Pilton 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

Toowoomba Region The Toowoomba Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area (LGA) on the border of Darling Downs and South East Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, the LGA was preceded by several other local go ...

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. It is south of the city of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

. In the , the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people.

Geography

The terrain in the north and south of the locality is more mountainous and is predominantly used for grazing on native vegetation. The terrain from the south-east to the north-west is within a valley through which Kings Creek flows from Upper Pilton through to

Manapouri Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern ...

Ascot Ascot, Ascott or Askot may refer to: Places Australia * Ascot, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane * Ascot, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a locality * Ascot Park, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide * Ascot (Ballarat), town near Ballarat in Victoria ...

and is ultimately a tributary of the

Condamine River The Condamine River, part of the Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 kilometres (3 ...

, part of the Murray-Darling basin. The valley is used for cropping. 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) also passes through the locality from the south-west (

Headington Hill Headington Hill is a hill in the east of Oxford, England, in the suburb of Headington. The Headington Road goes up the hill leading out of the city. There are good views of the spires of Oxford from the hill, especially from the top of South Par ...

) to the north-west ( Hirstglen).

History

Pilton is named after a pastoral run which was excised from Clifton pastoral station in the 1840s. The run was leased by Philip Pinnock, John Gammie, Joseph King and Joshua J. Whitting rom 1851-9 It might have been named after Pilton,

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England, an

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

name with ''Pil'' meaning ''creek'' and ''ton'' meaning an ''enclosed homestead''. Pilton Post Office opened on 27 March 1878 (though 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 ...

for some years) and closed in 1977. Pilton Provisional School opened in February 1884. It closed in 1908. Pilton State School opened on 3 November 1913.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Pilton had a population of 209 people, living in 74 inhabited dwellings. The median age of the population was 41 years, and the median weekly household income was $866. In the , the locality of Pilton had a population of 88 people. In the , the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people.

Education

Pilton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 24 Pilton Valley Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 29 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 18 students with 2 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary school in Pilton; the nearest government secondary school is Clifton State High School in Clifton to the south-west.

Attractions

The

Darling Downs Zoo Darling Downs Zoo is a zoo situated in Pilton, Queensland, Australia. The zoo is divided into four separate geographical areas featuring animals mostly from Africa, South America, South-East Asia and Australia. History The zoo was closed from ...

is in the south-west corner of the locality.

Geography

History

Demographics

Education

Attractions

References

Further reading