourhoods in Macalister arising from these railway stations: * Broadmead in the north-west of the locality () *Apunyal in the south-east of the locality ()

History

The town is named after

Arthur Macalister Arthur Macalister, (18 January 1818 – 23 March 1883) was three times Premier of Queensland, Australia. Early life Macalister was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Macalister, a cabinet maker, and his wife Mary, ''née'' Scoullar. Ma ...

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

from 1866 to 1867. The name ''Apunyal'' is an Aboriginal word meaning ''large plain.'' Macalister Post Office opened on 1 July 1880 (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 1876, known as Jimbour Creek until 1878) and closed in 1980. Ranges Bridge Provisional School opened circa 1886 and closed in June 1894. The school building was then relocated and reopened as Macalister Provisional School on 27 August 1894. On 1 January 1909 it became Macalister State School. In 1913, it was renamed Apunyal State School. It closed circa 1935. A second separate Macalister State School opened in 1913 (the first one having been renamed Apunyal). It closed on 4 May 1973. The school was on the Warrego Highway (). At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Macalister and the surrounding area had a population of 486. In the , the locality of Macalister had a population of 153.

Education

There are no schools in Macalister. The nearest primary schools are Jimbour State School in neighbouring Jimbour East to the north-east, Warra State School in neighbouring Warra to the north-west, Dalby State School in neighbouring Dalby to the south-east and Kogan State School in neighbouring

Kogan Kogan (russian: Ко́ган) is a Russian spelling variant of the Jewish surname Cohen. * Aleksandr Kogan — several people * Artur Kogan (born 1974), Israeli chess master * Belle Kogan (1902–2000), American industrial designer * Boris Kog ...

to the west. The nearest secondary schools are Jandowae State School (to Year 10) in

Jandowae Jandowae is a rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Jandowae had a population of 1,047 people. Geography The town is west of the Brisbane. the capital of the state of Queensland. ...

to the north and

Dalby State High School Dalby State High School is a heritage-listed state high school at 28B Nicholson Street, Dalby, Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1953 to 1954. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 19 August 2016. ...

(to Year 12) in Dalby.

Amenities

The Redeemer Lutheran Church is at 20647 Warrego Highway (). The Macalister 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 the Kenmore Library at the QCWA Hall at 20649 Warrego Highway ().

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Western Downs Region Localities in Queensland