The Gums 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

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ti ...

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 , The Gums had a population of 159 people.

Geography

The town is at the junction of the

Leichhardt Highway The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway, via a section of the Cunningham Highway. It runs northward from Goondiwindi for more than 600 ki ...

and the

Surat Developmental Road The Surat Developmental Road (State Route 87) is a sealed road in the Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It is a state-controlled district road (numbers 86A and 86B), rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS). Route descr ...

on the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

, west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

. The

Glenmorgan railway line The Glenmorgan Branch is a railway line in south west Queensland, Australia. It opened in a series of sections between 1908 and 1931. It was intended to reach Surat, Queensland, Surat but construction ceased during the Great Depression in Aus ...

passes through the locality from east ( Tara) to west ( Hannaford). In 2017, there were three stations serving the locality: The Gums railway station (which is north of but close to the town, ), Cabawin railway station (), and South Glen railway station (). However, in 2019, only The Gums railway station is listed as still operational.

History

The name of the town was derived from The Gums railway station, on the

from Dalby to

Glenmorgan Glenmorgan is a rural town in the Western Downs Region and a locality split between the Western Downs Region and the Maranoa Region, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Glenmorgan had a population of 148 people. Geography The Town i ...

, used from 1924. South Glen Provisional School opened in 1913 and closed circa 1921. The Gums State School opened on 27 January 1913. In 1914 a Methodist church was built at The Gums. Cabawin Provisional School opened on 30 January 1934. In 1952 it became Cabawin State School. It closed in 1960. It was on Cabawin South Road (). At the , The Gums and the surrounding area had a population of 169. In the , The Gums had a population of 159 people.

Education

The Gums State School
is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 12051 Coomrith Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 22 students with 4 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in The Gums. The nearest secondary school i
Tara Shire State College
in Tara.

Facilities

The Gums has a small cemetery (). One of the headstones is for the first headmaster of The Gums State School, Alexander Davison who died on 7 November 1916.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gums, Queensland Towns in Queensland Western Downs Region Darling Downs Localities in Queensland