Aratula is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Scenic Rim Region The Scenic Rim Region is a local government areas of Queensland, local government area (LGA) in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia, and is located approximately 80 kilometres due south of Brisban ...

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. In the , the locality of Aratula had a population of 609 people.

Geography

Aratula is approximately by road southwest of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

. 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 ...

enters the locality from the north-east ( Fassifern), passes through the town, and exits to the south ( Mount Edwards). Warrill Creek enters the locality from the west ( Tarome), flows across the north of the locality (and north of the town), exiting to the east ( Morwincha). It is a tributary of the Bremer River, then the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

, flowing into

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

History

The area was originally known as ''Carter's Gate'', but the name was changed to reflect the railway station name of ''Aratula''. Carter's Gate Provisional School opened on 29 May 1911. It became a State School on 9 January 1913. The name was changed in August 1913 to Aratula State School. The school burned on either 27 or 28 February 1916; the fire was regarded as suspicious as nearby Mount Fraser State School had burned down four months earlier. The school celebrated its centenary in May 2011.St Pauls Lutheran Church opened on 28 March 1914. It closed in 1997. The church building still stands at 57 Elizabeth Street (). There is a Lutheran cemetery behind the church; the first burial was Hermann Gustav Muller in March 1916. The first stage of the Mount Edwards railway line reached Engelsburg (now Kalbar) on 17 April 1916, but it was not until 7 October 1922 that the second and final stage of the line opened, including the Aratula railway station on the eastern end of Sawmill Road (). The Mount Edwards railway line closed on 1 November 1960. Aratula Baptist Church opened on Thursday 25 October 1923. It was on the western side of the

(approx ). After the church's closure, the church building was relocated in 1972 to the Kalbar Baptist Church to be used as a church hall. Aratula Post Office opened around 1925 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

had been open since 1912) and closed in 1987. On 16 April 1926, the Aratula School of Arts was officially opened by Ernest Bell, the local Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

. A local public holiday was given to celebrate the occasion. The School of Arts was at 26-28 Elizabeth Street (). The building was sold into private ownership in December 2013 for $115,000. St Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church was dedicated on Saturday 18 December 1954 by Archbishop of Brisbane Reginald Halse. The first celebration of holy communication was held on St Stephen's Day (Sunday 26 December).

Demographics

In the , the locality of Aratula had a population of 505 people. In the , the locality of Aratula had a population of 532 people. The locality contained 150 households, in which 50.5% of the population were males and 49.5% of the population were females with a median age of 42, 4 years above the national average. The average weekly household income was $1,187, $251 below the national average. In the , the locality of Aratula had a population of 609 people.

Heritage listings

Aratula has the following heritage sites: * 25 Elizabeth Street: St Stephen's Anglican Church

Education

Aratula State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 41 Elizabeth Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 44 students with 7 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Aratula. The nearest government secondary school is Boonah State High School in

Boonah Boonah is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Boonah had a population of 2,557 people. Geography The town is positioned near the Fassifern Valley, McPherson Range and Main Ra ...

to the east.

Amenities

St Stephens the Martyr Anglican Church is at 25 Elizabeth Street ().

Attractions

Local attractions include nearby

Moogerah Peaks National Park Moogerah Peaks is a National Park in the Fassifern Valley of South East Queensland, Australia, located approximately 70 km south west of the state capital Brisbane. The 676-hectare park consists of four separate protected areas which surroun ...

Main Range National Park The Main Range is a mountain range and national park in Queensland, Australia, located predominantly in Tregony, Queensland, Tregony, Southern Downs Region, southwest of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Au ...

Lake Moogerah The Moogerah Dam is a concrete, mass concrete arch dam, double curvature arch dam with an Spillway#Types, un-gated spillway across Reynolds Creek in South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia, now within the Suburbs and localities (A ...

and

ballooning Ballooning may refer to: * Hot air ballooning * Balloon (aeronautics) * Ballooning (spider) * Ballooning degeneration, a disease * Memory ballooning In computing, memory ballooning is a technique that is used to eliminate the need to overcommit ...

. Aratula is a common rest-stop for travellers coming eastward across the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

. There is a

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel * Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop * Caravan (tra ...

and a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

just off the highway.

References

External links

*
Aratula - Queensland
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Scenic Rim Region Localities in Queensland