Ballandean 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

Southern Downs Region The Southern Downs Region is a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, along the state's boundary with New South Wales. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Warwick and the Shire of Stanthor ...

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 Ballandean had a population of 338 people. Ballandean is in the

Granite Belt The Granite Belt is an area of the Great Dividing Range in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The Granite Belt is centred on the town of Stanthorpe. The cool, high country of the gra ...

Region of the Southern Downs. It is on the Queensland border with

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. The town has a number of nearby

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyard ...

s which attracted tourists to the area.

Geography

The Severn River marks part of the northern boundary. Kelvin Grove Creek, Washpool Creek, Accommodation Creek and Smiths Creek all flow through Ballandean into the Severn River. The

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...

passes through Ballandean from north to south in the north-east of Ballandean in close parallel to the

Southern railway line The Southern railway line serves the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The long line branches from the Western line at Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, and proceeds south through Warwick and Stanthorpe to the New South Wales/Quee ...

. The

Ballandean railway station Ballandean railway station is located on the Southern line in Queensland, Australia. It services the town of Ballandean, a rural district in the Granite Belt. Big Dinosaur The station is a well-known landmark on the New England Highway ...

is in this area and the urban development surrounds the railway station. The station is now closed as there are no passenger services on this line. The rest of the locality is predominantly farmland. Apple Vale is a neighbourhood in the north of the locality ().

History

The name ''Ballandean'' derives from the name of a pastoral run, belonging to

Henry Hayter Nicol Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

in 1841, believed to be linked to his childhood association with Ballindean House, near

Inchture Inchture ( gd, Innis Tùir) is a village in Scotland between Dundee and Perth on the northern side of the Firth of Tay. It is approximately nine miles (14 km) from Dundee city centre and 13 miles (21 km) from Perth. The village is bypa ...

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The town was surveyed and officially named in 1872. Thomas Henry Fletcher built the Britannia Inn in the same year which attracted other businesses to the area. Fletcher went on to establish the first commercial orchard on the

StateLibQld 1 40195 General store at Ballandean, ca

Ballandean Post Office opened on 1 January 1873. Land in Ballandean was open for selection on 17 April 1877; were available. Ballandean State School opened on 18 January 1909 under head teacher Frances Emily Wallace. Apple Vale State School opened on 19 February 1914. Somme State School opened circa 1917. In 1924 the two schools became half-time schools in conjunction with Somme State School in

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

(meaning the two schools shared a single teacher). Both schools closed in August 1927. Apple Vale State School was on the south-west corner of Sundown Road and Mcmeniman Road (). St Oswald's Anglican Church was dedicated on 1 March 1926 by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

Gerald Sharp Gerald Sharp (27 October 1865 – 30 August 1933) was an English-born Anglican clergyman, Archbishop of Brisbane 1921–1933. Early life Sharp was born at Childer Thornton, George P. Shaw,Sharp, Gerald (1865–1933), ''Australian Dictionary ...

. Although it has now closed, the church building is still located at 12 Bents Road (). In the , the locality of Ballandean had a population of 338 people.

Heritage listings

Shepherd's_hut_from_Ballandean_station,_2015

Ballandean 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 i ...

sites, including: *

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

of Ballandean:

Ballandean Homestead Ballandean Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead at Ballandean, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from to 1890s circa. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. History Old Ballandea ...

Education

Ballandean State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Bent's Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 40 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).

Attractions

The man-made Ballandean Pyramid was constructed by Ken Stubberfield as a way to dispose of excess granite on his farm and is an unusual sight in Queensland. The Balladean railway station is a well-known landmark on the

due to the big dinosaur in front of it, nicknamed the Fruitisforus (''Fruit-is-for-us''). The dinosaur was originally constructed for a float in the 1998 Apple and Grape Festival. After the festival, the community placed it in front of the railway station to get passing traffic to stop and buy fruit for a community fundraiser. It proved so popular that it was reinforced with fibregrass and painted and made a permanent roadside feature. It is long and high.

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns in Queensland Southern Downs Region 1872 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1872 Localities in Queensland