Muirlea is a rural

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

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area (LGA) located within the southwest of Greater Brisbane, which in turn, is situated within the vast South East region of the state of Queensland. Positioned between the City of Brisbane and the Ci ...

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 , Muirlea had a population of 174 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the west by the

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail The Brisbane Valley Rail Trail (BVRT) is a recreation trail from Wulkuraka, Queensland, Wulkuraka in the City of Ipswich, via the Somerset Region to Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman in the Toowoomba Region, all within Queensland, Australia. The ...

(the former

Brisbane Valley railway line The Brisbane Valley railway line was a railway connection in Queensland, Australia connecting Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, west of Brisbane, to the upper Brisbane River valley. Progressively opened between 1884 and 1913, the railway provided ...

), to the north-east by 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 ...

, and to the south by the

Warrego Highway The Warrego Highway is located in southern Queensland, Australia. It connects coastal centres to the south western areas of the state, and is approximately 715 km in length. It takes its name from the Warrego River, which is the endpoint ...

. The land use is a mixture of rural residential housing, nature reserves, 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.

History

The district was originally part of Brassall. It takes its present name from its former railway station, which in turn was named in June 1884, coined from the surname of local landowners John Muir and Andrew Muir with ''lea'' meaning ''pasture''. The first section of the Brisbane Valley railway line opened was from Wulkuraka to

Lowood Lowood is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Somerset Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Lowood had a population of 4,082 people. Geography The town is on the Brisbane River, west of th ...

on 16 June 1884, including Muirlea railway station (). In January 1902, the railway station was severely damaged in a storm, losing its roof. In June 1902, a 2-year-old child wandered onto the railway tracks. The driver of the approaching train managed to stop the train from the child. In June 1918, two trains collided at the railway station. As the collision occurred at low speed, nobody was injured. In September 1920, a fire at the railway station destroyed the office and its contents. In December 1949, a fire destroyed the railway station master's house, which was unoccupied at the time. The railway closed in 1993. All that remains of the Muirlea railway station is its sign. In 2013,

fire ant Fire ants are several species of ants in the genus ''Solenopsis'', which includes over 200 species. ''Solenopsis'' are stinging ants, and most of their common names reflect this, for example, ginger ants and tropical fire ants. Many of the nam ...

s were found in the suburb.

Demographics

In the , Muirlea had a population of 190 people. In the , Muirlea had a population of 174 people.

Education

There are no schools in Muirlea. The nearest government primary school is Brassall State School in neighbouring Brassall to the south. The nearest government secondary school is

Ipswich State High School Ipswich State High School is a state secondary school in the suburb of Brassall, Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, established in 1963, On the site of the original Brassall State High School. Simon Riley is the current principal since 2005. The b ...

, also in Brassall to the south.

Amenities

There are a number of parks in the area (from north to south): * Kholo Bridge Reserve provides access to the Brisbane River for swimming and canoeing at the northern end of Kholo Road () * Kholo Gardens is a botanical garden at 243 Riverside Drive () * Hillview Drive Reserve is suitable for bushwalking ()

References

{{Ipswich City City of Ipswich Localities in Queensland