Kirwan is a
suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
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 ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
In the , Kirwan had a population of 21,418 people.
Geography
Kirwan is a primarily residential suburb but includes some commercial property, primarily concentrated along Thuringowa Drive.
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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Kirwan State School opened in 1977 and
Kirwan State High School
Kirwan State High School is a coeducational state school located in Kirwan, Townsville, Queensland, Australia, approximately from the Townsville CBD. In 2017, it has 1997 students with 156 teachers (145 full-time equivalent) and 75 non-teachi ...
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.
Population
According to the
2016 census of Population, there were 21,418 people in Kirwan.
* 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%.
[
]
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 (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
team, the North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town 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 Sports Complex, currently known as 1300SMILES Stadium through Naming rights, sponsorship, is a grass football stadium situated in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It has been a predominantly rugby league ground as the home ground o ...
.
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.
Nearby amenities
At its southern end are the retail and entertainment precincts of Thuringowa Central, which include the Willows Shopping Centre and the Riverway
Riverway, also referred to as "the Riverway," is a parkway in Boston, Massachusetts. The parkway is a link in the Emerald Necklace system of parks and parkways designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 1890s. Starting at the Landmark Center end ...
complex, the latter of which lines the northern bank of the Ross River and includes parkland, swimming pools, barbecue facilities and an arts centre. It also plays home to night markets. Also situated near the southern border of Kirwan is the Cannon Park complex in Condon, which offers a range of restaurants, a cinema and other leisure providers, and formerly a military memorial in the form of a WWII era cannon, dedicated to the 18 servicemen lost when two Blackhawk helicopters
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ...
collided on a night exercise in 1996, on the nearby Hervey Range
The Hervey Range is a large mountain range about north of Townsville, in Queensland, Australia. It is one of the highest peaks in the Townsville region and is also the location of the Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms. The highest point of the ...
.
Education
Kirwan State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 21 Burnda Street ().special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
program.
References
External links
*
{{Suburbs of Townsville
Suburbs of Townsville