Wulguru is an outer southern

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas. To the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock 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 , Wulguru had a population of 4,389 people.

Geography

The suburb is bounded to the west by the

Lavarack Barracks Lavarack Barracks is a major Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Ai ...

to the west, University Road (

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Natio ...

) to the north, the

Cluden Racecourse Cluden Racecourse is a heritage-listed racecourse at 1 Racecourse Road, Cluden, Queensland, Cluden, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Walter Howard Tunbridge and built in 1896 by Mr Reid. It was added to the Queensla ...

to the north-west, and by the North Coast railway line to the east. Townsville Connection Road runs through from south-east to north-east, and then along the north-eastern boundary. The suburb is mostly flat (approx above sea level) but in the south-west of the locality rises quickly to . There is a water tank at the high point of the suburb which offers views across Townsville. It is accessible by a walking track, off Diamantina Road ().

History

The name ''Wulguru'' comes from ''

Wulgurukaba The Manbarra, otherwise known as the Wulgurukaba, are Aboriginal Australian people, and the traditional custodians of the Palm Islands, Magnetic Island, and an area of mainland Queensland to the west of Townsville. The Manbarra people were forc ...

'', the language/group name of the Aboriginal people of the Cleveland Bay area. The Wulguru railway station () on the North Coast railway line has been abandoned. Wulguru State School opened on 30 January 1962.

Demographics

In the , Wulguru had a population of 4,570 people. In the , Wulguru had a population of 4,389 people.

Heritage listings

Wulguru 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: * Off Stuart Drive (formerly in

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

, ): former Operations and Signals Bunker

Education

Wulguru State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at Edison Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 302 students with 27 teachers (24 full-time equivalent) and 18 non-teaching staff (12 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. There are no secondary schools in Wulguru. The nearest government secondary school is William Ross State High School in neighbouring Annandale to the north-west; it is adjacent to the Southern Cross Catholic College.

Amenities

There are a number of parks in the area: * Edison Street Park () * Walguru Park () * Warrego Street Park () * Wulguru Park ()

World War 2 bunker

At the corner of Diamantina Street and Stuart Drive is a large block of land at the base of

Mount Stuart Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak (Washington), Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stua ...

. During

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 ...

, this was the site of No. 3 Fighter Sector RAAF including the Operations and Signals Bunker. Three Fighter Sector headquarters comprised 32 rooms in the large rectangular concrete building with Caneite partitions forming various passageways. The building still stands today and is . The mezzanine floor has long since disappeared. The bunker structure is listed in the

Queensland Heritage Register The Queensland Heritage Register is a heritage register, a statutory list of places in Queensland, Australia that are protected by Queensland legislation, the Queensland Heritage Act 1992. It is maintained by the Queensland Heritage Council. As ...

and encompasses the boundary of Diamantina Street, Stuart Drive and Hill Street.

References

External links

* * {{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville Queensland in World War II