Allan is a rural locality in the

Southern Downs Region The Southern Downs Region is a local government area (LGA) in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The region runs along the state's southern boundary with New South Wales and was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of War ...

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. It was formerly known as Sandy Creek. In the , Allan had a population of 91 people.

Geography

The

Condamine River The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (3 ...

forms the north-eastern boundary of the locality, while Sandy Creek flows through the locality from

Leslie Dam Leslie Dam is a dam in the locality of the same name Leslie Dam, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It impounds Sandy Creek, a tributary of the Condamine River, to create Lake Leslie (). It is from Warwick town centre. It was built ...

(the locality) to the west towards Leslie to the north-west (eventually becoming a tributary of the Condamine River. The

Cunningham Highway The Cunningham Highway is a National Highway (Australia), national highway located in South East Queensland, south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of Ipswich, Queensland, I ...

passes through the locality from the south-east ( Rosenthal Heights) towards the west (Leslie Dam). The South Western railway line runs roughly parallel to the south of the highway; there is no railway station within the locality. Major arterial roads in the locality are Sandy Creek Road which runs from the highway north-west to Leslie. The Leslie Dam Road runs south from the highway towards the

. The predominant land is agriculture, both cropping and grazing.

History

The locality is probably named after William Allan, an early settler, when the railway station was opened in 1904. Another theory is that it is named after botanist and explorer Allan Cunningham. The district was formerly known as Sandy Creek after the local creek. A number of hotels were built at Sandy Creek in 1866. Adam Smith built the Darling Downs Hotel (locally known as the Sandy Creek Pub) in 1875. It operated as a coach stop for changing horses from 1880 until the railway opened in 1904. In the 1920s, the old Darling Downs Hotel was replaced with the current building. Sandy Creek Provisional School on 13 May 1872. The school and residence were built by W. Wallace and H. Marshall for £304/10/0. In 1929, it became Allan State School. It closed in December 1967. St Matthew's Anglican Church was opened on 17 November 1901. It closed in 1969 and the church building was relocated to the Slade School in

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

. The South Western railway opened from Warwick to Thane on 1 July 1904 with Allan railway station () serving the local area. As at December 2019, Allan railway station is designated as an abandoned railway station.

Demographics

In the , Allan had a population of 87 people. In the , Allan had a population of 91 people.

Heritage listings

Allan has the following heritage sites: * 280 Sandy Creek Road (): Allan State School (formerly Sandy Creek School) * 345 Sandy Creek Road (): Darling Downs Hotel (Sandy Creek Pub)

Education

There are no schools in Allan. The nearest primary schools are Wheatvale State School in Wheatvale to the north-west and Warwick West State School in

to the south-east. The nearest secondary school is Warwick State High School in Warwick to the east.

Geography

History

Demographics

Heritage listings

Education

Attractions

References

Further reading

External links