Ma Ma Creek 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

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 , the locality of Ma Ma Creek had a population of 155 people.

Geography

Although there are some houses within the town, most of the population is living in rural residential blocks along the Gatton Clifton Road. Irrigated cropping also occurs along the road route with the remainder of the locality being used for

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 natural vegetation. ''Ma Ma Creek'' (the watercourse) flows through from south to north.

Road infrastructure

The

Gatton–Clifton Road Gatton–Clifton Road is a continuous road route in the Lockyer Valley and Toowoomba regions of Queensland, Australia. Most of the road is signed as State Route 80. Gatton–Clifton Road (number 313) is a state-controlled road, part regiona ...

(State Route 80) runs through from north-east to south.

History

The town takes its name from the creek, which is a tributary of the

Lockyer Creek The Lockyer Creek is a creek in South East Queensland, Australia. A tributary of the Brisbane River, the creek is a major drainage system in the Lockyer Valley. Rising on the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the creek flows generally ...

and ultimately contributes into 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 ...

which flows into

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

. The name ''Ma Ma'' is allegedly derived from the Aboriginal ''mia mia'' meaning ''bark huts''. However, ''mia mia'' is an Aboriginal term from Western Australia, suggesting that Ma Ma was named by European settlers. Ma Ma Creek Post Office opened on 1 May 1884 (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 1881). The Ma Ma Creek War Memorial commemorates three brothers: James, George and Bertie Andrews who were all killed in action in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The memorial was erected in 1920 by their mother Fleurine Elsie Andrews. Although a private monument, it is used by the wider community for

ANZAC Day Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia, New Zealand and Tonga that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and ...

ceremonies. Ma Ma Creek Provisional School opened on 27 October 1880. On 21 January 1889 it became Ma Ma State School. In 1916, the school building was relocated to a new site.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Ma Ma Creek and surrounding districts had a population of 403 people. In the , the locality of Ma Ma Creek had a population of 149 people. In the , the locality of Ma Ma Creek had a population of 155 people.

Heritage listings

Ma Ma Creek 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: * Ma Ma Creek War Memorial, Gatton-Clifton Road

Education

Ma Ma Creek State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 803 Gatton-Clifton Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 16 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Ma Ma Creek. The nearest government secondary school is the Lockyer District State High School in Gatton.

Amenities

The town has a community centre and general store. There are two churches, St Stephens Anglican church and a Church of Christ. St Stephens Anglican church has an associated cemetery.

References

External links

{{authority control Towns in Queensland Lockyer Valley Region Localities in Queensland