Eidsvold () is a rural town and locality in the North Burnett Region,

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. The town is the self-proclaimed ''Beef Capital of the Burnett'' and is a hub for the regional

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

industry. In the , the locality of Eidsvold had a population of 538 people.

Geography

Eidsvold is situated on the Burnett Highway approximately north 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 highway passes through the locality from the south-east to the north-east, passing through the town's main street (Moreton Street). The Mungar Junction to Monto branch railway passes from south-east to north-east through the locality, roughly parallel to the highway; the Eidsvold railway station serves the town. The Eidsvold–Theodore Road ( State Route 73) runs south and then west from the town.

History

Wakka Wakka (Waka Waka, Wocca Wocca, Wakawaka) is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

spoken in the Burnett River catchment. The Wakka Wakka language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the North and South Burnett Regional Council, particularly the towns of Eidsvold,

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, Murgon,

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

, Gayndah and

Mundubbera Mundubbera ( ) is a rural town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mundubbera had a population of 1,120 people. Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although ...

. The town is named for Eidsvold Station, a nearby property, that is named for

Eidsvoll Eidsvoll (; sometimes written as ''Eidsvold'') is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Akershus Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is part of the Romerike Districts of Norway, traditional region. The administrative centre of the munic ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

(using the pre-1918 spelling) where the

Norwegian Constitution The 'Constitution of Norway'' (complete name: The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway; Danish: ; Norwegian Bokmål: ; Norwegian Nynorsk: ) was adopted on 16 May and signed on 17 May 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll. ...

was signed in 1814. The station was given this name by the Archer brothers, Scottish settlers who also had land holdings in Norway. The Eidsvold run was licensed to Thomas Archer in June 1848. Gold was discovered in the Eidsvold area by July 1887. Miners quickly moved into the area. Eidsvold Goldfield was officially proclaimed on 17 November 1887. The Town Reserve, east of the station homestead, was surveyed by Mark Shields in 1887. The town reserve was proclaimed on 19 March 1890. The

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

opened 19 September 1887. Eidsvold Provisional School opened on 1 April 1889 in a building with galvanised iron roof under teacher Arthur McKenzie. As miners and their families moved to Eidsvold, the number of students rose quickly and, in 1892, a new building was constructed as Eidsvold State School. In 1965, the school expanded to offer secondary schooling to Year 10. IN 1986, the school expanded to offer Years 11 and 12. A police station was established in Hawkwood in 1881. However, in August 1889, it was relocated to Eidsvold. The

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...

established a congregation in Eidsvold in 1950 and built a timber church at 12 Moreton Street in 1953. However, the congregation declined and the church closed. The building was purchased by the local

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

congregation, who had previously been meeting in the CWA rooms, and opened it as the Eidsvold Uniting Church on 23 February 1980.

Demographics

In the , the town of Eidsvold had a population of 459 people. In the , the locality of Eidsvold had a population of 630 people. In the , the locality of Eidsvold had a population of 574 people. In the , the locality of Eidsvold had a population of 538 people.

Heritage listings

Eidsvold has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * Eidsvold No.1 Cemetery, Cemetery Road *

Eidsvold Homestead Eidsvold Homestead is a heritage-listed homestead at Eidsvold Road, Eidsvold, North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1850. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992. History Eidsvold Homes ...

, Eidsvold Road * Dr Tom Bancroft's Laboratory, 22 Golden Spur Street *former Eidsvold Court House, Hodgkinson Street *Eidsvold Goldfield (Mount Rose Mine), off Mount Rose Street *Eidsvold Racecourse, off Racecourse Road

Education

Eidsvold State School is a government primary and secondary (Kindergarten-Year 12) school for boys and girls at 7 Hodgkinson Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 92 students with 11 teachers and 12 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).

Amenities

Eidsvold has an R. M. Williams Australian bush learning centre, historical museum and complex, swimming pool, showground and bowling and golf clubs. The North Burnett Regional Council operate a public library at 36 Moreton Street. The historical museum pays tribute to the 62 soldiers from the Eidsvold area that served in the First World War. Displays include photographs, medals and the Shire of Eidsvold Honour Board. The Eidsvold branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the QCWA Hall at 40 Moreton Street. Eidsvold Uniting Church is at 12 Moreton Street ().

Notable residents

* David and Thomas Archer, pioneer settlers * Thomas Lane Bancroft, medical doctor, parasitologist, cotton breeder, naturalist, scientist * Jim Burrows, 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 ...

* Percy Byrnes, Member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

* David Farrell, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * George Farrell, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Trai Fuller, rugby league footballer * George Halford, Anglican bush brother and bishop of Rockhampton * Lindsay Hartwig, politician * Nev Hewitt, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * William Forster McCord, Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Lloyd McDermott, Australia's first indigenous barrister and Australian rugby union player * Maureen Watson, Indigenous activist * R. M. Williams, bushman and entrepreneur

References

External links

University of Queensland: Queensland Places: Eidsvold and Eidsvold Shire
{{authority control Towns in Queensland North Burnett Region Localities in Queensland