Laidley Heights is a

rural residential A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block, acreage living, or rural residential) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held simply to bring homeowners closer to n ...

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 ...

on the outskirts of the town of Laidley 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 , Laidley Heights had a population of 1,429 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the east by Laidley Creek. Lake Dyer is in the east of the locality (). Although it is a natural lake, its capacity to store water was increased by the construction of the

Bill Gunn Dam The Bill Gunn Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam with an un-gated spillway located off-stream in Laidley Heights in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The main purpose of the dam is for irrigation of the Lockyer Valley. The re ...

(), a earth embankment with a central clay core. As well as the natural inflows to the lake, additional water from Laidley Creek is redirected into Lake Dyer for storage. It is an ungated dam so it commences spilling whenever it is full. The land use is a mix of rural residential housing in the central areas of the locality, irrigated horticulture in the east along the creek, and

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

on native vegetation in the remainder of the locality.

History

The locality was named after the town of Laidley, which, in turn, was derived from the naming of Laidleys Plain by Allan Cunningham after James Laidley New South Wales Deputy Commissary General. Laidley Golf Club opened on 9 December 1928 with a few holes on the Laidley Showgrounds. Due to the popularity of the golf club, in 1931, the club decided to establish a new golf course on the Laidley Recreational Reserve (now Anzac Park), which opened in April 1932. In 1941, the club suspended activities due to

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 ...

. In 1948, the club decided to restart operations by merging with Forest Hill Golf Club and establish a new golf course. A dairy farm overlooking Dyer’s Lagoon (now Lake Dyer) was purchased. Professional golf player Tom Southcombe was engaged to plan the golf course. Although play had already commenced on the nine-hole course, it was not officially opened until Sunday 15 April 1951. The construction of Bill Gunn Dam was completed in 1987. It was named after Bill Gunn, the local member in the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

and also a former member of the Laidley Shire Council.

Demographics

In the , Laidley Heights had a population of 1,263 people. In the , Laidley Heights had a population of 1,429 people.

Education

There are no schools in Laidley Heights. The nearest government primary schools are

Blenheim State School Blenheim State School is a heritage-listed state school at 81 Blenheim Road, Blenheim, Queensland, Blenheim, Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Works and built in 1900. It was added ...

in neighbouring Blenheim to the south-west, Forest Hill State School in neighbouring Forest Hill to the north-west, and Laidley District State School in neighbouring Laidley to the east. The nearest government secondary school is Laidley State High School in Laidley.

Amenities

Lake Dyer Recreation Reserve is a park to the east of the lake (). There are facilities for camping, boating, fishing, swimming, and picnics. There is a boat ramp on Whites Road into Lake Dyer (). It is managed by the Lockyer Valley Regional Council. Laidley Golf Club is to the north of Lake Dyer (). It has a 12-hole golf course with clubhouse facilities.

References

{{Lockyer Valley Region Lockyer Valley Region Localities in Queensland