Lowood is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Somerset Region The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, about northwest of Brisbane and centred on the town of Esk. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Esk and th ...

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 , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,159 people.

Geography

The town is on the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the river, named it after the Go ...

, west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, and north of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. Due to its proximity to Brisbane and Ipswich, Lowood is becoming an area for hobby farmers and residential commuters.

History

Lowood railway station () was established as the first terminus of the Brisbane Valley branch railway in 1884 and the town grew from the subdivision around the new railway station. The name ''Lowood'' is derived from the "low woods" of

brigalow ''Acacia harpophylla'', commonly known as brigalow, brigalow spearwood or orkor, is an endemic tree of Australia. The Aboriginal Australian group the Gamilaraay peoples know the tree as Barranbaa or Burrii. It is found in central and coast ...

in the Lowood area, as opposed to the taller trees elsewhere in the Brisbane Valley. The name ''Lowood'' replaced local names of ''The Scrub'' and ''Cairnhill''. Lowood Post Office opened on 15 October 1888 (a

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 1884). Cairnhill Provisional School opened on 29 June 1881. On 1 April 1889 it become Lowood State School. On 29 January 1963 a secondary department was opened, which closed in 1983 when Lowood State High School opened. In 1919, 27 building sites in Morningside Estate were advertised for auction by Kavanagh & Smith Auctioneers. The auction was for resubs 1 to 27 of sub 5 of resub 1 of subs 1A & 3 of resub 2 of sub A of portion 319 (Tarampa). A map produced to advertise the auction shows Morningside Estate is on Peace Street and is close to Lowood Railway Station, the hospital and the state school. 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 ...

, an airfield called Lowood, which was actually located at Mount Tarampa, was the site of a military airfield operated by the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. No. 71 Squadron operated from the airfield during 1943, conducting coastal patrol and naval convoy escort missions. After the war, the airfield was converted into a motor-racing circuit, the

Lowood Airfield Circuit The Lowood Airfield Circuit was a motor racing venue in Queensland, Australia. The circuit, which was used from 1946 to 1966, was located at a former wartime airfield site at Tarampa, Queensland, Mount Tarampa, near Lowood, Queensland, Lowood, ...

, and operated for 20 years, the highlight hosting the 1960 Australian Grand Prix. The airfield no longer exists, but a small memorial marks its previous location. Lowood State High School opened on 24 January 1983 replacing the secondary department attached to Lowood State School in 1963. The Lowood public library opened in 2000. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Lowood had a population of 1,010. In the 2011 census, Lowood had a population of 3,336 people. In the the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,159 people.

Heritage listings

Lowood has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including: * 12 Railway Street : former

Royal Bank of Queensland The Royal Bank of Queensland was a bank in Queensland, Australia. History The Royal Bank of Queensland commenced operation in Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the thi ...

, built sometime between 1901 and 1917, the former bank is now a dental surgery.

Education

Lowood State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Peace Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 279 students with 24 teachers (23 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). It includes a

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. Lowood State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at Prospect Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 747 students with 68 teachers (67 full-time equivalent) and 39 non-teaching staff (29 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

Transport

Following the withdrawal of the railmotor service to Toogoolawah in 1989, a substitute bus service to Ipswich was introduced by

Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

(QR). Two services are in the morning and return services are in the late afternoon. Time tables are available from QR.

Amenities

The

Somerset Regional Council The Somerset Region is a local government area located in the West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia, about northwest of Brisbane and centred on the town of Esk. It was created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Esk and th ...

operates a public library at the corner of Michel and Main Streets (). The Lowood 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 106 Main Street (). The Fernvale Lowood Uniting Church is at 1503 Brisbane Valley Highway in Fernvale.

Attractions

Nearby

Lake Wivenhoe Lake Wivenhoe is the name both a lake formed by the Wivenhoe Dam and the locality which contains it in the Somerset Region, Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Qu ...

is a popular place for activities such as boating and fishing.

References

External links

* * * *
Lowood District Community Website TravelmateLowood Tourism Association
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Suburbs of Somerset Region 1872 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1872 Queensland in World War II Localities in Queensland