Gainsford is a rural

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

Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. In the , the Central Highlands Region had a population of 27,836 people. History '' Wadja'' (also known as ''Wadjigu'', ''Wadya'', ''Wadjainngo'', ''Mandalgu'', a ...

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 , Gainsford had a population of 32 people.

Geography

The '' Dawson River'' forms the western boundary, while the ''

Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...

'' forms part of the southern on its way to join the ''Dawson''. The

Capricorn Highway The Capricorn Highway is located in Central Queensland, Australia, and links the city of Rockhampton with western Queensland. The highway is long, and joins the Landsborough Highway at Barcaldine. Formerly National Route 66, Queensland began ...

runs along the northern boundary, entering from Boolbura and exiting to

Duaringa Duaringa is a rural town in the Central Highlands Region and a locality split between the Central Highlands Region and the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda in Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Duaringa had a population of 26 ...

. The land use is

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

on native vegetation.

History

Early in the 1860s, there was a crossing over the Dawson River in the area and a hotel was established to service travellers. In 1866, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

were selling 63 town lots, averaging each, in the town of Gainsford () on the east bank of the Dawson River. However, the opening of the

Central Western railway line The Central Western railway line is a railway line in Queensland, Australia. It was opened in a series of sections between 1867 and 1928. It commences at Rockhampton and extends west to Winton. History Following the separation of Queensl ...

from Boolburra to Duaringa across the Dawson River in 1876 ended Gainsford's role as a crossing point and the hotel closed. In 1908, of the town were leased for a boiling-down works. As at 2025, the site of the town is within a pastoral property called Gainsford.

Demographics

In the , Gainsford had a population of 14 people. In the , Gainsford had a population of 32 people.

Education

There are no schools in Gainsford. The nearest government primary schools are Duaringa State School in neighbouring

to the north-west, Gogango State School in neighbouring

Gogango Gogango is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gogango had a population of 184 people. Geography Gogango is in Central Queensland. The Capricorn Highway traverses the south of t ...

to the north-east, and Baralaba State School in Baralaba to the south. The nearest government secondary school is Baralaba State School (to Year 10). However, it would to be too distant for a daily commute for students living in the north and east of Gainsford; the alternatives are

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

and boarding school.

References

External links

* {{Central Highlands Region Central Highlands Region Localities in Queensland