Beerburrum, Queensland

Beerburrum is a small town and coastal locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census, Beerburrum had a population of 763 people.[1]

Beerburrum
Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Anzac Avenue (main street of Beerburrum) with its memorial avenue of trees, 2007
Beerburrum
Coordinates26.9588°S 152.9572°E / -26.9588; 152.9572 (Beerburrum (centre of town))
Population763 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density7.940/km2 (20.564/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4517
Area96.1 km2 (37.1 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Sunshine Coast Region
CountyCanning
ParishBeerwah
State electorate(s)Glass House
Federal Division(s)Fisher
Localities around Beerburrum:
Woodford Glass House Mountains Coochin Creek
Woodford Beerburrum Bribie Island North
Elimbah Donnybrook Welsby

Geography

The locality is 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Bruce Highway passes from south to north through the locality approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the town. The North Coast railway line also passes from south to north through the locality which is served by Beerburrum railway station on the eastern edge of the town.[4]

The locality is predominantly on the mainland but includes a number of undeveloped islands in the Pumicestone Passage between the mainland and Bribie Island. The named islands are Long Island (26°55′54″S 153°04′23″E) and Thooroola Island (known as Goat Island until 1981, 26°57′21″S 153°04′28″E).[4][5][6]

The eastern part of the locality is low-lying land with many creeks which drain into the Pumicestone Passage. The western party of the locality is higher hillier land and includes two of the Glass House Mountains: Mount Beerburrum and Mount Tibberoowuccum, both of which are protected within the Glass House Mountains National Park.

Beerburrum is a mountain (26.9558°S 152.9492°E / -26.9558; 152.9492 (Beerburrum (mountain))) which rises to 280 metres (920 ft) above sea level.[7][4] It is composed of porphyritic trachyte. The mountain has complex rainforest, with some endangered plant species such as Tindal's stringybark (Eucalyptus tindaliae), Pink bloodwood (Corymbia intermedia) and Smooth-barked apple (Angophora leiocarpa). Scribbly gum (Eucalyptus racemosa) is locally predominant in places, with the largest tract retained on Mount Beerburrum. The mountain has a forestry fire tower with a viewing platform at the summit.[8][9]

Mount Tibberoowuccum (26°55′47″S 152°55′58″E) is composed of alkali rhyolite. It is 220 metres (720 ft) high. The mountain is a dome-shaped rock surrounded by eucalypt open forest, as well as complex rainforest, although the area is not extensive. There is a small population of Narrow-leaf bitter-pea (Daviesia Mimosoides) present on the southern slope of the mountain. This shrub is widespread in Victoria and New South Wales, but rare in Queensland, and the Mount Tiberoocwuccum population is the most northerly known.[8][10]

History
Looking towards the railway station, Beerburrum, 1916
Soldiers farm, Beerburrum, 1918

The name is derived from that of the mountain Beerburrum. In the language of the Indigenous Kabi nation, bir means green parrot and burru mountain.[2]

On 26 July 1799, Matthew Flinders and two sailors from the ship Norfolk climbed Mount Beerburrum accompanied by Aboriginal man Bongaree from Sydney. They were the first Europeans to climb one of the Glass House Mountains.[11]

Thomas Martin Tripcony was one of the first European settlers to settle along the Pumicestone Passage (which separates the mainland from Bribie Island). In 1861 he selected coastal land on the mainland side of the passage between Hussey Creek (26°55′08″S 153°03′58″E) and Glass Mountain Creek (26°59′05″S 153°04′19″E) which he called Cowrie Bank.[12][13] He made his living by lime burning and oystering there and at a number of locations in the passage, but in 1876 settled permanently at Cowrie Bank, building a family home (also called Cowrie Bank) in 1877.[14][15]

The North Coast line from Caboolture to Landsborough (which included a siding at Beerburrum) was completed on 1 February 1890. This opened up access to the district for settlement.[16][17][18]

A cemetery was established at Beerburrum circa 1908. It was officially closed in 1970 with about 12 graves still visible.[19]

In 1916, Beerburrum was chosen to be a soldier settlement with over 550 farms allocated. Beerburrum Soldier Settlement was the largest soldier settlement in Queensland. The expectation was that hilly land would be suitable for growing pineapples and other fruits. However, by 1929, it was generally acknowledged that the scheme had failed (like many others), due to the farms being too small to be economically viable. This was compounded by shortages of skills, capital, and markets.[20]

Beerburrum Post Office opened by 1917 (a receiving office had been open from 1893).[21]

Beerburrum State School opened on 22 April 1918.[22]

In 1920, a memorial avenue of trees (camphor laurels and weeping figs) was planted in the town's main street to commemorate those who had served in World War I. The street was renamed Anzac Avenue.[23]

Circa 1920, the Beerburrum Bakery opened as part of a group of shops in Anzac Avenue. With the failure of the soldier settlement, most of the shops closed and the buildings relocated elsewhere. The bakery is the only surviving shop building from the settlement.[24]

