Wondai () 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

South Burnett Region The South Burnett Region is a local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. In the , the South Burnett Region had a population of 32,996 people. Geography The South Burnett Region covers an area , containing a ...

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 Wondai had a population of 1,975 people.

Geography

Wondai is located to the south of the

Bunya Highway The Bunya Highway is a state highway of Queensland, Australia. It is a relatively short road, running approximately 173 kilometres in a south-westerly direction from Goomeri to Dalby. The highway connects the Warrego and Burnett Highways. ...

, north west of 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 ...

History

The name ''Wondai'' is believed to be an aboriginal word from the Wakawaka language derived from either meaning ''

dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

'' (a native dog) or meaning ''

nape of the neck The nape is the back of the neck. In technical anatomical/medical terminology, the nape is also called the nucha (from the Medieval Latin rendering of the Arabic , ). The corresponding adjective is ''nuchal'', as in the term ''nuchal rigidity'' ...

''. Wondai was first settled in the 1850s and closer settlement took place in the early 1900s. Wondai Provisional School opened on 2 May 1905. On 1 January 1909, it became Wondai State School. A secondary department was added in 1964. Wondai Methodist Church opened on Sunday 4 October 1908, being replaced by the current church building on 9 August 1914. When the Methodist Church amalgamated into the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

in 1977, it became Wondai Uniting Church. In December 1912, a Baptist church opened in Wondai. St Mary's Anglican Church was dedicated on Thursday 21 September 1939 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 ...

William Wand John William Charles Wand, (25 January 1885 – 16 August 1977) was an English Anglican bishop. He was the Archbishop of Brisbane in Australia before returning to England to become the Bishop of Bath and Wells and, later, Bishop of London. ...

. It replaced an earlier church. Wondai Presbyterian Church opened in 1941. St John-Trinity Lutheran Church was built from timber in 1950. In 1964, St John's Lutheran Church in Mondure was relocated to Wondai to become the church hall for St John-Trinity Lutheran church. On Sunday 31 January 1954,

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- ...

opened the St John the Baptist Primary Catholic School in Wondai. It was operated the

Presentation Sisters The Presentation Sisters, officially the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are a religious institute of Roman Catholic women founded in Cork, Ireland, by Honora "Nano" Nagle in 1775. The sisters of the congregation use th ...

who already operated a convent school in

Murgon Murgon () is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Murgon had a population of 2,220 people. Geography Murgon is in the region of Queensland ...

. The school was always small with only two or three teachers serving there. In January 1968 it was decided that the two teachers should travel by car from the Murgon convent each day rather than operate a separate convent in Wondai. With student numbers falling below 30 and the Murgon Catholic School being only away, the St John's school closed at the end of 1969.

Demographics

In the , the town of Wondai had a population of 1,402 people. In the , the locality of Wondai had a population of 2,127 people. In the , the locality of Wondai had a population of 1,973 people. In the , the locality of Wondai had a population of 1,975 people.

Heritage listings

Wondai 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: * Mundubbera–Durong Road, Boondooma: Boondooma Homestead

Economy

Important industries include beef, dairy, grains and

duboisia :''The orchid genus described by Karsten as ''Duboisia'' is now included in '' Myoxanthus. For the prehistoric antelope genus, see '' Duboisia (antelope).'' ''Duboisia'' (commonly called corkwood tree) is a genus of small perennial shrubs and tr ...

, used in the production of the

antispasmodic An antispasmodic (synonym: spasmolytic) is a pharmaceutical drug or other agent that suppresses muscle spasms. Smooth muscle spasm One type of antispasmodics is used for smooth muscle relaxation, especially in tubular organs of the gastrointestina ...

drug

butylscopolamine Hyoscine butylbromide, also known as scopolamine butylbromide and sold under the brandname Buscopan among others, is an anticholinergic medication used to treat abdominal pain, esophageal spasms, bladder spasms, biliary colic, and renal coli ...

. Growing in importance is the

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

industry.

Education

Wondai State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep–9) school for boys and girls at 32 Kent Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 162 students with 20 teachers (18 full-time equivalent) and 17 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. For secondary education to Year 12, the nearest schools are Murgon State High School in

to the north-west or Kingaroy State High School in

Kingaroy Kingaroy () is a rural town and suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the Road Junction, junction of the D'Aguilar Highway, D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highway, Buny ...

to the south.

Amenities

The

South Burnett Regional Council The South Burnett Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the South Burnett district of Queensland, Australia. In the , the South Burnett Region had a population of 32,996 people. Geography The South Burnett Regio ...

operates a library in Wondai. The Wondai library building opened in 1962 and is located at 78 Mackenzie Street. The Wondai 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 86 McKenzie Street. St Mary's Anglican Church is at 32 Baynes Street (). St John the Baptist Catholic Church is at 52-54 Bramston Street (). Wondai Uniting Church (formerly Wondai Methodist Church) is at 56 Pring Street. Wondai Baptist Church is at 48 Cadell Street. St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is at 38 Pring Street. St John-Trinity Lutheran Church is at 37 Edward Street ().

Attractions

Wondai Heritage Museum is at 80 Mackenzie Street ().

Notable residents

Notable people from Wondai include *

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

Test cricket Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...

ers

Carl Rackemann Carl Gray Rackemann (born 3 June 1960) is a former Queensland and Australian cricketer. He was a fast bowler in 12 Test matches, 52 One Day Internationals and 167 first-class cricket matches in a career spanning 1979/80 to 1995/96. Inter ...

and

Nathan Hauritz Nathan Michael Hauritz (; born 18 October 1981) is a former Australian cricketer who has represented Australia in Tests, One-dayers and Twenty20 Internationals. He is mainly noted for his off spin bowling. He was a part of the Australian squ ...

. *

Country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist/comedian

Chad Morgan Chadwick William Morgan (11 February 1933 – 1 January 2025) was an Australian country music singer and guitarist known for his vaudeville style of comic country and western and folk songs, his prominent teeth and goofy stage persona. In refe ...

Comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

and

Australian Greens The Australian Greens, commonly referred to simply as the Greens, are a Left-wing politics, left-wing green party, green Australian List of political parties in Australia, political party. As of 2025, the Greens are the third largest politica ...

candidate for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, Mandy Nolan Wondai was also home to the legendary pacer Wondai's Mate.

References

External links

* *
SMH Travel article
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland South Burnett Region