Paget is a coastal

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

of Mackay in the

Mackay Region The Mackay Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by three previous local government areas with modern histories extending back as far as 1869. It has an estimat ...

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 , Paget had a population of 339 people.

Geography

Paget is bounded to the east by the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, to the west by the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...

, and to the south by Bakers Creek. The suburb is principally used for industrial purposes. The North Coast railway line passes from south to north through the suburb with the Mackay railway station located in Paget (). The land is flat and low-lying (below 10 metres above sea level). The western part of the suburb is principally used for industrial purposes where there is good road and rail access while the eastern oceanside part of the suburb is much less developed. Paget Junction railway station to the north of Mackay railway station () was the junction of the North Coast railway line with the now-closed Mackay railway line. The Bakers Creek Conservation Park occupies the south-east headland created by Bakers Creek entering into the Coral Sea. It is a protected area due to the need to preserve the shorebird habitat consisting of intertidal zones and mangroves; it has been declared a nationally important area for shorebirds. It has a population of the vulnerable species ''Eracus neglectus'' (beach stone-curlew). It is considered of internationally significant for migrating shorebirds such as the '' Charadrius mongolus (''lesser sand plover), '' Numenius madagascariensis (''eastern curlew), '' Calidris tenuirostris'' (great knot) and '' Haematopus fuliginosus'' (sooty oystercatcher).

History

Walter Trueman Paget - Queensland Politician

The suburb takes its name from the Paget Junction railway station, which, in turn, was named by

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Queensland Rail is owned by the Queensland Government, and operates both suburban and interurban rail services in South East Queensland, as well as long-distance passenger t ...

on 30 October 1913, in honour of politician Walter Trueman Paget who was the Secretary for Railways 1908 to 1915. In 1943, Paget Junction was shortened to Paget. Mackay Ambulance Station was at on the corner of Alfred Street and Sydney Street in the Mackay CBD until 2006, when it was relocated to Paget.

Demographics

In the , Paget had a population of 273 people. In the , Paget had a population of 339 people.

Education

There are no schools in Paget. The nearest government primary schools are Mackay West State School in neighbouring West Mackay to the north and Dundula State School in neighbouring Bakers Creek to the south.

Facilities

Mackay Ambulance Station is at 3 Transport Avenue (). Paget Waste Transfer Station & Recycling Centre is at 42 Crichtons Rd (). Paget Telephone Exchange is at 89 Broadsound Road ().

Amenities

Leprechaun Park is a sports centre at 435 Milton Street (). It is the home ground for Mackay's Brothers Rugby League Club.

References

{{Mackay Region Suburbs of Mackay, Queensland