South Johnstone 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

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...

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 South Johnstone had a population of 456 people.

Geography

South Johnstone is in

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stret ...

, approximately south-west of Innisfail.

History

South Johnstone Sugar Mill opened in 1915. South Johnstone State School was opened on 5 June 1916. The school celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. St Rita's Catholic School was established on 1 February 1932 by the

Sisters of the Good Samaritan The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, colloquially known as the "Good Sams", is a Roman Catholic congregation of religious women commenced by Bede Polding, OSB, Australia’s first Catholic bishop, in Sydney in 1857. The congrega ...

. The South Johnstone parish of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns is located in the state of Queensland, Australia. It is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Brisbane. The diocese was erected as a vicariate apostolic in 1877 and was elevated to a diocese in 1941. It ...

was established in 1947. It is now merged with the Innisfail and Mourilyian parishes. St Saviour's Anglican Church was designed by Arthur Brown and constructed by local builder Mose Romano using masonry in 1939. It was officially opened on Sunday 2 September 1939 by

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

John Feetham. It was at 26 Hynes Street () and has now closed. The town was originally called Basilisk until 1954, when it was officially renamed South Johnstone after the

South Johnstone River The Johnstone River, comprising the North Johnstone River and the South Johnstone River, is a river system in Far North Queensland, Far North and North Queensland, Australia. The headwaters of the river system rise in the Atherton Tableland ...

. The river was named by

George Elphinstone Dalrymple George Augustus Frederick Elphinstone Dalrymple (6 May 1826 – 22 January 1876) was a colonist, explorer, public servant and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He founded the towns of Bowen and Cardwell, and pionee ...

in honour of Robert Johnstone who accompanied him on an expedition in 1873. The name Basilisk is now used for a nearby locality. St Rita's Roman Catholic Church was built from brick in 1970.

Demographics

In the , the town of South Johnstone had a population of 411 people. In the , the locality of South Johnstone had a population of 413 people. In the , the locality of South Johnstone had a population of 456 people.

Heritage listings

South Johnstone 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: * 26 Hynes Street: St Saviour's Anglican Church

Economy

South Johnstone Sugar Mill is operated by MSF Sugar. It is on Innisfail Japoon Road ().

Education

South Johnstone State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at East Avenue (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 31 students with 3 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). St Rita's School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 8 Green Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 117 students with 15 teachers (10 full-time equivalent) and 13 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in South Johnstone. The nearest government secondary school is

Innisfail State College Innisfail State College is a government secondary school and technical college in Innisfail Estate, a suburb of Innisfail, Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is a combined secondary school and TAFE facility which opened in 2010 ...

in East Innisfail.

Amenities

St Rita's Catholic Church is at 5 Green Street (). It is within the Innisfail Parish of the

. South Johnsone has a number of facilities: * South Johnstone Post Office (). * South Johnstone Police Station () * South Johnstone Ambulance Station()

References

External links

* * {{authority control Towns in Queensland Cassowary Coast Region Localities in Queensland