Crows Nest 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. The town is located in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

on the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, Queensland, Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland, at its northern end to Hexham, New South Wales, Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales, Newcastle, New South Wales, ...

, from the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

and from the nearby 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 Crows Nest had a population of 2,212 people.

Geography

east of the town is the

Crows Nest National Park Crows Nest National Park is a national park on the edge of the Darling Downs of southern Queensland, Australia. It is divided into a number of sections which are located in both Crows Nest and Grapetree, 40 km west of Esk in the South Eas ...

History

Jarowair (also known as Yarowair, Yarow-wair, Barrunggam, Yarrowair, Yarowwair and Yarrow-weir) is one of the languages of the

region. The Jarowair language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the

Toowoomba Regional Council The Toowoomba Region is a 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 government authorities with histo ...

, particularly

north to Crows Nest and west to

Oakey Oakey is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. The Oakey Army Aviation Centre, Museum of Army Aviation is located at Oakey Airport. In the , the locality of Oakey had a pop ...

. The origin of the name is uncertain. One claim is that it was named after an Aboriginal man, Jimmy Crow, who gave directions to early European settlers. He lived in a big hollow tree near the police station, which became known as ''Crows Nest''. It became a popular overnight camp for the bullock teams hauling timber, which in turn attracted farmers and settlers. Another claim is that the name derives from the indigenous name for the area ''Tookoogandanna'', meaning "the home of crows". Some researchers acknowledge there are many possible origins of the name. A pastoral station raising sheep was established in 1849. In 1875, large sections of the pastoral station were offered for

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strat ...

. Crows Nest was declared a town in 1876. The town was originally centred around Albert Street and South Street (approx ). The construction of Crow's Nest Provisional School was completed on 2 February 1877. Provided by the local community, the building was with a shingle roof and veranda. The school opened on 12 March 1877. On 25 October 1880, it became Crows Nest State School. It was on a site on the western side of Dale Street (now Dale Street South, approx ). Crows Nest Post Office opened on 1 July 1878. In December 1880, the Primitive Methodist Church purchased of land for a church. The church opened on Easter Sunday on 17 April 1881. On Sunday 31 December 1905, a new Crows Nest Methodist Church was officially opened by Reverend Henry Youngman, replacing the 1880 church. The 1905 church was with two classrooms at the rear, each . The land cost £160 and the building £360, a total of £520. In 1956, the church was remodelled. After the Methodist Church amalgamated into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Crows Nest District Uniting Church. The Crows Nest branch railway line from Toowoomba was completed in 1886. It was built to service a number of sawmills and the dairying district. The terminus was at Crows Nest railway station, just north of Curnow Street where Community Place and the swimming pool are today (approx ). Due to the importance of a railway station for a rural community, the area around it soon became regarded as the town centre. The railway closed in the early 1960s. Jim Crow statue Crows Nest Centenary Park

Jim Crow statue Crows Nest Centenary Park

In 1913, the

Shire of Crows Nest The Shire of Crows Nest was a local government area in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, immediately northeast of the regional city of Toowoomba. The shire, administered from the town of Crows Nest, covered an area of , and exi ...

was formed with the town becoming the administrative centre for the new local government area. The shire expanded in 1949 and was merged into the Toowoomba Region local government area in 2008. On 15 July 1917, St Matthew's Catholic Primary School opened on the eastern side Esk Street (approx ). It has subsequently closed and the site is now vacant land. Recognising the town's shift northwards towards the railway station, in 1947, a new site was reserved on the western side of Littleton Street for a new school which would incorporate a secondary department. However, approval to build the new school was delayed until 1958. As the new school was not completed, the secondary department opened in 1959 in the Church of England Parish Hall. In late 1959, the new school was opened. On Saturday 7 April 1951,

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 ...

Reginald Halse Sir Reginald Charles Halse KBE CMG (16 June 1881 – 9 August 1962) was the Bishop of Riverina from 1925 to 1943 and then Archbishop of Brisbane until his death in 1962. Halse was educated at St Paul's School, London and Brasenose College, O ...

dedicated a new Anglican church in Crows Nest, built from concrete blocks. In 2019 the Anglican parish of Crows Nest entered in a partnership with St David's Anglican Church in Chelmer,

, to share their ministry through a combination of services at the various churches combined with online services from St David's, as an experiment in how the Anglican Church might operate in the future. In the 1950s and 60s the town's population declined, together with the local industries. A 6-foot 6-inch high statue of Jimmy Crow was unveiled in the Centenary Park at Crows Nest on 12 July 1969 by Minister for Labour and Tourism, John Herbert. The statue was sculpted by

Fred Gardiner Frederick Goldwin Gardiner, (January 21, 1895 – August 21, 1983) was a Canadian politician, lawyer and businessman. He was the first chairman of Metropolitan Toronto council, the governing body for the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, ...

of the Tia Art Gallery. The statue was cut from a single block of Helidon freestone and weighs over one ton. An 18-foot high hollow tree stump was also moved to Centenary Park and a fig tree was planted on top so the roots could be trained around it to form a living hollow tree. It is believed to be the only memorial in Australia to an Aboriginal person after whom a town was named.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Crows Nest had a population of 2160 people. In the , the locality of Crows Nest had a population of 2,212 people.

Heritage listings

Crows Nest 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: * 19 Curnow Street: Crows Nest Post Office

Education

Crow's Nest State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-10) school for boys and girls at 1 Littleton Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 323 students with 32 teachers (28 full-time equivalent) and 20 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

program. The nearest government school providing secondary education to Year 12 is Highfields State Secondary College in Highfields to the south-west.

Amenities

Town facilities include a large pavilion for sports activities and other functions, showgrounds and a heated swimming pool. The John French V.C. Memorial Library is open Monday to Saturday; the name commemorating Jack French, a local man who was killed in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was awarded the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

for his valour in the face of the enemy. The library is located on the corner of William Street and the New England Highway and is operated by the

. The current library facility opened in 1996 with a major refurbishment in 2014. Crows Nest Regional Art Gallery is located in the same building as the Crows Nest Library, and is also used to showcase local talent. The Crows Nest 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 at 7 Thallon Street (). St George's Anglican Church is at 13 Thallon Street (). St Matthew's Catholic Church is at 20 Creek Street (). Crows Nest District Uniting Church is at 17-19 Emu Creek Road (). New Hope Church is at 9 Emu Creek Road (). The church is affiliated with the

Australian Christian Churches The Australian Christian Churches (ACC), formerly Assemblies of God in Australia, is a network of Finished Work Pentecostal churches in Australia affiliated with the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, which is the largest Pentecostal denomina ...

Notable residents

* Jack French, recipient of the

References

External links

Crows Nest: Queensland PlacesCrows Nest Pioneer wallThe Crow Call community newsgroup
{{Authority control Toowoomba Region Towns in Queensland Towns in the Darling Downs Populated places established in 1876 1876 establishments in Australia Localities in Queensland