Stuart is a rural coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas. To the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock 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 , Stuart had a population of 1,576 people.

Geography

Stuart is bounded to the north-east by the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

. The North Coast railway line forms the western boundary, with the Stuart railway station serving the suburb. 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 Natio ...

passes from the south-east to the north-west through the suburb. The Flinders Highway passes from the south-west to its junction with the Bruce Highway. Townsville Connection Road exits to the west, and Townsville Port Road exits to the north-west. Most of this large suburb is undeveloped land with the developed land mostly used for infrastructure and industrial purposes. There is a small amount of residential development. The neighbourhood of Partington is within Stuart at . It takes its name from a former railway siding on the North Coast railway line, which in turn was named after Joseph Partington, a local brickmaker.

History

The suburb takes its name from the railway station, which was originally called Ayr Junction railway station in 1902, then Stewarts Creek railway station in 1938 and then Stuart railway station in 1939. It is thought that Stewart was just a temporary misspelling of Stuart and that the intention was to name the area after the first district surveyor appointed in 1865, Clarendon Stuart (1833-1912). Stewart's Creek Provisional School opened on 18 May 1891, becoming Stewart's Creek State School in 1901. In 1939, it was renamed Stuart State School. It was closed on 31 December 2013, having been assessed as unviable with an enrolment of 80+ students. It was at 10 Dwyer Street (). Its website was partially archived. In May 2025, the school site was offered for sale. In December 1942, two classrooms of the Stuart State School on the outskirts of

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

were used by the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

as the main Army Signals Communication Centre in North Queensland. The unit later moved to a concrete bunker at Roseneath.

Demographics

In the , Stuart had a population of 1,051 people. In the , Stuart had a population of 1,386 people. In the , Stuart had a population of 1,576 people.

Heritage listings

Stuart has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Stewart's Creek Gaol (the historic buildings within the present Townsville Correction Centre), Centenary Drive, off Dwyer Street * former Operations and Signals Bunker, Off Stuart Drive (now in Wulguru) * St Brigid's Church, 523 Stuart Drive

Facilities

Infrastructure in Stuart includes: * Townsville Correctional Centre * Stuart landfill and waste transfer station Industries in Stuart include: * Mount Stuart Power Station * Sun Metals Zinc Refinery

Education

There are no schools in Stuart. The nearest primary schools are Townsville South State School in neighbouring South Townsville to the north-west, Oonooba State School in Idalia to the west, and Wulguru State School in neighbouring Wulguru to the south-west. The nearest secondary school is William Ross State High School in Annandale to the west.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville