Geham
Geham is a small rural community in the Toowoomba Region, Australia. At the 2016 Australian Census, Geham recorded a population of 489; the New England Highway passes through Geham. The northwest boundary is aligned with Cooby Creek; the city marks the northern boundary of the oceanic climate at altitude in Australia, although most of Geham has a humid subtropical climate to the south towards Cabarlah has the first type found such as Geham State School. A Highfields Post Office opened on 1 January 1868 and was renamed Geham in 1876. Geham has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: New England Highway: Argyle Homestead Media related to Geham, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, descended from groups that existed in Australia and surrounding islands before British colonisation. The time of arrival of the first Indigenous Australians is a matter of debate among researchers; the earliest conclusively human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, which have been dated to around 50,000 years BP. Recent archaeological evidence from the analysis of charcoal and artefacts revealing human use suggests a date as early as 65,000 BP. Luminescence dating has suggested habitation in Arnhem Land as far back as 60,000 years BP. Genetic research has inferred a date of habitation as early as 80,000 years BP. Other estimates have ranged up to 100,000 years and 125,000 years BP. Although there are a number of commonalities between Indigenous Aboriginal Australians, there is a great diversity among different Indigenous communities and societies in Australia, each with its own mixture of cultures and languages.
In present-day Australia these groups are further divided into local communities. At the time of initial European settlement, over 250 languages were spoken. Aboriginal people today speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English; the population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement is contentious and has been estimated at between 318,000 and 1,000,000 with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River. A population collapse principally from disease followed European settlement beginning with a smallpox epidemic spreading three years after the arrival of Europeans. Massacres and war by British settlers contributed to depopulation; the characterisation of this violence as genocide is controversial and disputed. Since 1995, the Australian Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag have been among the official flags of Australia.
The word aboriginal has been in the English language since at least the 16th century to mean, "first or earliest known, indigenous". It comes from the Latin word aborigines, derived from origo; the word was used in Australia to describe its indigenous peoples as early as 1789. It soon became employed as the common name to refer to all Indigenous Australians. While the term Indigenous Australians, has grown since the 1980s to be more inclusive of Torres Strait Islander people, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples dislike it, feeling that it is too generic and removes their identity. Being more specific, for example naming the language group, is considered best practice and most respectful. Terms that are considered disrespectful include Aborigine and ATSI The broad term Aboriginal Australians includes many regional groups that identify under names from local Indigenous languages; these include: Murrawarri people -- see Murawari language. Anindilyakwa on Groote Eylandt off Arnhem Land.
These larger groups may be further subdivided. It is estimated that before the arrival of British settlers, the population of Indigenous Australians was 318,000–750,000 across the continent; the Torres Strait Islanders possess a heritage and cultural history distinct from Aboriginal traditions. The eastern Torres Strait Islanders in particular are related to the Papuan peoples of New Guinea, speak a Papuan language. Accordingly, they are not included under the designation "Aboriginal Australians"; this has been another factor in the promotion of the more inclusive term "Indigenous Australians". Six percent of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as Torres Strait Islanders. A further 4% of Indigenous Australians identify themselves as having both Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal heritage; the Torres Strait Islands comprise over 100 islands which were annexed by Queensland in 1879. Many Indigenous organisations incorporate the phrase "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander" to highlight the distinctiveness and importance of Torres Strait Islanders in Australia's Indigenous population.
Eddie Mabo was from "Mer" or Murray Island in the Torres Strait, which the famous Mabo decision of 1992 involved. The term "black" has been used to refer to Indigenous Australians since European settlement. While related to skin colour, the term is used today to indicate Aboriginal he
Spring Bluff, Queensland
Spring Bluff is a locality in the Toowoomba Region, Australia. It is situated 15 kilometres north of the city centre via New England Highway, is adjacent to the town of Highfields; the area is named after a railway station in the area. The Spring Bluff railway station located on the boundary with Lockyer Valley Region local government area, was built in the 1860s to allow trains a place to stop during the steep climb from Brisbane to nearby Toowoomba. In 1890, it was named the sandstone bluff in the area; the railway station closed in August 1992. The station and its gardens are heritage listed, are maintained by a trust consisting of the regional councils of Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley along with Queensland Rail, who operate a cafe at the site. Due to the floods at Spring Bluff and nearby Murphys Creek in early 2011, the station was closed for repairs for several months. Official site
Toowoomba Region
The Toowoomba Region is a local government area located in the Darling Downs part of Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by several previous local government areas with histories extending back to the early 1900s and beyond. In 2018-2019 it has a A$491 million budget, of which A$316 million is for service delivery and A$175.13 million capital budget. Prior to the 2008 amalgamation, the Toowoomba Region existed as eights distinct local government areas: the City of Toowoomba; the City had its beginning in the Toowoomba Municipality, proclaimed on 24 November 1860 under the Municipalities Act 1858, a piece of New South Wales legislation inherited by Queensland when it became a separate colony in 1859. William Henry Groom, sometimes described as the "father of Toowoomba", was elected its first mayor, it achieved a measure of autonomy in 1878 with the enactment of the Local Government Act. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, Toowoomba became a town council on 31 March 1903.
On 29 October 1904, Toowoomba was proclaimed a City. The Toowoomba Region encompassed four of Queensland's 74 divisions created under the Divisional Boards Act 1879 on 11 November 1879: Clifton, Highfields and Rosalie. On 31 March 1903, these became Shires. Between 1913 and 1917, a number of changes occurred: the Millmerran and Pittsworth areas voted to split from Jondaryan on 24 April 1913, whilst in the same year Crows Nest became a shire, in 1914, Cambooya followed. On 19 March 1949, Highfields and Drayton were abolished, with their land going to Crows Nest and Toowoomba respectively. In July 2007, the Local Government Reform Commission released its report and recommended that the eight areas amalgamate, its main reason for recommending such a large area was that the region was a growth area and a new organisation would have political advocacy capabilities on behalf of the region. Two other key factors were that Toowoomba's suburbs had expanded well beyond the City of Toowoomba and a new entity would be able to manage the entire area under one plan.
Additionally and natural resource challenges could, in the Commission's view, be better met by an organisation with "a scale and capacity to undertake... management across the region in an integrated manner." Four of the councils, Millmerran and Rosalie were rated as financially weak by the Queensland Treasury. While no council had supported the Commission's model, most were willing to consider some form of amalgamation, the Commission considered whether Millmerran should be united with Dalby or Toowoomba carefully. In the end, its proposal was unchanged. On 15 March 2008, the City and Shires formally ceased to exist, elections were held on the same day to elect councillors and a mayor to the Regional Council; the council remains undivided and its elected body consists of 10 councillors and a mayor. Toowoomba Regional Councillors are not endorsed by political parties, they are required to declare memberships of political parties, bodies and trade or professional organisations. 2008: Peter Taylor 2012: Paul Antonio 2016: Paul Antonio The Toowoomba Region includes the following settlements: 1 - split with the former Shire of Crows Nest 2 - split with the former Shire of Jondaryan 3 - split with the former Shire of Cambooya> 4 - split with Lockyer Region> The populations given relate to the component entities prior to 2008.
The next census in 2011 was the first for the new Region. The Toowoomba Regional Council operates the following libraries: Toowoomba City Library Toowoomba Local History Library Cecil Plains library Clifton Library Crows Nest Library Goombungee Library Highfields Library Millmerran Library Oakey Library Pittsworth Library Quinalow Library Yarraman Library and a mobile library which visits the communities of Bowenville, Cooyar, Gowrie Junction, Haden, Kingsthorpe, Meringandan West, Mount Tyson and Wyreema; the Toowoomba Regional Libraries provide a range of services including free computer and internet access, free computer classes, a Homebound Library Service for those who are temporarily or permanently home bound
City of Cairns
The City of Cairns was a local government area centred on the Far North Queensland city of Cairns. Established in 1885, for most of its existence it consisted of 51.5 square kilometres around Cairns itself, with much of the metropolitan area being located in the Shire of Mulgrave. The Shire amalgamated into the City on 22 March 1995. In 2008, the City amalgamated with the Shire of Douglas to become the Cairns Region. Following a petition by local residents, on 28 May 1885, the Borough of Cairns was established under the Local Government Act 1878, being excised from the Cairns Division. With the passage of the Local Authorities Act 1902, the Borough of Cairns became the Town of Cairns on 31 March 1903. On 12 October 1923, the Town of Cairns was proclaimed City of Cairns. On 21 November 1991, the Electoral and Administrative Review Commission, created two years earlier, produced its second report, recommended that local government boundaries in the Cairns area be rationalised, that the Shire of Mulgrave be dissolved and amalgamated with the City of Cairns.
The Shire at that stage had a population of 54,783 while the City had 49,361. Both authorities had chambers in the Cairns CBD; the old City Council chambers were located on Abbott Street, have since been converted into a city library. The old Mulgrave Shire Chambers were located on Cairns Esplanade; the Local Government Regulation 1994 was gazetted on 16 December 1994, additionally mandating that small sections of the Shire of Mareeba around Redlynch and Barron Gorge and Ellis Beach in the Shire of Douglas be amalgamated. It further specified that the new Council would have an elected mayor and 12 councillors each representing one of 12 divisions. On 22 March 1995, the new City came into existence, Tom Pyne the Chairman of the Mulgrave shire council, was elected as its first mayor, he retired in 2000, Kevin Byrne of the Cairns Unity grouping served two full terms until the council's dissolution in 2008. In a controversial decision, new council chambers were constructed on industrial contaminated land in the industrial suburb of Portsmith.
On 15 March 2008, under the Local Government Act 2007 passed by the Parliament of Queensland on 10 August 2007, the City of Cairns merged with the Shire of Douglas to form the Cairns Region. Byrne was narrowly defeated by Val Schier of Cairns 1st for the mayoralty of the new Regional Council. In 2012, a proposal was made to de-amalgamate the Shire of Douglas from the Cairns Region. On 6 December 2012, the Queensland Minister for Local Government, the Hon. David Crisafulli, granted the people of the former Douglas Shire a vote on possible de-amalgamation from the Cairns Regional Council though the Queensland Treasury Corporation had calculated the costs to be too high a burden on the few ratepayers of this small shire, the shire to be unviable in the long term. Despite strong opposition from many parties, on 9 March 2013 the citizens of the former Douglas shire voted in a referendum to de-amalgamate; as of 1 January 2014 Douglas Shire is no longer part of the Cairns Regional Council. The City of Cairns included the following settlements: 1 - shared with Cassowary Coast Region2 - not to be confused with White Rock in City of Ipswich3 - shared with shared with Cassowary Coast Region and Tablelands Region Local Government Regulation 1994 Official website at the Wayback Machine
Pechey, Queensland
Pechey is a small rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Australia. The New England Highway passes through the centre of the town. Pechey State Forest occupies the entire south east corner of the area; the town was named after Edward Wilmot Pechey. He was a surveyor and sawmill owner. Pechey Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 and closed in 1971. Pechey has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: New England Highway: Pechey Forestry Arboretum
Highfields, Queensland
Highfields is both a town and a locality in the Toowoomba Region, Australia along the New England Highway. It is situated on the Great Dividing Range north of Mount Kynoch, it serves as a satellite suburb to the city of Toowoomba, accommodating many of Toowoomba businesses' employees. At the 2016 census, Highfields had a population of 8,131; the ABS defines a larger growth area, named Highfields, that includes the suburb and several of those surrounding. At June 2015, the estimated urban population for the Highfields urban area was 18,771, it is the fastest growing area in Queensland and one of the fastest in Australia. The area takes its name from the Highfields pastoral run, north of the township; the area was first developed in the 1860s. There were a number of sawmills in the area, harvesting the local timber; the construction of the railway line between Ipswich and Toowoomba brought railway workers to the district. As the timber-getters cleared the land, dairy farms were established; the first post office briefly in 1866 with a weekly mail service from Toowoomba.
It changed its name in December 1877 to Koojarawon. The Highfields School opened on 17 January 1870 in the Rising Sun Hotel under teacher Mr Larkin; the first school building was constructed in the 1880s. In 1906, the school was renamed Koojarawon. In 1907 the protests of residents resulted in the both the school and the post office returning to the name Highfields. Another post office in the Highfields area is now the Geham Post Office. Coming into the 1960s, the Highfield remained a rural community with, at one stage, only 9 children enrolled in the school. However, residential subdivision started to occur in the 1960s, to a point where it is now considered a satellite town of Toowoomba; the school is now one of the largest primary schools in the district. The Cabarlah Community School opened in Wirraglen Road, Highfields, in January 2006, it used the Reggio Emilia teaching philosophy. In March 2008 it was closed when the Queensland Government's Non-State Schools Accreditation Board refused to accredit the school, claiming it did not meet the requirements of the Education Act 2001.
Although the school appealed the decision, the Queensland Education Minister, Rod Weldford, upheld the board's decision. The Highfields Library opened in 2006 with a major refurbishment in 2017. Along with Meringandan, the climate is oceanic due to elevation located further south of Australia. There are four schools in Highfields: Highfields State School, on the New England Highway Mary MacKillop Catholic School, on Highfields Road. Name changed to Mary Mackillop Catholic College in 2015 to mark the school now operating as a college with senior school from 2015. Toowoomba Christian College, on the New England Highway Highfields State Secondary College was opened at the beginning of 2015 to cater for the growing community. HSSC is a Bring your own device school. A shopping centre called Highfields Village was developed and opened in 2003 that contains a number of community stores, including a hardware store, a baker and a supermarket. A tavern was opened at the site in 2003; the centre contains a pizza store, a post office, a bank and a hairdressing salon.
In addition to the Highfields Village shopping centre, the Plaza shopping centre was redeveloped. It now has a supermarket, numerous banks, takeaways and a hair dresser. Serving the community are a small bundle of shops found on the turn off from the New England Highway to Highfields Road, amongst them include a bakery, a delicatessen, a hairdressers, a real estate agency and an auto parts shop; the Highfields branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 2/10498 New England Highway. Highfields is home to a football club, Highfields FC, with teams ranging from Under 6's to Colts. Highfields has a regional rugby league club, Highfields Eagles, with teams ranging from Under 7's to 16's in the juniors and has an under 18's, reserve and A grade team in the seniors. Highfields Lions were admitted into the AFL Darling Downs Senior competition in 2010, now have a competitive club at Senior and Junior level. Highfields is home to the Highfields Redbacks Rugby Union Club; the Redbacks are based at Kuhls Road Oval, field teams from Under 6's to Over 35's.
Highfields & District Railways Bulldogs Cricket Club are the local cricket club with teams from under 7s – under 16s and D – A grade. Highfields and District Netball Club operates from the newly opened Highfields district sports park. Highfields and Districts Little Athletics Centre operates during the summer months from the AFL oval The Highfields Pioneer Historical Village has an unusual collection of vintage machinery; the Historical Village has a operating blacksmith shop, a Heritage Chapel, an original Toowoomba 1928 Dennis Fire Engine, a two cell lock up short term prison from 1903, Model T Fords, a collection of restored antique radios and appliances. The Danish Flower Art Centre at Highfields hosts a number of displays including a flower barn, Dutch furniture store and operating blacksmith workshop; the Chocolate Cottage is located at the Village Green which sells antiques and other specialty items. Across the road from the Village Green is Jacaranda Manor. Within Jacaranda Manor is a coffee shop, fudge factory and bead store.
The Davidson Arboretum on Cawdor Road features temperate deciduous conifers. There is a Bunya pine; the Cultural Centre is a large venue for performances. Located at the Centre is an outdoor public swimming comple
