Petford 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 Mareeba The Shire of Mareeba is a local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity f ...

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 , Petford had a population of 32 people.

Geography

''Emu Creek'' flows through from east to north, where it joins the ''

Walsh River The Walsh River is a river located on the Cape York Peninsula of Far North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river rise in the locality of Watsonville on the Atherton Tableland approximately north of Herberton and then flow in a ...

'' as it forms part of the northern boundary. ''California Creek'', a tributary of the '' Tate River'', forms much of the southern boundary. Two other tributaries of the ''Tate River'', ''Oaky Creek'' and ''Martin Creek'', rise in the locality. The former mining town of Lappa is within the locality.

History

The locality takes its name from the railway station which was named after John Joseph Petford, an official of

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

for many years. The railway station was on the Chillagoe Railway & Mining Co. line from

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...

Mount Garnet Mount Garnet is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Garnet had a population of 430 people. Geography Various small communities populate the area around Mount Garnet. These include Tableland ...

which opened its first section from Mareeba to Lappa, just south-west of Petford, in 1900. The station no longer operates, but the line still exists, with the

Savannahlander The Savannahlander is an Australian passenger train service (primarily serving tourists) that operates in Far North Queensland. It travels on the Tablelands railway line and the Etheridge railway line from the coastal city of Cairns to Forsay ...

tourist train passing through Petford on its way between Cairns and Forsayth. Lappa Lappa Provisional School opened in 1900 and closed circa 1901. Koorboora Provisional School opened on 1903. On 1 January 1909 it became Koorboora State School. It closed circa 1926. Bamford Provisional School opened on 23 January 1905. The school closed in 1907 but reopened in 1908. On 1 January 1909 it became Bamford State School. It closed on 2 August 1935. Emuford Provisional State School opened circa 1910 and closed circa 1921. Petford State School opened on 5 August 1935 and closed in 1962. It reopened on 27 January 1976 and closed finally on 15 December 1995. It was at 21 Bamford Road (). In the , Petford had a population of 32 people.

References

{{Shire of Mareeba Shire of Mareeba Localities in Queensland