A School of Arts hall was established circa 1920 in Anzac Avenue and remains one of the few buildings that survive from the settlement.[25]

On 4 February 1922, the Queensland Treasurer John Fihelly officiated at the opening of the cottage hospital at Beerburrum.[26] It closed in 1931 following the failure of the settlement.[27]

St George's Anglican Church was dedicated on 20 August 1922 by Canon D.J. Garland.[28][29] The building was originally built as a chapel at the Enoggera army barracks during World War I by the Soldiers' Church of England Help Society.[30] Many of the furnishings and ornaments in the Enoggera barracks church were donated in memory of soldiers who had died, including the altar and its furnishings which were donated in the member of Earl Kitchener.[31] Due to the failure of the soldier settlement, the church fell into disuse. It was officially closed in August 1931, after which the church was moved to Maleny, where it was dedicated to St George on 6 September 1931 by Archbishop Sharp.[29]

After World War II, pine plantations were developed in the area as state forests creating a local forestry industry. Circa 1947 a Forestry Station Barracks was built to accommodate forestry workers.[32]

The Bruce Highway originally passed along the western boundary of the town (later known as Old Bruce Highway and now as Beerburrum Road). In the early 1970s, the town was bypassed to its immediate east in the early 1970s, and that road (called Glasshouse Mountains Road and now Steve Irwin Way) was itself superseded by the current alignment of the highway further to the east in 1985.

At the 2006 census, Beerburrum had a population of 287.[33] At the 2011 census, Beerburrum had a population of 600.[34]

Heritage listing

Beerburrum has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Education
Beerburrum State School, 1918

Beerburrum State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 8 Beerburrum Road (26.9569°S 152.9572°E / -26.9569; 152.9572 (Beerburrum State School)).[36][37] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 92 students with 11 teachers (7 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).[38]

Amenities

The Sunshine Coast Regional Council operates a mobile library service which visits the school on Beerburrum Road.[39]

Transport

The Beerburrum railway station is on the North Coast railway line, a coastal route connecting from Brisbane through to Cairns.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Beerburrum (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Beerburrum – town in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 2083)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  3. "Beerburrum – locality in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 48520)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  5. "Long Island – island in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 20000)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  6. "Thooloora Island – island in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 34294)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  7. "Beerburrum – mountain in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 2082)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  8. "Glass House Mountains National Park and Beerburrum Forest Reserve 1 (entry 602494)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. "Beerburrum – mountain in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 2082)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  10. "Tibberoowuccum – mountain in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 34497)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  11. "Sunshine Coast timeline". Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  12. "Hussey Creek – watercourse in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 16525)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  13. "Glass Mountain Creek – watercourse in the Sunshine Coast Region (entry 13890)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  14. "Cowriebank Site" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  15. Unknown (1892), Tripcony's Cowie Bank homestead, ca 1892, retrieved 21 April 2019
  16. Kerr, John (1990). Triumph of narrow gauge : a history of Queensland Railways. Boolarong Publications. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-86439-102-5.
  17. "RAILWAYS". The Brisbane Courier. XLVI (9, 994). Queensland, Australia. 25 January 1890. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. "CABOOLTURE". The Brisbane Courier. XLV (9, 687). Queensland, Australia. 31 January 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "Beerburrum Cemetery" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  20. "Beerburrum". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  21. Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  22. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  23. "Anzac Avenue Memorial Trees (entry 602678)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  24. "Beerburrum Bakery" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  25. "Beerburrum School of Arts Hall" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  26. "FINE INVESTMENT". Queensland Times. LXIII (11, 207). Queensland, Australia. 6 February 1922. p. 5 (DAILY.). Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  27. "FINANCE IMPERATIVE". Nambour Chronicle And North Coast Advertiser. XXVII (1394). Queensland, Australia. 20 February 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  28. "ANGLICAN CHURCH AT BEERBURRUM". Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). 23 August 1922. p. 6. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  29. Anglican Records and Archives Centre of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches - Beerburrum". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  30. "WAR-TIME CHURCH". The Telegraph (18, 333). Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1931. p. 11 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 21 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.Download
  31. "HISTORIC CHURCH". The Brisbane Courier (22, 968). Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1931. p. 15. Retrieved 21 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  32. "Beerburrum Forestry Station Barracks" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  33. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Beerburrum (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  34. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Beerburrum". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  35. "Campbellville Settlement and Cemetery" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Region Heritage Register. Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  36. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  37. "Beerburrum State School". Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  38. "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  39. "Libraries: Mobile timetable". Sunshine Coast Regional Council. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

Attribution

This Wikipedia article incorporates text from "The Queensland heritage register" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 7 July 2014, archived on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were computed from the "Queensland heritage register boundaries" published by the State of Queensland under CC-BY 3.0 AU licence (accessed on 5 September 2014, archived on 15 October 2014).

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