Minerva is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. In the , the Central Highlands Region had a population of 27,836 people. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', a ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , Minerva had a population of 55 people.

Geography

The

Nogoa River The Nogoa River is a river in Central Queensland, Australia. Course and features The river rises on the Carnarvon Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, in the Carnarvon National Park and flows in a generally north easterly direction towards ...

forms the western boundary of the locality. The terrain is mountainous with many named peaks, including: * Bimbenang Peak () * Birdcage () * Crystal Hill () * Funnel Mountain () * Little St Peter () * Mount Alexander () * Mount Cullender () * Mount Ebenezer () * Mount Elizabeth () * Mount Helmet () * Mount Horatio () * Mount Minerva () * Mount Promenade () * Mount Spencer () * Mount Wallaroo () * Mount Wandoo () * Mount Wills () * Red Hill () * Spring Hill () * St Peter () * Summer Hill () * Sunrise Hill ()

History

Minerva Provisional School opened on 8 November 1904 with Miss Elsie Hyde the first teacher. By June 1905, there were 31 students enrolled. On 1 January 1909, it became Minerva State School. It closed on 31 December 1928 due to low student numbers and no suitable accommodation for the teacher. In 1933, the school building was rented out and then in 1938 sold by auction for £39 and then relocated to Emerald. It was on a site that was formerly part of the Minerva Creek company reserve. The Springsure branch railway line opened on 15 August 1887, with the locality being served by two railway stations: * Wurba Junction railway station () * Minerva railway station () The section beyond Wurba Junction railway station to Springsure railway station was closed on 26 June 2013. On 17 April 2020, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

re-drew the boundaries of localities within the Central Highlands Region by replacing the locality of The Gemfields with three new localities of Rubyvale, Sapphire Central and Anakie Siding (around the towns of Rubyvale,

Sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, cobalt, lead, chromium, vanadium, magnesium, boron, and silicon. The name ''sapphire ...

, and Anakie respectively). This included adjusting the boundaries of other existing localities in the Region to accommodate these changes; Minerva gained a small area from the north-eastern edge of Lochington, reducing the area of the locality from . As a consequence of these changes, the boundary between Lochington and Minerva/

Gindie Gindie is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Gindie had a population of 232 people. Geography The settlement of Fernlees is located in southern Gindie (). The Gregory Highway passes through the ...

more closely follows the course of the

Demographics

In the , Minerva had a population of 48 people. In the , Minerva had a population of 55 people.

Education

There are no schools in Minerva. The nearest government primary schools are Springsure State School in neighbouring

Springsure Springsure is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Springsure had a population of 950 people. Geography Springsure is situated by road ...

to the south-east, Gindie State School in neighbouring

to the north-east, and Lochington State School in neighbouring Lochington to the west. The nearest government secondary schools are Springsure State School (to Year 10) and Emerald State High School (to Year 12) in

Emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

to the north-east. However, students from some parts of Minerva will be too distant from these secondary schools for a daily commute; the alternatives are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

and boarding school.

References

{{Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland