Mount Perry 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

North Burnett Region The North Burnett Region is a local government area in Queensland, Australia in the northern catchment of the Burnett River. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the ear ...

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 Mount Perry had a population of 487 people. The neighbourhood of Drummers Creek is in the locality ().

Geography

The Perry Fault, a major regional strike-slip structure in South East Queensland is in the New England Orogenic Belt. Mount Perry is about northwest of

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, the capital of

, and about west of

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

. The town is nestled in a valley near Mount Perry, the area's highest mountain. The Normanby Lookout is located on Normanby Range Road off Towns Creek Road from the Gin Gin-Mount Perry Road and offers views of the Mount Perry Township and the surrounding countryside. Schuh’s Lookout is on Schuhs Lookout Road off the Monto-Mount Perry Road at the top of the range, offering views south of Mount Perry.

History

Gureng Gureng (also known as Gooreng Gooreng, Goreng Goreng, Goeng, Gurang, Goorang Goorang, Korenggoreng) is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

spoken by the Gureng Gureng people. The Gooreng Gooreng language region includes the towns of

, Gin Gin and

Miriam Vale Miriam Vale is a rural town and locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Miriam Vale had a population of 493 people. Geography The town is situated on the Bruce Highway, north of Brisbane, the state c ...

extending south towards Childers, inland to

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

and Mt Perry. The locality takes its name from Mount Perry pastoral run which was named in 1857. Originally there were two private towns known as Fife-Barnett and the town of Tenningering. Tenningering was renamed Mount Perry on 14 January 1915. In 1869, copper was discovered at Mount Perry (approx 100 km west of

) and the township grew rapidly. A railway to the coast was essential to provide cheap transport and make the mining of low percentage ore viable. Maryborough and Bundaberg vied for the opportunity to be the terminus and the latter city was successful. The first section of the

Mount Perry railway line The Mount Perry Branch Railway is a closed railway line in Central Queensland, Australia. In 1869 copper was discovered at Mount Perry (approx 100 km west of Bundaberg) and the township grew rapidly. A railway to the coast was essenti ...

from

North Bundaberg railway station North Bundaberg railway station is a closed railway station at 28 Station Street, North Bundaberg, Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia. It is on the North Coast railway line and linked that line to the Mount Perry railway line. The station was ...

(originally called Bundaberg station) to Moolboolaman opened on 19 July 1881. Mount Perry Provisional School opened on 7 October 1871 in a "crude bark humpy" with 36 students under teacher Archibald Douglas of

Gayndah Gayndah () is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the North Burnett Region. In the , the locality of Gayndah had a population of 1,949 p ...

. It became Mount Perry State School on 9 February 1874. In the early 1900s, the school had several hundred students. On Saturday 1 April 1922, the teacher's residence was burned down, but a

bucket brigade A bucket brigade or human chain is a method for transporting items where items are passed from one (relatively stationary) person to the next. The method was important in firefighting before the advent of hand-pumped fire engines, whereby fire ...

was able to save the school building. In September 1954, a new school building opened on the school's current site. Mount Perry Post Office opened on 26 July 1871. It was known as Tenningering between 1882 and 1884. Mount Perry Wesleyan Methodist Church opened on Sunday 21 July 1872. It was built from timber at a cost of £220. It could seat 120 people. In 1919, it was relocated to become the Methodist Church in Woowoonga. In 1939, it was relocated to

Biggenden Biggenden is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Biggenden had a population of 788 people. Geography Biggenden is on the Isis Highway north ...

to be used as the Methodist church hall. St Patrick's Catholic Church was built in 1873. A Catholic day school opened at the church under teacher Miss Bertheau. A second St Patrick's Church was built in 1904 from timber on the site of the earlier church, which had sold for removal. The architect was F H Faircloth and the builder was John Guthrie. Although the church was to be opened on Sunday 12 February 1905 by

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Robert Dunne Robert Dunne may refer to: * Robert Dunne (bishop) (1830–1917), Irish-born bishop and archbishop in Australia * Robert J. Dunne (1899–1980), American football player and coach, and state court judge in Illinois * Robbie Dunne (born 1979), Iri ...

