Hampton 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

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 , the locality of Hampton had a population of 469 people.

Geography

Hampton is 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 ...

, 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 ...

. Situated at the top of an escarpment on 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 ...

, Hampton is one of the small town located along the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

between

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

, (29 kilometres away) and Crows Nest (12 kilometres). There are three local dams that supply water to the surrounding area, all within a short distance of Hampton. These are

Cooby Dam The Cooby Dam is a rockfill embankment dam with an ungated spillway across the Cooby Creek, a tributary of Condamine River, at Groomsville in the Toowoomba Region on the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is fo ...

Perseverance Dam Perseverance Creek Dam (also known as Perseverance Dam) is a reservoir in Crows Nest, Queensland, Crows Nest, Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It creates Lake Perseverance which is the second largest (in terms of storage capacity) and the ...

and

Cressbrook Dam Cressbrook Dam is one of the three water storages used to supply Toowoomba and the surrounding region in Queensland, Australia. The dam is north-east of Toowoomba in the locality of Biarra in the Somerset Region. It was constructed in 1983 for ...

. Recreational activities are available on some of the dams.

Climate

Hampton has moderate summer temperatures with high temperatures around . The summer low temperature is around . Hampton also has mild winters with temperature highs close to , and low temperatures around . The local flora and fauna are abundant to include many species of birds and mammals. Eucalypt and pine forests as well as grass land are present in this area.

History

The town was named after its former railway station, which in turn was named after

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

then in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, England. In 1886, the

Crows Nest railway line Crows Nest Branch Railway was originally surveyed as a direct line from Toowoomba north to Crows Nest in Queensland, Australia. The branch eventually took a more circuitous route to cover the maximum amount of farming country. The first stage s ...

reached the town. Hampton Post Office opened on 19 May 1913 (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 1887) and closed in 1977. Hampton State School opened on 22 August 1938. It closed in 1959.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Hampton had a population of 345 people. In the , the locality of Hampton had a population of 356 people. In the , the locality of Hampton had a population of 469 people.

Education

There are no schools in Hampton. The nearest government primary schools are Geham State School in Geham to the south-west and Murphys Creek State School in Murphys Creek to the south. The nearest government secondary schools are Crows Nest State School (to Year 10) in Crows Nest to the north and Highfields State Secondary College (to Year 12) in Highfields,

, to the south-west.

Attractions

Hampton is known for the antique shop and gift stores as well as local produce, including citrus and

avocado The avocado, alligator pear or avocado pear (''Persea americana'') is an evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to Americas, the Americas and was first domesticated in Mesoamerica more than 5,000 years ago. It was priz ...

s grown on the many farms located around the district. The Hampton Information Centre is located on the New England Highway at the junction of the Esk–Hampton Road. The road provides access to Ravensbourne National Park and connects Hampton to Esk. Ravensbourne National Park features short bushwalking tracks, a scenic lookout and picnic facilities. In May the park surrounding the Visitor Information Center plays host to the Hampton High Country Food and Art Festival. The festival gives local producers from all over the Darling Downs a chance to showcase their produce.

References

External links

Town map, 1980

Hampton High Country Food and Arts Festival

Ravensbourne National Park
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Toowoomba Region Localities in Queensland