Kirwan is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas. To the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock a ...

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 , Kirwan had a population of 20,780 people.

Geography

Kirwan is a primarily residential suburb but includes some commercial property, primarily concentrated along Thuringowa Drive. Garbutt–Upper Ross Road runs through from north to south, and Ross River Road runs along most of the southern boundary.

History

The suburb of Kirwan was established in 1968 as the northernmost of a series of new suburbs along the western side of the Upper Ross River. It was officially named on 1 March 1969 and took its name from an early farming family in the region. Prior to suburban development, Kirwan had been farmed and had also been the site of air force activity during

World War II 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 ...

. Kirwan State School opened in 1977 and

Kirwan State High School Kirwan State High School is a coeducational state school located in Kirwan, Queensland, Kirwan, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, approximately from the Townsville, Queensland, Townsville central business district, CBD. In 2017, it has 1997 st ...

opened in 1979. Ryan Catholic College, which serves both primary and secondary students, was also founded in 1979. The Willows State School was established in the suburb in 1997.

Demographics

In the , Kirwan had a population of 21,418 people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 8.5% of the population. 82.4% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 2.5%, England 2.4%, Philippines 1.0% and Papua New Guinea 0.6%. 88.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Italian at 0.5%. The most common responses for religion were Catholic 29.7%, No Religion 25.6% and Anglican 16.2%. In the , Kirwan had a population of 20,780 people.

Education

Kirwan State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 21 Burnda Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 900 students with 60 teachers (55 full-time equivalent) and 29 non-teaching staff (20 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. The Willows State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at Bilberry Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,007 students with 75 teachers (68 full-time equivalent) and 32 non-teaching staff (23 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Kirwan State High School is a government secondary (7–12) school for boys and girls at Hudson Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,997 students with 157 teachers (147 full-time equivalent) and 75 non-teaching staff (59 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Ryan Catholic College is a Catholic primary and secondary (Prep–12) school for boys and girls at 59 Canterbury Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1,886 students with 143 teachers (131 full-time equivalent) and 84 non-teaching staff (69 full-time equivalent).

Amenities

Several leisure facilities are situated within Kirwan itself, including the Willows Golf Club, the Townsville and District Junior Rugby League Grounds and the Townsville Brothers Leagues Club. Kirwan is also well known as the home of the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

team, the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

, and is the site of 1300SMILES Stadium. The Willows 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 Girl Guide Hut on the corner of McBride Street and Bamford Lane.

References

External links

* {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville