Upper Flagstone 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

Lockyer Valley Region The Lockyer Valley Region is a local government area (LGA) in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia. The region is located between the cities of Ipswich and Toowoomba, and is bordered by the Somerset and Southern Downs ...

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 , Upper Flagstone had a population of 191 people.

Geography

The locality is dominated by an east/west valley containing Flagstone Creek. The valley remains mostly covered in natural vegetation. Flagstone Creek Conservation Park is in the south-east of the locality ().

History

In 1840, the penal colony at

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

was being prepared to be turned into a free settlement (which ultimately became the city of

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 ...

). As there was settlement already occurring on 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 ...

, there was a need for Lieutenant Owen Gorman, the last commandant of the penal colony, to find a wagon route between the two locations, but the obstacle was the mountains of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

. There was a route already known at

Cunninghams Gap Cunningham's Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between Warwick and Brisbane. ...

but it was not able to be used by a wagon. A convict John Sterry Baker had escaped from the penal colony in 1826 and had lived among the Goomburra Aboriginal people in 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 ...

area and walked with them on a track to the top of the range. Having returned to the penal colony in 1840, Baker told Gorman of the track up the range and modified an Irish jaunting car to test as a wagon on the route. Together Gorman and Baker ascended the range with their wagon on 17 October 1840 arriving at

Eton Vale The Eton Vale Homestead Ruins are a heritage-listed site on the New England Highway, Cambooya, Queensland, Cambooya, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. The former homestead was built from onwards by Arthur Hodgson, and was destroyed by f ...

. Despite the fact that Gorman did not discover the route, it nonetheless became known as Gorman's Gap Road. The route which runs between Upper Flagstone in the west and Flagstone Creek in the east was marked by blazing a line of trees. It became the first gazetted road in Queensland. Today, the road no longer officially exists and is overgrown but can still be followed. There are three monuments along the route, one at each end and the other along the route at Camel's Hump where Gorman took his compass bearing.

Demographics

In the , Flagstone was included within the count for neighbouring Preston which had a population of 763 people. In the , Upper Flagstone had a population of 171 people. In the , Upper Flagstone had a population of 191 people.

Education

There are no schools in Upper Flagstone. The nearest government primary schools are Middle Ridge State School in neighbouring Middle Ridge to the north-west, Gabbinbar State School in Centenary Heights to the north-west, and Flagstone Creek State School in neighbouring Flagstone Creek to the east. The nearest government secondary school is

Centenary Heights State High School Centenary Heights State High School is a State High School located in the suburb of Centenary Heights in Toowoomba, Queensland, with an enrolment of around 1700 students (2020) and was one of Queensland's leading high schools with 11 OP's 1 ...

in Centenary Heights.

References

{{Lockyer Valley Region Lockyer Valley Region Localities in Queensland