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Marburg is a rural town in the
City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...
and a
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 ...
split between the City of Ipswich and the
Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, about northwest of Brisbane and centred on the town of Esk. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Esk and th ...
, both in
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 , Marburg had a population of 873 people.


Geography

Marburg is located approximately 50 km west-south-west from Brisbane city. The land has an elevation of between approximately 80 and 120 metres above sea level. A small creek, the Black Snake creek, runs through Marburg. It is named after the
Red-bellied Black Snake The red-bellied black snake (''Pseudechis porphyriacus'') is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae, indigenous to Australia. Originally described by George Shaw in 1794 as a species new to science, it is one of eastern Australia' ...
.


History

German settlers arrived around the 1860s in the region, which is part of the land of the Indigenous
Jagera people The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, and other variants, are the Australian Aboriginal people who spoke the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompassed a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional owners of the te ...
. The district was initially named ''Sally Owens Plains'', but the town itself takes its present name from
Marburg Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
in
Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
, Germany. The story goes that the settlers used to respond with 'ober dar' when asked where they lived. Eventually they named their settlement after the German town of Marburg, which was well known at the time. The timber, sugar cane and dairy industries put Marburg on its feet and the town grew over time. About 46 acres, sub-divided into 200 allotments, were offered for sale by auction on 29 November 1884. Advertising included details of the clearing of the Rosewood Scrub, of close-by townships, and the future rail and telegraph services, following "the establishment of the police station". In 1900 Marburg had a courthouse, police barracks, a post office, two hotels, five churches, a State school, a School of Arts, several stores, a blacksmith, a butter factory, a sugar factory and a rum distillery. At that time nearly 80 percent of Marburg's population came from Germany or were of German descent. Frederick State School opened on 18 March 1879. In 1888, the name was changed to Marburg State School. From 1920 to 1934, it incorporated a rural school, which taught practical skills needed for farming. In 1977, a pre-school centre was added. Marburg Post Office opened on 1 October 1879 (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 Frederick had been open from 1878), was renamed Townshend in 1917 during World War 1 and reverted to Marburg in 1919. On 4 July 1891, All Saints' Anglican Church was officially dedicated by
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
William Webber. It was built at 2-6 Seminary Road () adjacent to the present
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 ...
on of land donated by Thomas Lorimer Smith, the owner of the mansion
Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...
, also in Seminary Road. It was designed by architect
George Brockwell Gill George Brockwell Gill (1857–1954) was an architect in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Many of the buildings he designed are heritage-listed. Early life George Brockwell Gill was born in 1857 in the Lambert district of Surrey, England. Archit ...
of
Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
and built by W. Luder for £225. On Wednesday 9 November 1892, Bishop Webber returned to consecrate the church's burial ground. Not being located in the town itself led to requests to relocate the church. In 1956, land was bought in Queen Street and a church hall was built on the site, opening in February 1959, but the church remained at its original location. However, in the 1970s, the plan to make the Warrego Highway four lanes wide required the resumption of part of the church's land. The last service was held at the original location on 22 May 1977 after which it was moved onto the Queen Street site beside the hall. On 22 October 1979, the church re-opened with a service conducted by Reverend John Magee. The cemetery remains at the original site. Marburg grew rapidly in the first half of the twentieth century, as the main road from Brisbane to
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 C ...
passed through the town's centre. Marburg became popular as a stopover for travellers. Marburg was the administrative centre for local government in the area, composing Walloon Division (1879-1903) and Shire of Walloon (1903-1917). In 1912, the
Marburg branch railway line The Marburg Branch Railway is a branch line of the Main Line railway, Queensland, Main Line railway (from Brisbane to Toowoomba) in Queensland, Australia. It branches near Rosewood, Queensland, Rosewood, which is about 20 kilometres west of Ips ...
from
Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
to Marburg was opened but only a few years later the railway began to suffer from the competition of highway traffic. It still survived until 1965 when the line was closed. There were two stations within the locality (from north to south): * Marburg railway station () * Malabar railway station () Because of an anti-German sentiment of some State politicians the name of Marburg was changed during the
First World War 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 ...
into ''Townshend'', a name change the locals did not support. Dr. Sirois, the local General Practician at the time, was instrumental in having the name Marburg be re-introduced after the war in 1920, which created a storm of protest but the name ''Marburg'' prevailed. When 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 ...
was built in the 1960s, most of the traffic from Brisbane to
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 C ...
bypassed Marburg, and subsequently the town has become less populated. In the , Marburg had a population of 567 people. In the , Marburg had a population of 873 people.


Heritage listings

Marburg 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: * Edmond Street: Marburg Hotel * 71 Edmond Street:
Marburg Community Centre and First World War Memorial Marburg Community Centre and First World War Memorial is a heritage-listed former bank and community centre at 71 Edmond Street, Marburg, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The bank building was designed by George Brockwell Gill and built ...
* 73 Edmond Street: Rosewood Scrub Historical Society Building * Louisa Street: Marburg State School * Seminary Road:
Woodlands Woodlands may back refer to: * Woodland, a low-density forest Geography Australia * Woodlands, New South Wales * Woodlands, Ashgrove, Queensland, a heritage-listed house associated with John Henry Pepper * Woodlands, Marburg, Queensland, a her ...


Education

Marburg State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Louisa Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 52 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).


Amenities

Marburg has active community groups such as the Marburg and District Resident's Association, th
Rosewood Scrub Historical Society
the Marburg Harness Racing Club, th
Marburg Show Society
and show grounds. The town hosts the Marburg Fire and Rescue Station, the Marburg Rural Fire Brigade, and the Marburg branch of the State Emergency Services. Weekly Sunday services are held at All Saints' Anglican Church at 111 Queen Street (). A quirky street library was installed in the park in the centre of the town by the Marburg Residents Association. It includes a reading room in the form of a typical Australian
outhouse An outhouse is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry toilet, dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may als ...
.


Attractions

'Woodlands' is Marburg's finest building. It is an example of the nineteenth century plantation owner's residence and for its historic significance in relation to the development of various primary industries in Queensland. It was built between 1888 and 1891 by Thomas Lorrimar Smith who was the owner of the sawmill, sugarmill, distillery and other business interests in the region. At present the property serves as a centre for functions such as weddings, business meetings and conferences.


Events

The Marbur
Black Snake Creek Festival
is an annual event held in October and features musicians and other attractions. The 'Band in the Park' is an initiative of the Marburg and District Resident's Association on the first Friday of the month at 6.30 pm. Marburg is well known for its 'Marburg Dances' which take place every Saturday night in the hall on the show grounds.
Harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, or spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australi ...
takes place regularly on the Marburg race course at the show grounds.


References


External links

*
Town map of Marburg, 1973





Woodlands of Marburg

Black Snake Creek Festival

Queensland Family History Society
{{authority control Towns in Queensland City of Ipswich Suburbs of Somerset Region Localities in Queensland