Cabarlah 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 subdivi ...

in the

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and bey ...

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 , established_ ...

, Australia. In the the locality of Cabarlah had a population of 1,075 people.

Geography

Cabarlah is approximately north of the

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

city centre and has an area of approximately 20 km². It is situated on the Great Divide with views to the east of the

Lockyer Valley The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultiv ...

through to

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 ...

and to the west across the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

. Traditionally the area has been used for farming however in recent years the expansion of the

Toowoomba Regional Council The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and bey ...

has led to acreage and other residential development. Geengee is a neighbourhood in the west of the locality (). It is based around the former Geengee railway station which operated from 1886 to 1961 on the now-closed

Crows Nest railway line Crows Nest Branch Railway was originally surveyed as a direct line from Toowoomba north to Crows Nest in Queensland, Australia. The branch eventually took a more circuitous route to cover the maximum amount of farming country. The first stage s ...

. The name ''Geengee'' is an Aboriginal word meaning ''green vegetation along a creek''.

History

In the 1860s to 1883 the area was called Five-Mile Camp. The name Cabarlah was used after

(from Toowoomba to Crows Nest) was built. It is thought that the name Cabarlah derived from an Aboriginal expression describing the

ring-tailed possum The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, ...

. However, a 1930 newspaper article claims it is a “Native name of the mountains in the neighbourhood”. 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 ...

set aside land for the Geham Cemetery (now the Cabarlah Cemetery) on 11 September 1878. Trustees were appointed on 2 January 1880 with the first burials occurring in 1881. Highfields No 2 State School opened on 27 March 1871. In 1875 it was renamed Geham State School in 1875. The Borneo Barracks were originally established as a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

training area. Cabarlah Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (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 servi ...

had been open from 1884). Since the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Cabarlah has also had a significant role as a base for the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

. It was home to elements of the 7th Brigade early in the war. Later in the war it became a hub for signals and other training. Cabarlah is now home to the 7th Signal Regiment (Electronic Warfare) and other

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

signals facilities. St Martin's Anglican Church was opened at the Cabarlah Barracks in 1959 but closed circa 1961. The Cabarlah Community School opened in Wirraglen Road,

Highfields Highfields may refer to: Places ;Australia *Highfields, New South Wales *Highfields, Queensland ; United Kingdom *Highfields, Cambridgeshire *Highfields, Derbyshire * Highfields, Leicestershire, an inner-city neighbourhood of Leicester * Highfie ...

, on 23 January 2006. It used the Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy. In March 2008 it was closed when the Queensland Government's Non-State Schools Accreditation Board refused to accredit the school, claiming it did not meet the requirements of the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2001. Although the school appealed the decision, the Queensland Education Minister, Rod Weldford, upheld the board's decision. In the the locality of Cabarlah had a population of 1,075 people. 83.6% of people were born in Australia and 93.2% of people only spoke English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 26.3%, Catholic 22.5% and Anglican 18.2%.

Education

There are no schools in Cabarlah. The nearest government primary schools are Geham State School in neighbouring

Geham Geham is a rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Geham had a population of 489 people. Geography The New England Highway passes through Geham. The northwest boundary is aligned with Cooby Creek. Climate Th ...

to the north and Highfields State School in

to the west. The nearest government secondary school is Highfields State Secondary College in Highfields.

Facilities

The Borneo Barracks are at 10046

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, ...

(). The Defence School of Signals is within the barracks (). Borneo Barracks Sewage Treatment Plant is also on the barrack's site (). Cabarlah Rural Fire Station is at 9918 New England HIghway (). The Cabarlah Cemetery is located at 10148 New England Highway (). It is operated by the Toowoomba Regional Council.

Amenities

The Cabarlah Golf Club is located at Borneo Barracks (). It is open to the public, but visitors must present their drivers licence for identification to enter the site.

Attractions

Black Forest Hill Clock Centre is at 9917 New England Highway (). It specialises in

grandfather clock A grandfather clock (also a longcase clock, tall-case clock, grandfather's clock, or floor clock) is a tall, freestanding, weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower or waist of the case. Clocks of this style are common ...

s and

cuckoo clocks A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

References

External links

* * {{authority control Toowoomba Region Localities in Queensland