Population 6,869 (2011 census) Postcode(s) 4343 LGA(s) Lockyer Valley Region Founded 1855 Local time Saturday 1:17 PM | Established 1855 Time zone AEST (UTC+10) Elevation 94 m Postal code 4343 Federal division Division of Wright | |
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Location 86 km (53 mi) W of Brisbane
37 km (23 mi) E of Toowoomba Weather 31°C, Wind N at 11 km/h, 35% Humidity | ||
Gatton is a town and the administrative centre of the Lockyer Valley local government area situated in the Lockyer Valley of South East Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Gatton had a population of 6,869.
Contents
- Map of Gatton QLD 4343 Australia
- History
- Heritage listings
- Industry
- Gatton Bus Services
- Education
- Memorials
- References
Map of Gatton QLD 4343, Australia
Over recent years, the rural tranquility of the Gatton area has started to be encroached on by the suburban sprawl of metropolitan Brisbane and Ipswich in the east and Toowoomba in the west. The Warrego Highway, which runs east–west through the Shire, has also experienced increasing strip development, with fuel outlets and commercial properties gradually spreading along the highway.
History
The Gatton area was explored by Major Edmund Lockyer in 1825. A settlement known as Gatton was gazetted in 1855. The post office opened 1 January 1866, with Frederick Lloyd, a dairyman, as the first postmaster. The small village did not experience significant growth until the mid-1870s, after the railway to Grandchester attracted people to the area.
The Queensland Agricultural College opened an agricultural college and experimental farm in 1897 at Gatton.
In December 1898 three local youths from nearby Blackfellow’s Creek were murdered. The crime, known as the Gatton murders, has never been solved.
The Star is a free, local, community newspaper which began publishing in 1956.
Heritage listings
Gatton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Industry
As part of the "Salad Bowl" of the Lockyer Valley, the area is primarily agricultural, with vegetables making up the majority of crops. Fruit was grown extensively in the area until the 1990s, when economic conditions changed and many of the orchards were removed. There is also significant beef and dairy cattle farming, (Stanbroke Beef operates its abattoir at nearby Grantham) along with a growing equine industry, and the town is also a noted producer of fodder crops, particularly prime lucerne hay.
Gatton Bus Services
Edna Linning and her husband started up Gatton Bus Services in 1957 when they heard a high school was being built in town. Originally, the business only had one bus travelling to the college and back; as of the mid 1980s, the business had 14 buses, eight of which were used for school children. The buses travelled to Flagstone Creek, Buaraba, Esk, and Forest Hill to get students. The company also organized tours of Gatton for schoolchildren that lived in the city, so they could understand farm life and see how produce is grown and harvested. In its early days it also ran tours to Brisbane.
Education
The University of Queensland has a campus on the former Queensland Agricultural College site at Lawes, just to the east of the town of Gatton. This campus is now the base for much of the university's rural focused research and teaching.
Secondary education in Gatton was first offered on the 1st January 1913 as a secondary department attached to Gatton State School. In 1917, due to increasing enrolments, Gatton High School was created on the present Gatton State School site. This became Lockyer District High School when it was opened at its present location in 1961. Gatton State School opened in 1876 and caters for students from Prep to Year six.
Memorials
The town has a number of war memorials:
The Lights on the Hill Truck and Coach Drivers' Memorial is located at Lake Apex Park on the outskirts of Gatton.