Bakers Creek, Queensland

Bakers Creek
Queensland
Bakers Creek
Coordinates 21°13′13″S 149°08′48″E / 21.2203°S 149.1466°E / -21.2203; 149.1466Coordinates: 21°13′13″S 149°08′48″E / 21.2203°S 149.1466°E / -21.2203; 149.1466
Population 770 (2006 census)[1]
 • Density 34.68/km2 (89.8/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 4740
Area 22.2 km2 (8.6 sq mi)
Location 8 km (5 mi) S of Mackay
LGA(s) Mackay Region
State electorate(s) Mirani
Federal Division(s) Capricornia
Localities around Bakers Creek:
Racecourse Ooralea Paget
Te Kowai Bakers Creek Paget
Sandiford Rosella Mcewens Beach

Bakers Creek is a town and a locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] At the 2006 census, Bakers Creek had a population of 770.[1]

Geography

Bakers Creek is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Mackay. The Bruce Highway and the North Coast railway line traverse the locality from south to north, passing the town which is served by the Bakers Creek railway station with a second railway station Dundula in the north of the locality. The Dundula railway station was named on 30 October 1913 by the Queensland Railways Department as an Aboriginal word meaning eucalypt tree.[4] In turn, the surrounding neighbourhood and also the school are named Dundula.[5]

The land in Bakers Creek is flat and low-lying (under 10 metres above sea level) and is well-watered by the watercourse Bakers Creek which flows into the Coral Sea. To the north of mouth of the creek is the Bakers Creek Conservation Park.[5]

The land is predominantly used for growing sugarcane and there is a network of cane tramways to deliver the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mills.[5]

History

The locality was named after the creek, which in turn was named after John T. Baker, a customs officer in Mackay in 1863.[6][7]

Dundula State School opened on 28 August 1922 with 37 children enrolled on the first day, with 45 enrolled by the end of 1922. The first headmaster was Courtney Hoffman.[8][9]

Bakers Creek Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a receiving office had been open since 1909) and closed in 1979.[10]

In 1943, a USAAF aircraft crashed in the locality, killing 40 of the 41 people on board. The Bakers Creek air crash is Australia's worst aviation disaster by death toll. A memorial to the disaster was built in 1981 and is located in the grounds of the Bakers Creek Community Hall.[11]

In 1964 the Queensland Government built a meatworks. In 1978 it was sold to Thomas Borthwick & Sons who enlarged the facility. It was purchased by NH Foods in 1994 but continues to trade as Thomas Borthwick & Sons.[12]

Economy

The main industry is a large meat processing plant operated by Thomas Borthwick & Sons (Aust) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of NH Foods. Cattle are obtained from the Central Highlands and Coalfields through to the Atherton Tablelands, North Western Districts onto the Gulf of Carpentaria. The plants supplies the domestic market as well as export markets including Chin Europe Union, Japan, the Middle East, and the United States of America. The plant is certified to produce halal meat.[12]

Education

Dundula State School is a primary (P-6) school for boys and girls operated by the Queensland Government at 1 Main Street. In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 48 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[13]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bakers Creek (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "Bakers Creek - town in Mackay Region (entry 1272)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "Bakers Creek - locality in Mackay Region (entry 46756)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Dundula - neighbourhood in Mackay Region (entry 10845)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  6. ↑ "Bakers Creek (entry 46756)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  7. ↑ "THE GAZETTE". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 23 March 1868. p. 4. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ↑ "D-F". Opening and closing dates of Queensland schools. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  9. ↑ "History". Dundula State School. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  11. ↑ "Bakers Creek Air Crash Memorial". December 2003. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
  12. 1 2 "Thomas Borthwick & Sons". NH Foods Australia. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Dundula State School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.

Further reading

  • Cutler, Robert S (2003), Mackay's Flying Fortress : the story of Australia's worst air crash in World War II (60th anniversary commemoration ed.), Central Queensland University Press, ISBN 978-1-876780-27-2
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