St Lawrence 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

Isaac Region The Isaac Region is a local government area located in Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia created in March 2008 as a result of the report of the Local Government Reform Commission released in July 2007. History Yagalingu is an Australia ...

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 St Lawrence had a population of 235 people.

Geography

St Lawrence is located north of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

and off the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Na ...

.The town is located south of St Lawrence Creek, which flows into a vast bay known as Broad Sound, a waterway noted for its large tidal range (up to in the summer). The North Coast railway line passes through the town, which is served by St Lawrence railway station. Newport is a neighbourhood within the locality, about south-east of the town ().

History

St Lawrence is located on

Koinmerburra The Koinmerburra people, also known as Koinjmal, Guwinmal, Kungmal and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. They are the traditional owners of an area which includes part of the Great Barrier Reef. Cou ...

Country; the Custodians of this land are th
Koinjmal
People. British settlement in the area began circa 1860 when John Arthur Macartney established Waverley pastora station. The township of St Lawrence was originally established to maintain the Customs Office for the Port of St Lawrence. It takes its name from one of the blocks on the Waverley pastoral station. The St Lawrence State School opened on 28 May 1871. Anglican services were held quarterly in the St Lawrence Courthouse (now the St Lawrence Police Station) until the opening of the meatworks in 1893 attracted sufficient residents to establish a church. In March 1898, Vicar Arthur Henry Julius purchased of land at the end of Macartney Street (the main street through the town) where he said the church would be "conspicuous". The foundation block for Christ Church Anglican was laid on Saturday 21 May 1898 by Thomas Byrnes, the new

Queensland Premier 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 ...

(and Queensland's first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Premier). The church was designed by

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

architect,

Alfred Mowbray Hutton Alfred Mowbray Hutton was an architect in Australia. Some of his works are heritage-listed. Early life Alfred Mowbray Hutton was born in Victoria. Architectural practice Hutton practiced in Victoria before moving to Rockhampton, Queensland, ...

, to seat around 100 people with a classroom for Sunday School and a bedroom for visiting clergy. The contractors were Newman Bros of Rockhampton. The St Lawrence Library opened in 2001. At the , St Lawrence and the surrounding area had a population of 195.St Lawrence was the administrative centre of the

Shire of Broadsound Shire of Broadsound was a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Capricornia, Queensland, Capricornia region of Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of St Lawrence, Queensland, St Lawrence, covered an ...

until 2008, when the shire was amalgamated with the

Shire of Belyando The Shire of Belyando was a local government area in Central Queensland, Australia. The Shire, administered from the town of Clermont, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity from 1879 until 2008, when it was amalgamated w ...

and the Shire of Nebo to form the Isaac Region local government area.

Moranbah Moranbah is a coal mining town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Moranbah had a population of 8,735 people. In addition to the permanent population, Moranbah also has a large fly-in fly-out popula ...

is the administrative centre of the new region but the former Broadsound Shire offices at 36 Macartney Street are still used as the local offices of the Isaac Regional Council. The building was described in 2004 as "a disarmingly elegant building which seems quite out of place in this otherwise undistinguished town". In the 2011 census, St Lawrence had a population of 396 people. In the the locality of St Lawrence had a population of 235 people. Once a prosperous port town, exporting cattle from the hinterland, many residents are now

DIDO Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

coal miners.

Heritage listings

St Lawrence 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: * Cannon Street: Christ Church Anglican Church * Macartney Street:

St Lawrence Police Station St Lawrence Police Station is a heritage-listed police station and former courthouse at Macartney Street, St Lawrence, Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1878 to 1934. It is also known as former St Lawrence Courthouse and Ce ...

* Settlement Road: Meatworks and Wharf Site

Education

St Lawrence State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Macartney Street (). In 2015, it had an enrolment of 10 students with 2 teachers (1 equivalent full-time). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 9 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). The school motto is 'Knowledge, Truth, Honesty'. The original school was opened on 28 May 1871 but it was completely destroyed by a cyclone on 22 January 1874 and had to be rebuilt. A new school building was officially opened on 17 June 1938. The school was completely destroyed by fire on 30 October 2007. A mobile classroom was transported from Brisbane as the school's permanent replacement. A wishing well handcrafted by Jack Dempsey was installed at the site and dedicated in 2008 in remembrance of the previous school building. St Lawrence State School celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021. There is no secondary school in St Lawrence nor nearby.

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

and boarding school are options.

Amenities

The Isaac Regional Council operates a public library at 22 Railway Parade (). Christ Church Anglican is on Cannon Street at the junction with Macartney Street (). It is part of the Parish of North Rockhampton (also known as the All Saints Anglican Community) within the Anglican Church of Central Queensland.

Events

Each June, an annual eco festival called "Wetlands Weekend" is held in St Lawrence to celebrate the

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s and local produce. First held in 2008 to raise awareness of the importance of

wetland conservation Wetland conservation is aimed at protecting and preserving areas where water exists at or near the Earth's surface, such as swamps, marshes and bogs. Wetlands cover at least six per cent of the Earth and have become a focal issue for conservation ...

, the event incorporates various cultural activities, workshops, environmental art, musical performances as well as a 'Welcome to Wetlands' evening, a 'farm to plate' seafood lunch and a bush dinner. There are also celebrity appearances from personalities such as ''

Gardening Australia ''Gardening Australia'' is an Australian lifestyle television program which suggests and promotes organic and environmentally friendly ways of gardening. It is created by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and airs on ABC TV, in an hour- ...

'' presenter

Costa Georgiadis Costa Georgiadis (born 1 January 1964) is an Australian landscape architect and television presenter. He is a second generation Australian of Greek descent. Georgiadis is currently hosting ''Gardening Australia'' on ABC and previously appeared as ...

and

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

Matt Golinski Matt Golinski (born 1972)
''B ...

. Isaac Regional Council credited the 2019 event for adding $121,000 to the local economy.

Gallery

File:Stlawrenceriverlowtide.JPG, St Lawrence River - low tide File:Stlawrenceriverlowtide2.jpg, St Lawrence River - across the park File:Stlawrence_birdwatching.jpg, St Lawrence - Bird watching

References

External links

* *
BOM : Summary statistics : St Lawrence Post Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lawrence, Queensland Towns in Queensland Coastal towns in Queensland Central Queensland Isaac Region Localities in Queensland