Meandarra 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 subdivi ...

in the

Western Downs Region Western Downs Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia. The Western Downs Regional Council manages an area of , which is slightly smaller than Switzerland, although with a population of 34,467 in June 2018, it is over 228 ...

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 Meandarra had a population of 262 people.

Geography

The town is located on

Brigalow Creek Brigalow Creek is a creek in north west New South Wales, Australia. The headwaters are located south of Mount Jerrybang at where the elevation is 427 metres and the creek finishes by flowing into Tycannah Creek, north of the village of Terry Hi ...

, 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 ...

. Meandarra contains the neighbourhood of Undulla at . The

Glenmorgan railway line The Glenmorgan Branch is a railway line in south west Queensland, Australia. It opened in a series of sections between 1908 and 1931. It was intended to reach Surat but construction ceased during the 1930s depression and never recommenced. ...

enters the locality from the east and terminates at the Meandarra railway station immediately north of the town ().

History

First surveyed in 1912 by surveyor John Daveney Steele, the town derived its name from a pastoral run first used by pastoralist

Archibald Meston Archibald Meston (26 March 1851 – 11 March 1924) was an Australian politician, civil servant, journalist, naturalist and explorer. Personal life Archibald Meston was born at Towie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the son of Alexander Meston. Mes ...

on 16 October 1867. Cooroorah Provisional School opened in 1913 and closed on 1919. After a temporary closure in 1915, it closed permanently 1919. Its location was "via Meandarra". Meandarra State School opened on 27 September 1915. Kinkabilla Provisional School opened on 1921 and closed circa 1934. Its location was "via Meandarra". Meandarra Post Office opened on 1 January 1928 (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 servi ...

was open from 1910 until 1918). On 21 June 1953 St Margaret Mary Catholic Church was officially opened and dedicated by the

Vicar Capitular :''See: Catholic Church hierarchy#Equivalents of diocesan bishops in law'' A diocesan administrator is a provisional ordinary of a Roman Catholic particular church. Diocesan administrators in canon law The college of consultors elects an admin ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba The Roman Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba is a Latin Rite suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane, established in 1929, covering the Darling Downs and south west regions of Queensland, Australia. St Patrick's Cathedral is the seat ...

Michael Morrissey McKenna. It was the first church in Meandarra. St Augustine's Anglican Church opened in 1955. The Meandarra Public Library building opened in 1993. Meandarra Assembly of God Church was established in 1995. It later renamed itself as the Country Hope Church. At the 2006 census, Meandarra and the surrounding area had a population of 341. The Meandarra ANZAC Memorial Museum was opened in 2009. The

was closed beyond Meandarra to Block Trains on 26 June 2013, making Meandarra the terminus. the line beyond Meandarra is "booked out of use" as of 2022 In the the locality of Meandarra had a population of 262 people.

Education

Meandarra State School
is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Sara Street (). In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 37 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 41 students with 5 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Meandarra. The nearest secondary school i
Tara State College
in Tara to the east, but it is a considerable distance for a daily commute and other options would be

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

or boarding school.

Amenities

The Western Downs Regional Council operates the Meandarra Library on Sara Street. St Augustine's Anglican Church is on the north-west corner of Sara Street and Maude Street (). St Margaret Mary Catholic Church is at 16 Walton Street (). It is part of the St Mary of the Angels' Parish of Tara. The Country Hope Church (also known as the Meandarra Assembly of God Church) is on the north-west corner of Sara Street and Gibson Street (). The Meandarra/Glenmorgan Lutheran congregation holds their services in the Glenmorgan Community Church. The Royal Hotel operates on Sara Street.

Attractions

Meandarra ANZAC Memorial Museum is in Sara Street (). It contains a large collection of

ANZAC The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the Gallipoli campaign. General William Birdwood comm ...

memorabilia including a

Canberra bomber The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havilla ...

and a

German U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

engine.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Western Downs Region Localities in Queensland