Kilcoy, Queensland
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Kilcoy 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
Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region is centred on the town of Esk, which also serves as the council seat. Somer ...
,
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 Kilcoy had a population of 1,996 people.


Geography

The township is on the
D'Aguilar Highway The D'Aguilar Highway is a two-lane highway linking the Bruce Highway near Caboolture with the Bunya Highway in Kingaroy in the state of Queensland, Australia. Major towns along the route include Woodford, Kilcoy, Blackbutt, Yarraman, ...
, north 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 just to the north of
Lake Somerset The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam is ...
.


Climate

Rainfall in January 2013, another year of floods was .


History


Aboriginal history

The Aboriginal people of the
Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...
Valley and Kilcoy region are the Jinibara People, traditionally a nation of five clans: the Dungidau centred in the Kilcoy region and the junction of the
Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
and Brisbane Rivers; the Dala or Dallumbara clan inhabiting the Conondale Range west to the Brisbane River; the Gurumngar around the southern end of the D’Aguilar Range; the Nalbo along the Maleny-Mapleton escarpment and the Dungibara on the Upper Brisbane River. '' Duungidjawu (''also known as ''Kabi Kabi, Cabbee, Carbi, Gabi Gabi)'' is an
Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...
spoken on Duungidjawu country. The Duungidjawu language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of
Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region is centred on the town of Esk, which also serves as the council seat. Somer ...
and
City of Moreton Bay The City of Moreton Bay, known until July 2023 as the Moreton Bay Region, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia. Estab ...
, particularly the towns of
Caboolture Caboolture () is a town and suburb in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the northern side of the Caboolture River. In the , the suburb of Caboolture had a population of 29,534 people. Geography Caboolture is ...
, Kilcoy, Woodford and
Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...
''.'' Kilcoy was the heartland of the Jinibara People and the name comes from a patch of lawyer cane (jini) on Mount Kilcoy; 'bara' means' people' or 'folk'; thus Jinibara are the 'People of the Lawyer cane'. Kilcoy was known as Bumgur, meaning the 'blue cod'. The Kilcoy region is a rich Aboriginal cultural landscape. Mount Archer was known as Buruja, and also the name of a wetland near Villeneuve that was one of the main camps of the Dungidau clan. Bora rings existed at 'Wellcourt' on Somerset Dam and at Sandy Creek east of Kilcoy, Oaky Creek and Waraba Creek. The junction of the Brisbane and Stanley Rivers was known as Gunundjin, meaning a 'hollow place', and a sacred place, called Gairnbee Rock, recalled a dreaming story of a girl who went swimming there and was turned by her father, a gundir (clever man) by magic into a rock to save her from a dangerous evil spirit.Winterbotham, 1957 The Stanley River was also called Gairnbee, meaning the water gum.


British colonisation

In 1841, brothers Evan and Colin Mackenzie, of Kilcoy Castle, Newtown Scotland, took up land west of Durundur (in the Stanley River valley) and began grazing sheep soon after land was opened to free settlement.Pioneers of the Kilcoy District Volume 1 Published 2002 by KDHS They named it after their home town. They sold the property to Charles A. Atherton in 1849. Atherton in turn sold it to Captain
Louis Hope Louis Hope (19 October 1817 – 15 August 1894) was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early years Hope was born in Linlithgow, Scotland in 1817 to John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, a ...
and John Ramsay in 1854. The partnership broke up ten years later, and Hope became sole owner and built the Kilcoy Station homestead of bricks, made on the property, and red cedar. Station managers for Captain Hope were Bryant about 1860, Captain Talbot, 1864 and William Butler from 1871 until the sale, where he purchased the homestead block. Hopetoun Post Office opened on 1 December 1892 (a Kilcoy
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 1889) and was renamed Kilcoy in 1907.


Massacre of Aboriginal people

In 1842 on the outskirts of Kilcoy Station owned by MacKenzie, 30–60 aborigines of the
Gubbi Gubbi The Kabi Kabi people, also spelt Gubbi Gubbi, Gabi Gabi, and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people native to South Eastern Queensland. During the Australian frontier wars of the 19th century, there were several mass killings o ...
tribe, two
Djindubari The Djindubari, also written Jindoobarrie or Joondubarri, are or were an Aboriginal Australian people of southern Queensland, whose traditional lands were located on Bribie Island. They are thought to be a Band society, horde or clan of the Undan ...
and some men from the Dalla tribe died from eating flour that settlers had laced with strychnine or arsenic. An extract of a German missionary's journal describing an expedition to the Bunya Country was published in ''
The Colonial Observer ''The Colonial Observer'' was an English language newspaper published in Sydney, Australia during the early 1840s. History The paper was published from Thursday, 7 October 1841, until Thursday, 26 December 1844. The first editorial of the pap ...
'' in December 1842. During the expedition the missionaries and the Aboriginal people accompanying them discovered that ''"a large number of natives, (about 50 or 60) having been poisoned at one of the squatter's stations."'' In May 1861, evidence about the massacre was presented during the hearings of the ''Select Committee on the Native Police Force.''


