Balnagowan, Queensland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Balnagowan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Balnagowan homestead, circa 1914 | |||||||||||||
  Balnagowan | |||||||||||||
 Interactive map of Balnagowan | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates: 21°07′05″S 149°01′05″E / 21.1180°S 149.0180°E | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Queensland | ||||||||||||
| LGA | |||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 40.8 km2 (15.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 438 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| • Density | 10.735/km2 (27.80/sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode | 4740 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
Balnagowan is a rural locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Balnagowan had a population of 438 people.[1]
The Pioneer River forms the southern boundary of the locality. It ultimates flows into the Coral Sea at Mackay.[3]
The land use is predominantly crop growing (mostly sugarcane) with some grazing on native vegetation.[4] There are some cane train tramways in the locality to transport the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mills.[5]
History
Balnagowan was settled by John Cook and Louis Gerald Ross in 1862. Ross named it Balnagowan after his home in Scotland.[6][7] Ross died in 1870 at Balnagowan.[8] The Balnagowan homestead is still visible on a 1976 map (21°08′22″S 149°01′33″E / 21.13938°S 149.02587°E).[9][10]
Balnagowan State School opened on 6 February 1950. It closed on 24 January 1977.[11] It was one of 11 schools closed in 1977 due to falling student numbers where transport was available to access other local schools.[12] It was on a 5-acre (2.0 ha) site at 12 Coxs Road (21°07′21″S 149°01′47″E / 21.1226°S 149.0298°E).[13][14]
