Wulguru is an outer southern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

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 ...

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 , Wulguru had a population of 4,570 people.

Geography

The suburb is bounded to the west by the

Lavarack Barracks Lavarack Barracks is a major Australian Army base located in Townsville, Queensland. Lavarack Barracks is currently home to the Army's 3rd Brigade and 11th Brigade. Elements of the 3rd Brigade based at the Barracks include the Combat Signal ...

to the west, University Road (

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 ...

) to the north, the Cluden Racecourse to the north-west, and by the North Coast railway line to the east. The suburb is mostly flat (approx above sea level) but in the south-west of the locality rises quickly to . There is a water tank at the high point of the suburb which offers views across Townsville. It is accessible by a walking track, off Diamantina Road ().

History

The name ''Wulguru'' comes from ''

Wulgurukaba The Manbarra, otherwise known as the Wulgurukaba, are Aboriginal Australian people, and the traditional custodians of the Palm Islands, Magnetic Island, and an area of mainland Queensland to the west of Townsville. The Manbarra people were forci ...

'', the language/group name of the Aboriginal people of the

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation ...

area. The Wulguru railway station () on the North Coast railway line has been abandoned. Wulguru State School opened on 30 January 1962. In the , Wulguru had a population of 4,570 people.

Heritage listings

Wulguru 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: * Off Stuart Drive (formerly in Stuart, ): former Operations and Signals Bunker

Education

Wulguru State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Edison Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 302 students with 27 teachers (24 full-time equivalent) and 18 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. There are no secondary schools in Wulguru. The nearest government secondary school is

William Ross State High School William Ross State High School is an independent public high school situated in the Townsville Suburb of Annandale, North Queensland. William Ross has a student count from grades 7 through to 12 of close to 905 (as of 2020) students which cont ...

in neighbouring Annandale to the north-west; it is adjacent to the Southern Cross Catholic College.

Amenities

The Edison Street Plaza is a small neighbourhood centre in Wulguru that lost several of its stores in 2017–2018, including Edison Street Seafood, video hire, Chinese take-away, St Vincent De Paul op shop, a butcher, and a hairdressing salon. A mini-mart store remained, and the seafood/fish and chips shop and the Chinese takeaway were reopened early in 2019 by the mini-mart operator. Next to the school is a park and several soccer fields as well as a scout hall. There are a number of parks in the area: * Edison Street Park () * Walguru Park () * Warrego Street Park () * Wulguru Park ()

World War 2 bunker

At the corner of Diamantina Street and Stuart Drive is a large block of land at the base of

Mount Stuart Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stuart is the highest peak in the Stuart Range, and ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, this was the site of No. 3 Fighter Sector RAAF including the Operations and Signals Bunker. Three Fighter Sector headquarters comprised 32 rooms in the large rectangular concrete building with Caneite partitions forming various passageways. The building still stands today and is . The mezzanine floor has long since disappeared. The bunker structure is listed in the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As a ...

and encompasses the boundary of Diamantina Street, Stuart Drive and Hill Street.

References

External links

* * {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville Queensland in World War II