Walloon is a town and rural residential

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

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

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 locality of Walloon had a population of 1,588 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the north by the

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

and to the south by the Bremer River. The town is roughly in the centre of the locality. The Rosewood railway line enters the locality from the east ( Karrabin), passes through the town which is served by the Walloon railway station (), and then exits to the south-west ( Thagoona). The centre and eastern parts of the locality are

rural residential A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...

while the land use in the western part of the locality is predominantly

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

on native vegetation.

History

The origin of the suburb name is thought to refer to the French-speaking area of southern

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

known as

Wallonia Wallonia (; french: Wallonie ), or ; nl, Wallonië ; wa, Waloneye or officially the Walloon Region (french: link=no, Région wallonne),; nl, link=no, Waals gewest; wa, link=no, Redjon walone is one of the three regions of Belgium—alo ...

. Guilfoyles Creek Non Vested School was opened in 1865 by the Catholic Church. It may have closed and reopened but is believed to have closed permanently when Walloon State School opened in 1877. A German Lutheran Church opened in Walloon near the railway station on Wednesday 9 July 1873. In July 1873 the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

reserved at Walloon for a "national school" (the former name for "state school"). In October 1876 the government called for tenders to construct a primary school at Walloon. The foundations for the school building were in place by February 1877. Walloon State School opened on 9 July 1877. On Saturday 21 April 1891, sisters Bridget Kate and Mary Jane Broderick (aged 9 and 6 respectively) were drowned in a waterhole near their home in Walloon. Poet

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

wrote a poem called ''The Babies of Walloon'' based on their deaths. In 2006, a sculpture depicting the Broderick sisters playing was unveiled in the Henry Lawson Bicentennial Park in Walloon. In 2015, a new headstone was erected of the children's grave in Ipswich General Cemetery. In the 2011 census, Walloon had a population of 1,548 people. In the the locality of Walloon had a population of 1,588 people.

Transport

Walloon railway station provides

Queensland Rail City network The Queensland Rail Citytrain network, provides urban, suburban and interurban electric passenger railway services in South East Queensland, Australia. History The first railway in Queensland did not run to Brisbane, but ran from Ipswich to ...

services to

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

and

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 ...

via Ipswich.

Education

Walloon State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Karrabin-Rosewood Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 234 students with 19 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (10 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 is no secondary school in the Walloon. The nearest government secondary schools are

Ipswich State High School Ipswich State High School is a state secondary school in the suburb of Brassall, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, established in 1963, On the site of the original Brassall State High School. Simon Riley is the current principal since 2005. The ...

in Brassall,

, to the east and Rosewood State High School in

to the south-west.

Amenities

The

Ipswich City Council The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

operates a fortnightly

mobile library A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...

service which visits Queen Street. The Walloon branch of the

Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...

meets at 534 Karrabin-Rosewood Road. There are a number of parks in Walloon, including: * Five Mile Creek Park () * Henry Lawson Bicentennial Park () * Poplar Street Reserve () * Suncrest Park () * Tallwood Park ()

Local shops

Walloon has an array of small businesses. The businesses available include: * Take-away food * Hairdresser * Real Estate Agent * Medical Centre * Chemist * The historical Walloon Saloon * Walloon IGA * Walloon Bakery * Dentist * Service Station

References

External links

* * {{Authority control City of Ipswich Localities in Queensland