Bloomsbury is a town and coastal

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

Mackay Region The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimat ...

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 Bloomsbury had a population of 539 people.

Geography

The

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 Natio ...

traverses the locality from south to north, passing through the town which is approximately in the centre of the locality. The North Coast railway also traverses the locality from south to north, running mostly parallel and immediately west of the highway, with the town serviced by the Bloomsbury railway station. The Cathu State Forest is in the south-west of the locality. Apart from that, the locality is a mixture of low-lying farming land, mostly used for

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

. There is a cane tramway through the locality to transport the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mills. Other parts of the locality are mountainous and undeveloped.

History

The town presumably takes its name from the parish of the same name, which in turn was named after the cattle station founded by W. Macartney. A postal receiving office opened at Bloomsbury around 1896, became a post office in March 1909, and closed around 1916. A second receiving office opened around 1925, became a post office in March 1926 and closed around 1993. In 1923, a large steel-and-concrete railway bridge was erected over the Andromache River as part of the construction of the North Coast railway line. It is on the boundary of three adjacent localities (

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; , ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means "man battler", "fighter of men" or "m ...

, Bloomsbury, and Thoopara). Bloomsbury State School opened on 16 May 1927. Elaroo Provisional School opened on 30 March 1936. It became Elaroo State School in 1955. It closed in 1969. It was immediately south of the Elaroo railway station at 21 Wales Road ().

Demographics

In the , the locality of Bloomsbury had a population of 598 people. In the , the locality of Bloomsbury had a population of 539 people.

Education

Bloomsbury State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 8545 Bruce Highway (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 80 students with 7 teachers (5 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 49 students with 5 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2023, the school had an enrolment of 39 students and fewer than 5 teachers. The school draws its students from both the Bloomsbury and adjacent Midge Point localities. There are no secondary schools in Bloomsbury. The nearest government secondary schools are Calen District State College in Calen to the south-east and Proserpine State High School in Proserpine to the north.

Amenities

The Mackay Regional Council operates a mobile library service on a fortnightly schedule at the

near the school.

Attractions

Clarke Range Lookout is at the end of the Cathu Cauley Road (). The lookout provides excellent views of the

Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Ho ...

Coast.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Mackay Region Coastline of Queensland Localities in Queensland