Drillham 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

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 ...

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 Drillham had a population of 113 people.

Geography

The town is on the Darling Downs and on the

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

, north west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. The Western railway line enters the locality from the east (Miles) and exits to the west (Dulacca) with the locality having a number of railway stations (from west to east): * Palardo railway station, now abandoned () * Waituna railway station, now abandoned () * Ulimaroa cattle siding () * Ulimaroa railway station () * Drillham railway station, serving the town ()

History

Settlement in Drillham commenced with three pastoral stations: Dulacca, Binbian and Wallan Creek. The town was established in 1878 to service the railway and was home to a camp for workers building the bridge over nearby Drillham Creek. Drillham Post Office opened by June 1910 (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 from 1895). The town and the creek were originally known as 'Delerium' due to the

typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...

fever that struck this camp. Drillham Provisional School opened on 28 Aug 1899, becoming Drillham State School on 1 January 1909.

1893 Drillham Creek tragedy

Four children from the same family died on 15 January 1893 when they were all accidentally drowned in Drillham Creek. Matilda Roehrig (aged 14), Isabella Roehrig (aged 12), Charles Roehrig (aged 11) and Jane Roehrig (aged 8) were the children of railway lengthsman Charles Roehrig and his wife Matilda. The news of the children's deaths was widely reported in newspapers around Australia. The site where the children's bodies were buried is located alongside the creek beside the Warrego Highway and is marked with a small monument with a commemorative plaque which was unveiled by the Miles and District Historical Society on 23 July 1966.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Drillham and the surrounding area had a population of 217 people. In the , the locality of Drillham had a population of 126 people. In the , the locality of Drillham had a population of 113 people.

Economy

Drillham is a centre for the production of livestock and grains.

Education

Drillham State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 13 Jardine Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 29 students with 3 teachers (2 equivalent full-time) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 equivalent full-time). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 33 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Drillham. The nearest secondary school is Miles State High School in neighbouring

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English f ...

to the east.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Populated places established in 1878 Towns in the Darling Downs 1878 establishments in Australia Western Downs Region Localities in Queensland