, he was unable to attend on the day and the church was officially opened by the local priest Father Mimnagh with over 400 people in attendance. Drummer's Creek Provisional School opened on 5 April 1880. On 1 January 1909, it became Drummer's Creek State School. It closed in 1959. It was at 1 School Lane (). Mount Perry was connected by the

from 1884 until 1960. St Anne's Anglican Church was built in 1903. It could seat 100 people. Mount Perry Presbyterian Church was opened on Wednesday 17 June 1908 by the Reverend Andrew Gillison. It has closed. It was at 11 Isabella Street (). As at April 2021, the church building was still extant and signed as the "Hilltop Chapel". The Salvation Army hall opened on Saturday 8 August 1908. Harpur's Hill Provisional School opened on 1908 and closed circa 1909. It reopened in 1917, becoming Harpur's Hill State School. In 1919, it had 11 students under teacher Miss E. Plumb. It closed permanently circa 1924. It was on a site on the western side of Homestead Road () and served a mining community.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 431 people. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 480 people. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 538 people. In the , the locality of Mount Perry had a population of 487 people.

Heritage listings

Mount Perry 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: * Mount Perry Copper Smelter, off Flora Street *Mount Perry Cemetery,Heusman Street * Mount Perry Masonic Lodge, Isabella Street * Mount Perry Powder Magazine, Sandy Camp Road (north of Magazine Road) * St Patricks Church, 18 Pearson Street

Economy

Mount Perry is a rural farming area, primarily for raising cattle. Gold mining continues as an important industry. Evolution Mining owns and operates Mt Rawdon Mine which is a gold and silver mine with annual community tours.

Education

Mount Perry State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 24 Annie Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 52 students with 7 teachers (5 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Mount Perry. The nearest government secondary schools are Gin Gin State High School in Gin Gin to the north-east and Burnett State College in

to the south. However, some parts of Mount Perry are too distant to attend these schools; the alternatives are

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

and boarding school.

Amenities

The North Burnett Regional Council operates a public library at 34 Heusman Street. The Mount Perry 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 73 Heusman Street. St Patrick's Catholic Church is at 18 Pearson Street (). St Anne's Anglican Church is at 99 Heusman Street (). There is a government-run health centre and a 9-hole golf course. There is a general store, petrol station and post office (with bank agency), motel and a hotel.

Attractions

Mount Perry has historic copper workings. Mount Perry has an art gallery and a bicentennial museum with active historic gold stamper (demonstrations on request). An section of the

Bicentennial National Trail The Bicentennial National Trail (BNT), originally known as the National Horse Trail, is one of the longest multi-use, non-motorised, self-reliant trails in the world, stretching 5,330 kilometres from Cooktown, Queensland, Cooktown, Queensland, ...

passes through the Mount Perry area and is ideal for walking, cycling or horse riding activities. There are two lookouts in Mount Perry: * Normanby Range Lookout at the end of Normanby Range Road () * Schuh's Lookout on the Monto Mount Perry Road ()

Events

The Mount Perry Race Club runs horse racing events.

Notable people

Florence Broadhurst Florence Maud Broadhurst (28 July 1899 – 15 October 1977) was an Australian painter, wallpaper and fabrics designer and vaudevillian singer, dancer and musician as well as a businesswoman, charity worker and teacher. Broadhurst was murdered ...

(1899 – 1977), Australian wallpaper and fabrics designer was born in Mount Perry * Constance Keys, World War I nurse, was born in Mount Perry *

George Martens George William Martens (9 September 1872 – 23 August 1949) was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1928 to 1946, representing the electorate of Herbert. Earl ...

, Member of the Australia House of Representatives, was born in Mount Perry *

Harold George Nelson Harold George "H. G." Nelson (21 December 1881 – 26 April 1947) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who was the first person to represent the Northern Territory in the House of Representatives. He arrived in the territory in 1914 ...

, Member of the Australian House of Representatives worked in Mount Perry

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Towns in Queensland North Burnett Region Localities in Queensland