Helidon, Queensland
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Helidon 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
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 , the locality of Helidon had a population of 1,130 people. Helidon is known in Queensland for its high quality
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
(also called freestone), used extensively in private and public buildings in the state and elsewhere, including
Brisbane City Hall Brisbane City Hall, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, is the seat of the Brisbane City Council. It is located adjacent to King George Square, where the rectangular City Hall has its main entrance. The City Hall also has frontages and entran ...
, Brisbane Treasury Building,
University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...
, and sought after internationally for its quality, especially in China. Helidon is also the location of a natural
mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...
whose products were sold by the Helidon Spa Water Company, now known as
Kirks Kirks is a soft drink manufacturer founded in Queensland, Australia in 1865, producing a selection of soft drink flavours. History Before Kirks The Helidon Spa Water Company was founded in 1881 as a partnership between chemist Reginald Larar ...
.


Geography

Helidon is located on the
Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...
, 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 ...
, and east of
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 ...
. Parts of the hilly, undeveloped north of Helidon have been protected within Lockyer National Park.


History

The Helidon district is called by Aboriginal inhabitants "Yabarba", the name of the Curriejung, and the nearby spring is known as "Woonar-rajimmi", the place "where the clouds fell down!" The name ''Helidon'' derives from a pastoral run name established in 1841 by Richard Jones (1786–1852), a merchant and pastoralist. William Turner paid 60 pounds rent for the Hellidon Run of 25,600 acres, in 1853. He was later (1861), appointed magistrate for the district. Richard Kettle (born in Whissendine, England in 1838), together with his family, were amongst the principle farming families to establish Helidon. Following a failed attempt to lease land in Tent Hill in 1871, Richard Kettle was granted 150 Lockyer acres, in 1873, improved to a Homestead in 1878, and a further 80 acres in 1882. Helidon Post Office opened on 1 August 1866. In 1874 settlers in the Helidon District wrote to the Board of General Education, which from 1860 was authorised to establish and administer primary schools, requesting that a school be established in Helidon. The Helidon State School opened on 11 May 1874 with 8 pupils. In 1882, the school had 24 students. Helidon State School was only the second school in the Lockyer Valley district and was the 52nd primary school opened in Queensland. The school's original building was on the east bank of Lockyer Creek at the intersection of Railway street and the Warrego highway; it was damaged in a cyclone and a new school erected at its current location in School Street in 1919. In 1877, were resumed from the Helidon pastoral run and offered for selection on 24 April 1877. St John the Baptist Anglican Church was dedicated on 9 September 1923 by
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Gerald Sharp, 40 years after it was first proposed to establish a church. It was constructed with volunteer labour. It closed circa 1989. In December 1924, a branch of the Country Women's Association was formed in nearby Gatton, and had a membership of 28 by 1925. The Helidon Branch was formed in 1933. The branch was active but in more recent times struggled with diminishing membership and in 2013 was under threat of closure. The branch closed and the closest branch to Helidon is now the Upper Lockyer/Withcott branch which meets in Withcott. The Sisters of St Joseph came to Helidon in 1874 and opened St Joseph' School. A convent was built in 1884. The school closed in 1963. In April 1914, a cyclonic storm swept through Helidon destroying the Catholic Church and severely damaging the convent, as well as many of the other buildings in the town – the Methodist Church, the school, post office and many businesses. St Joseph's Catholic Church was rebuilt and was opened on Sunday 27 September 1914 by
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
James Duhig. The quality of the water at Helidon had long been known to the local indigenous population prior to colonisation, who believed the water had great healing and strength giving properties. They knew the spring water as "kowoor". These properties were thought to be the result of high lithium content, leading it to be sold and marketed as a powerful tonic for cleansing the bladder, kidneys and digestive system. In the 1820s, botanist and explorer Alan Cunningham became the first European to be introduced to Helidon's mineral waters. In 1879, chemist Reginald Larard was selling water from the spring as "Oogar Dang Water." The soda water was considered by a government analyst to be "a valuable discovery" and of a quality to "satisfy anyone of its immense superiority over all common soda water". By 1881 he had entered a partnership with Scottish sportsman and entrepreneur Gilbert E. Primrose, who had purchased the agricultural land around the springs, establishing the Helidon Spa Water Company. With the popularity of Helidon's spa water, the first 'spa park' was opened in 1926. To combat competition from imported soft drink products, the company would later merge with Owen Gardner & Sons in 1959 to become
Kirks Kirks is a soft drink manufacturer founded in Queensland, Australia in 1865, producing a selection of soft drink flavours. History Before Kirks The Helidon Spa Water Company was founded in 1881 as a partnership between chemist Reginald Larar ...
, now owned by
Coca-Cola Amatil Coca-Cola Amatil Limited (CCAL) was an Australian bottler of non-alcoholic beverages that existed from 1904 to 2021, when it merged with Coca-Cola European Partners to form Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It was one of the largest bottlers of ...
. During the 1960s, a large caravan park and pool were constructed, briefly earning the area the name 'Toowoomba's Gold Coast'. The area remained popular until the 1980s amid water safety concerns; however a few spa hotels still remain today. On 10 January 2011 as part of the
2010–2011 Queensland floods A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in December 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at A ...
, Helidon was hit by a wall of flood water caused by an extreme rain event in the Upper Lockyer Creeks and along the escarpment of the Toowoomba Range. Few houses were affected directly; those that were inundated sat directly on the creek bank, lower than the rest of the town. The main creek bank did not break, and the town was used as an evacuation centre for nearby
Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...
.


Demographics

In the , the locality of Helidon had a population of 1,059 people. 84.3% of people were born in Australia and 89.9% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 23.2%, No Religion 22.0% and Anglican 15.2%. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License In the , the locality of Helidon had a population of 1,130 people.


Heritage listings

Helidon 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, which are included in the Helidon Heritage Walk. The walk encompasses: * 7 Railway Street: Bank of New South Wales Building * Turner Street: named after Mr. William Turner, the first manager of 'Hellidon Run'. * Phone exchange * Helidon State School, established 1874 * McGovern Park * Criterion Hotel, 1913. * Tyson Park * Pictorial Museum * St. Joseph's Catholic Church * War Memorial, erected 1978. * Railway Station & Refreshment Rooms, 1867. * Progress Park tennis club * Helidon sewerage scheme * Cunningham's Camp * Post Office * Police station * Helidon Cemetery, first gazetted by the Land Administration Commission in the early 1890s, though the site had been being used before that date. The Heritage Walk was supported by the Helidon & District Progress Association inc., Helidon State School, and Lockyer Valley Regional Council


Education

Helidon State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 16 School Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 128 students with 10 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (6 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Helidon. The nearest government secondary schools are Lockyer District State High School in Gatton to the east and Centenary Heights State High School in Centenary Heights,
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 ...
, to the west.


References


Further reading

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External links

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Helidon - Queensland
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Hot springs of Australia Localities in Queensland