Gilla 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

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area (LGA) on the border of Darling Downs and South East Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, the LGA was preceded by several other local go ...

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 , Gilla had a population of 61 people.

Geography

Gilla is loosely bounded to the south-east by the Blackbutt Range (), exending into neighbouring localities of Blackbutt South, Googa Creek, Mount Binga and beyond. Pidna is a neighbourhood on the northern edge of the locality (). The Pockets is a neighbourhood near the south-eastern edge of the locality (). The north-west of the locality is a protected area within the Pidna National Park () and the Pidna State Forest (). The south-east of the locality is a protected area within the Googa State Forest () which extending into neighbouring Googa Creek. Apart from the protected areas, the predominant 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. The D'Aigular Highway enters the locality from the north-east ( Nukku) and exits to the north ( Yarraman). The former

Brisbane Valley railway line The Brisbane Valley railway line was a railway connection in Queensland, Australia connecting Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to the upper Brisbane River valley. Progressively opened between 1884 and 1913, the railway provided ...

entered the locality from the north-east (Nukka) just to the south-east of the highway and exited to the north (Yarraman) immediately to the east of the highway. Gilla railway station is an abandoned railway station on the railway line in the north of the locality (). The Ted Pukallus Weir is a dam structure on Cooyar Creek to create a water reservoir to supply drinking water to the Yarraman area.

History

The locality takes its name from the former Gilla railway station name which was named on 19 December 1912 using an Aboriginal word from the Wakawaka language, Bujiebara dialect, meaning ''native bee''. ''Pidna'' is a

Yuggera The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, Yuggera, and other variants, are the Australian First Nations people who speak the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompasses a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional own ...

and/or Waka language word meaning ''

ear In vertebrates, an ear is the organ that enables hearing and (in mammals) body balance using the vestibular system. In humans, the ear is described as having three parts: the outer ear, the middle ear and the inner ear. The outer ear co ...

''. Ninety-three (93) Mile Camp Provisional School opened on 1912. In 1913, it was renamed Gilla Provisional School. It closed circa 1922. The Ted Pukallus Weir was originally completed in 1967. It was badly damaged in the 2011 Queensland floods and required $9.5M worth of repairs which were completed in 2013. On 1 February 2018, Gilla's postcode changed from 4306 to 4314.

Demographics

In the , Gilla had a population of 32 people. In the , Gilla had a population of 61 people.

Education

There are no schools in Gilla. The nearest government primary schools are Yarraman State School in neighbouring Yarraman to the north-east and Blackbutt State School in Blackbutt to the east. The nearest government secondary schools are Yarraman State School (to Year 9) and Nanango State High School (to Year 12) in Nanango to the north.

Economy

There are a number of homesteads in the locality, including: * Blackbird () * Bunyips Rest () * Gilla () * Gwydillion () * Waterfall Creek () * Wattle Creek ()

Attractions

The Ted Pukallus Weir on Gilla Road () is a popular fishing spot.

References

{{Toowoomba Region Toowoomba Region Localities in Queensland