Establishment of township

In 1877, were resumed from the Kilcoy pastoral run and offered for selection on 19 April 1877. Timber milling operations were established as early as 1877, with Frank Nicholson building at Villeneuve, followed by James Green (1888), Hancock Brothers (1897), George Seeney and William and Stan Kropp in the same vicinity. The turn of the century saw a huge increase in activity as Hancock & Gore timber mill began operation. The site of the 'Town of Kilcoy' was surveyed by W. E. Hill by April 1888, and the first land sale was on 6 November that year. The township quickly developed at the junction of Sheep Station and Kilcoy Creeks to service these settlers and their families. By the 1890s, the only original lease country left was in the Mt Kilcoy and Sandy Creek districts, part of Durundur Station. This country was not opened for settlement until 1902.Kilcoy District Historical Society records Kilcoy's first Provisional School was opened in 1884 at Sheep Station Creek, some five to six miles north of Kilcoy Homestead, the name changing to Sheep Station Creek Provisional School in 1892 when the Kilcoy School opened its doors in Hope Street in Kilcoy. At that time there were still no subdivisions north of William Street as that was part of Kilcoy Station which was sold up in 1907.Pioneers of the Kilcoy District Volume 2 Published 2002 by KDHS St Mary's Anglican Church was built in 1887. The timber church could seat 120 people. A postal receiving office was established in 1889 .On 1 December 1892, the Hopetoun Post Office was opened at Kilcoy in rented premises in Royston Street. It was named after
Louis Hope Louis Hope (19 October 1817 – 15 August 1894) was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council. Early years Hope was born in Linlithgow, Scotland in 1817 to John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, General John Hope, 4th Earl of Hopetoun, a ...
(the uncle of the first Governor General of Australia,
Lord Hopetoun John Adrian Louis Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, (25 September 1860 – 29 February 1908) was a British aristocrat and statesman who served as the first governor-general of Australia, in office from 1900 to 1902. He wa ...
, who was a visitor to Kilcoy Station).''Pioneers of the Kilcoy District volume 2. 1900 to 1920''. Published 2002 by KDHS The township was referred to unofficially as Hopetoun. Kilcoy Township Provisional School opened on 15 August 1892. In 1893, it was renamed Kilcoy Provisional School. In 1898, it was renamed Hopetoun Provisional School. In 1907, it became Hopetoun State School. In 1914, it was renamed Kilcoy State School. Brighton Hills Provisional School opened circa November 1904 and closed circa July 1918. It was described as "via Kilcoy".


20th century

Kilcoy Methodist Church was built from timber by Mr C. Festers. It was opened on Saturday 14 October 1905 by the Reverend William Henry Harrison, President of the Methodist Conference. In 1977, following the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the
Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...
, it became the Kilcoy Uniting Church. It closed on 28 February 2021. It was on a site at 74 William Street (). In 1908, the post office name was changed from Hopetoun to Kilcoy, to avoid incorrect mail distribution to other towns of the same name in Victoria and Western Australia. St Michael's Roman Catholic Church was built in 1911 from timber. It was extended in 1914. In 1912, the
Shire of Kilcoy The Shire of Kilcoy was a local government area in South East Queensland, Australia, about northwest of Brisbane along the D'Aguilar Highway, not far from the Sunshine Coast. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1912 until its mer ...
was formed, and the area became independent from the Caboolture Shire. The post office in Kennedy Street opened in 1913. The establishment of the
Kilcoy railway line The Kilcoy railway line is a disused, partly demolished narrow gauge railway in South East Queensland, Australia. History The first section of the line opened from Caboolture to Woodford on 6 December 1909. It was extended to Kilcoy on 22 De ...
in 1913 created a surge in the timber industry with more mills opening near Kilcoy (Bert Woodrow – c. 1916; Thurecht Brothers – c. 1918, George Payne – c. 1919) and at Louisavale (1912), Monsildale (1912) and Yednia (early 1900s). The rural areas within a relatively small radius of Kilcoy township catering for the settlers laboring in the industries of dairy, cattle and timber were flourishing with cultural activity and those early years around the turn of the century witnessed small schools spring up in West Vale (1887–1910), Villeneuve (1902–1960), Hazeldean ( Stanley River, 1898–1973), Gregors Creek (1896–1963), Woolmar (1894–1941), Louisavale (1915–1940), Monsildale (1913–1922 and 1941–1961), Jimna (1923–2006), Yednia (1911–1946), Sheep Station Creek (1884–1942), Somerset at upper Mount Kilcoy (1915–1943), Mount Kilcoy (1909) and Sandy Creek ( Winya, 1918–1960).
Somerset Dam The Somerset Dam is a mass concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway across the Stanley River in Queensland, Australia. It is within the locality of Somerset Dam in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland. The main purpose of the dam i ...
was constructed between 1935 and 1959 with suspension of construction during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The dam is situated on the Stanley River approximately upstream from the mouth of the Brisbane River. Construction of the Somerset Dam created many jobs, one of the project's intentions as it commence during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. In 1953, the Kilcoy Pastoral Company established an abattoir in the town. The Jinibara people were granted Native Title by the
Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...
in 2012. The application used a series of tape recordings made in the 1950s of Aboriginal man, Gaiarbau, (also known as Willie MacKenzie) that provided detailed understandings of Aboriginal culture in southeast Queensland. Gaiabau was born at Kilcoy in the 1870s and died in a Salvation Army Home in Brisbane and was buried on 24 June 1968 in Mt Gravatt Cemetery. In the 1960s, road transport ensured the demise of the railway line (1964) and the old Kilcoy railway yard was converted many years later into a park known as Yowie Park. In January 1963, a secondary department was added to Kilcoy State School. On 1 January 1972 Kilcoy State High School opened, replacing the secondary department at Kilcoy State School.


