Peak Crossing is a rural

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 subdivis ...

split between the

City of Ipswich The City of Ipswich is a local government area in Queensland, Australia, located within the southwest of the Brisbane metropolitan area, including the urban area surrounding the city of Ipswich and surrounding rural areas. Geography The Ci ...

and the

Scenic Rim Region The Scenic Rim Region is a local government area in West Moreton region of South East Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and b ...

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 , Peak Crossing had a population of 965 people.

Geography

Peak Crossing is located south of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

. The town is surrounded by farming land, mostly small cropping. The western boundary is marked by the east branch of Warrill Creek, a tributary of the Bremer River. Just upstream from where the road joining Peak Crossing with Mutdapilly crosses Warrill Creek is the Churchbank Weir. The eastern parts of Peak Crossing are dominated by the naturally vegetated central peaks of the

Flinders Peak Group The Flinders Peak Group is an unnamed range of hills located on the northern edge of the Scenic Rim Region, south west of Logan City and south east of the City of Ipswich in South East Queensland, Australia. The summit in the Range is Flinder ...

. These include Mount Goolman, Ivorys Rock (Muntambin), Mount Blaine and

Flinders Peak Flinders Peak () is a conspicuous triangular peak, high, on the west end of the Bristly Peaks. The peak overlooks Forster Ice Piedmont near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was photographed from the air by the British Graham Land ...

. Also located here is the Flinders Peak Conservation Park and sections of the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate. These parks are used for bushwalking, horse riding, mountain bike riding and camping.

Ipswich – Boonah Road Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the River mouth, mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. I ...

(State Route 93) runs through from north to south.

History

The name ''Peak Crossing '' refers to a mountain and a once important road crossing of Purga Creek. The mountain Flinders Peak is to the east of the township, named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The road crossing is the intersection of the Ipswich-Boonah Road and the Old Warwick Road (which connected Ipswich to the local towns Boonah and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

respectively), which is adjacent to Purga Creek. Today, these roads are of less importance as the

Cunningham Highway The Cunningham Highway is a national highway located in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of via Cunninghams Gap. The Cunningham carries the National Highway 15 shie ...

(approx west of Peak Crossing) carries most of the traffic to these destinations. Purga Creek No 2 School opened on 4 September 1871. It was renamed Peak Mountain State School before 1875. In the late 1920s it was renamed Peak Crossing State School. The

Fassifern railway line The Dugandan railway line was a branch railway in the Scenic Rim region of South East Queensland, Australia. It was also known as the Fassifern railway line. It operated from 1882 to 1964. Geography The line began west of Ipswich station on ...

(Queensland's first branch railway line) opened from

to Harrisville on 10 July 1882. Hillside railway station (), Rocktown railway station () and Peak Crossing railway station (), all on the Ipswich Boonah Road, serve the areas north of Purga Creek. Flinders railway station on Flinders Road () serves the area south of Purga Creek. On 12 September 1887, the line was extended from Harrisville to Dugundan. The line closed in June 1964. Peak Crossing Post Office opened on 2 January 1886 (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 ...

had been open from 1885. In October 1872, tenders were called to construct a Congregational Church near Peak Mountain. In 1929, a new church was erected by local builders Walter Florence and Charlie Meier. The former church building was sold and relocated to Rosevale to replace the

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

church which was burned down there in 1928. In 1977, the Congregational Church amalgamated into the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

. As at 2020, it is known as Flinders Uniting Church. In 1882, the first Catholic church in the Boonah Parish was erected at Peak Crossing and dedicated to St Patrick. George McDonald donated of land and the church was built by James Madden of Ipswich. The church was with high walls and a high roof. It had a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

door at the front and each of the two sides of the building had 4 Gothic windows. It was officially opened and blessed on Sunday 10 December 1882 by parish priest of

, Father Andrew Horan. It had been arranged that

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Robert Dunne Robert Dunne (5 September 1830 – 13 January 1917) was the second Roman Catholic bishop of Brisbane and later he became its first archbishop. Dunne was born in Ardfinnan, County Tipperary, Ireland and was educated at Lismore Grammar School ...

would officiate but he did not attend on the day. The ceremony attracted a large attendance from local people as well as approximately 400 people who came from Ipswich on a train specially organised for the event. It was not possible to accommodate everyone within the church for the ceremony. In November 1911, St Patrick's Catholic Church was struck by a cyclone and badly damaged. While temporary repairs were carried it, it was discovered that the timber of church had been damaged by

white ants Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattod ...

. A decision was made to build a new church and St James's Catholic Church was officially opened on 6 September 1914 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 ...

James Duhig Sir James Duhig KCMG (2 September 187110 April 1965) was an Irish-born Australian Roman Catholic religious leader. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane for 48 years from 1917 until his death in 1965. At the time of his death he was the longest-s ...

. As at 2020, the church is now known as St John's Catholic Church at 30 Fassifern Street (). On 3 November 1924, a meeting of residents was held at the school to propose the erection of a public hall. In 1925 a piece of land approx was purchased from Wilhelm Althaus for £20. Mr Wyman was the architect for a fee of £6/2/9 and the builder was A. F. Schelbach for £525/5/9. The hall was officially opened on Friday 20 August 1926 by Ernest Bell, the local Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

for Fassifern. In the , Peak Crossing had a population of 768 people. In the , Peak Crossing had a population of 965 people. On

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

, 11 November, 2018, the new Peak Crossing ANZAC Memorial was officially dedicated.

Heritage listings

Peak Crossing has the following heritage-listed sites: * 33-35 Fassifern Street (): Peak Crossing Public Hall *93 Flinders Street (): Flinders Uniting Church

Education

Peak Crossing State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Ipswich-Boonah Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 215 students with 22 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).

Amenities

The Peak Mountain View Park on Ipswich Boonah Road () is provided by the Scenic Rim Regional Council. It features open space with play equipment, electric BBQs, picnic shelters as well as public toilets and off-street car parking. The Peak Crossing ANZAC memorial is within the park. The Scenic Rim Regional Council operates a

mobile library A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...

service which visits the Peak Mountain View Park. The Peak Crossing 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 in the Peak Crossing Public Hall.

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Queensland Scenic Rim Region Localities in Queensland City of Ipswich