21st century

Kilcoy Wesleyan Methodist Church was built from timber in 2000. The current Kilcoy library opened in 2011. A
sand mining Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in conc ...
operation was proposed for the town in 2011. Circa 2018, the Uniting Church building was used for services by the Kilcoy United
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...
Church and the Kilcoy Seventh Day Adventist Church. As at 2024, neither congregation appears to be active in the town.


Demographics

In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,714 people. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,898 people. In the , the locality of Kilcoy had a population of 1,996 people.


Heritage listings

Kilcoy 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, including Kilcoy Homestead on Kilcoy-Murgon Road.


Education

Kilcoy State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 47 Royston Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 304 students with 28 teachers (20 full-time equivalent) and 21 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). Kilcoy State High School is a government secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at Seib Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 405 students with 39 teachers (36 full-time equivalent) and 25 non-teaching staff (18 full-time equivalent). It includes a
special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
program.


Amenities

The
Somerset Regional Council The Somerset Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, northwest of the City of Brisbane. The region is centred on the town of Esk, Queensland, Esk, ...
operates a public library at 15 Kennedy Street (). The Kilcoy branch of the
Queensland Country Women's Association The Queensland Country Women's Association (QCWA) is the Queensland chapter of the Country Women's Association in Australia. The association seeks to serve the interests of women and children in rural areas in Australia through a network of loca ...
meets at the QCWA Hall at 33 Rose Street (). There are a number of parks in the area: * Anzac Park () * Aston Park () * Kennedy Park ()


Churches

There are a number of churches in Kilcoy, including: * St Mary's Anglican Church, 67 William Street Service Road () * St Michael's Roman Catholic Church, 28 Kennedy Street () * Kilcoy Wesleyan Methodist Church, part of the
Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia The Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia is a Christian denomination with its origins in Wesleyan Methodism. It is the organisational name for contemporary The Wesleyan Church in Australia. (The historic Wesleyan Methodist denomination in Aust ...
, 30 McCauley Street () The local Stanley River Roman Catholic parish has a strong ecumenical focus. Saint Mary's Anglican Church is notable for its liberalism and gay-friendly Anglo-Catholic churchmanship. It maintains a close relationship with the Roman Catholic Church. The parish's last two priests have been females and one trainee minister has been gay. Under one of these priests, the church has adopted
Progressive Christianity Progressive Christianity represents a range of related perspectives in contemporary Christian theology and practice. It is a postmodern theological approach, which developed out of the liberal Christianity of the modern era, although progressive C ...
and
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
spirituality.


Attractions

The Kilcoy District Historical Society operates the Hall of History at 39 Hope Street in Yowie Park (). The hall contains documents, photos, and artifacts from the district's history. A history trail has been established to tour past the historical buildings in the town. The trail guide is available from the Hall of History. The Kilcoy Visitor Information Centre is at 41 Hope Street ().


Notable residents

*
Merri Rose Merrilyn Miriam Rose (born 24 January 1955) was a minister (government), minister in the Peter Beattie, Beattie government and member for Electoral district of Currumbin, Currumbin in the Queensland Parliament.Crown Content ''Who's Who in Austr ...
– politician ( Labor Party) *
Robert Copeland Robert Copeland may refer to: * Robert Copeland (footballer) (born 1981), Australian Football League footballer * Robert Copeland (theatre manager), early 19th-century theatre manager in Dover, England * Robert S. Copeland (1800–1885), merchant ...
– Australian rules footballer,
Brisbane Lions The Brisbane Lions are a professional Australian rules football in Australia, Australian rules football club based in Brisbane, Queensland, that compete in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. Brisbane are the ...
dual-premiership player2023 Queensland Football Hall of Fame – Robert Copeland
14 September 2023
* Rebel Morrow – Olympic equestrian who represented Australia at the
2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...
in eventing, placing 11th individually and winning team bronze. Morrow was born in Kilcoy and began riding at a young age in the local region.


See also


References


Further reading

* * *


External links


Kilcoy Historical Society

Kilcoy Tourism Body

Somerset Regional Council
{{authority control Massacres of ethnic groups History of Indigenous Australians Massacres in Australia Suburbs of Somerset Region Localities in Queensland