Woodford, Queensland

Woodford
Queensland
Main street
Woodford
Coordinates 26°56′27″S 152°46′01″E / 26.9408°S 152.7669°E / -26.9408; 152.7669Coordinates: 26°56′27″S 152°46′01″E / 26.9408°S 152.7669°E / -26.9408; 152.7669
Population 3,458 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density 34.035/km2 (88.15/sq mi)
Established 1841
Postcode(s) 4514
Area 101.6 km2 (39.2 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s) Moreton Bay Region
State electorate(s) Glass House
Federal Division(s) Longman
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
? ? 1,324 mm
52.1 in
Localities around Woodford:
Stony Creek
Bellthorpe		 Stanmore Commissioners Flat
Glass House Mountains
Neurum Woodford Beerburrum
Elimbah
Delaneys Creek D'Aguilar Wamuran
Bracalba

Woodford is a town and a locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3]

The town is noted for its folk festival that takes place over the New Year holidays.

Geography

Woodford is on the D'Aguilar Highway 72 km north-west of Brisbane and 24 km west of Caboolture.

History

Sketch of Durundur Station by Charles Archer, 1843

In 1841 the Archer brothers established Durundur station along the Stanley River, near where Woodford now stands.[4] After the lease of Durundur expired in October 1878, some land was thrown open for selection. Mr W. Yates was the first to take possession of his selected portion of the country and he built a hotel near a ford across the river.[5] The hotel, and the town which developed around it became known, unofficially, as Yatesville.

The town was positioned on a hill closer to the Stanley River than the present day town.[6] When the introduction of a regular mail service required the town to have an official name a meeting was called and 'McConnel' was decided on in honour of the senior partner of Durundur Station ‑ but the Postmaster General would not accept that name. Therefore, another meeting was called and those present called it ‘Woodford' in honour of the junior partner, Mr H.C. Wood, and in recognition of the importance to the community of the ford across the river.[7]

Timber cutting is the town's main industry. Most of the timber sourced from the area is sent to a sawmill in Caboolture.

Dairying is also a major industry. A co-operative dairy factory opened in the town in 1904.[7]

Woodford was a stop on the now-closed Kilcoy railway line. The line reached Woodford in 1909 and connected the town to the small regional centre of Caboolture.[7] Most of the railway infrastructure was removed after the line closed in the mid-1960s, and much of the land has been sold.

New housing subdivisions were established on Kropp Road and Ironbark Drive during 2010 and 2011. In addition, a Woolworths supermarket opened in the town in 2010.[8]

The Woodford Correctional Centre is on the outskirts of town.[9]

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Woodford recorded a population of 2,517 people, 40.2% female and 59.8% male.[10] The median age of the Woodford population was 37 years, the same as the national median.[10]

82.9% of people living in Woodford were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 4.6%, England 3.4%, Netherlands 0.8%, Scotland 0.7%, Vietnam 0.4%.[10]

74.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.7% Dutch, 0.3% German, 0.1% Filipino, 0.1% French, 0.1% Spanish.[10]

Culture

Music festivals

The Woodford Folk Festival is held in the town in December each year.

In 2010 and 2011, the Australian music festival Splendour in the Grass was held in Woodford in the same location as the Folk Festival.

The Aboriginal cultural event, the Dreaming Festival, is also held at the same site.[11]

Film

Woodford was also one of the principal locations for the 2003 low-budget horror film, Undead.

Other

The Moreton Bay Regional Council operates a public library in Woodford at 1 Elizabeth Street.[12] The library opened in 1978.[13]

There is a small rail museum in the town which operates a steam train on the first and third Sunday of each month.[14]

On the third Sunday of each month, a small market is held in the middle of the town, consisting mainly of white elephant stalls.

The Woodford Show Society was established in 1911 and the town's show is held in June each year.[15]

Defunct

A local landmark up until its closure in 2010 was the Elvis Presley-themed fruit and vegetable shop, "Elvis Parsley's Grapelands."[16]

The town had an online community newspaper from 2010 to approximately 2014.[17][18]

Religion

The Anglican church is part of the Parish of Kilcoy and belongs to the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane. In 2013, a new priest, Jeanette Jamieson, reoriented the parish's churchmanship to liberal Anglo-Catholicism and stopped many of the parish's outreach and social justice activities. Jamieson instead focused on promoting gay rights and Progressive Christianity.[19]

The parish has been criticised during the Jamieson years by journalists and members of the Anglican communion for its social conservatism, theological liberalism and ethical failures and lack of empathy.[20] The parishioners have been quick to embrace a homosexual trainee priest and women pastors but are mired in hard right politics that "that would make Sir Joh or Pauline Hanson blush".[21] It has been accused of apostasy for its Progressive Christianity approach and de-emphasising of the Gospel. In 2016, one journalist noted that, "The Kilcoy Anglican Church is a sad place... The ageing parish council is a throwback to dark past of the Sir Joh era... Bullying is prevalent... In this parish, there is sin on the right and left. From the right, we see nationalism, rampant racism, an exaltation of the military and a rejection of the norms of Christian pacifism. From the left, we see an acceptance of women priests and openly gay seminarians. On both fronts, the words of Jesus of Nazareth are trampled underfoot... The Gospel is not preached there."[22]

A second source noted that the "'RSL comes first, God second' [in the parish]... [There is] bullying and groupthink and – ironically enough – rejection of people holding orthodox Anglican views by the Anglo-Catholic right wingers, who think their way is the only way... Here, though, is the funny thing: despite the racism, the bullying, the hard-right politics, the narrow-mindedness and the bigotry, the people up there are really open towards homosexuality... It is a bigger sin to be a Calvinist or a Christian socialist than to be actively homosexual up there."[23]

The church continues to maintain a theologically liberal Anglo-Catholic outlook.[24]

The local Roman Catholic Church has a strong ecumenical focus and maintains a close relationship with the Anglican church.[25]

There are also two Protestant churches in the town: the Woodford Baptist Church[26] and the Stanley River Valley Community Church.[27]

Sport

Woodford is the home of the Stanley River Cricket Club, which supports junior and senior cricket in the local area.[28]

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Woodford (Qld.) (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 29 January 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ↑ "Woodford - town in Moreton Bay Region (entry 37969)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  3. ↑ "Woodford - locality in Moreton Bay Region (entry 49227)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  4. ↑ "History of the Archer brothers". The Archer brothers in Queensland. The State Library of Queensland. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  5. ↑ Lydia Beanland (1 December 1932). "The Family of Thomas and Lydia Emma Kinton BEANLAND". North Coast and Stanley District News. Denver Beanland. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Horton, Helen (1988). Brisbane's Back Door: The story of the D'Aguilar Range. Bowen Hills, Queensland: Boolarong Publications. p. 8. ISBN 0-86439-036-X.
  7. 1 2 3 Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2000). Heritage Trails of the Great South East. State of Queensland. p. 159. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
  8. ↑ The New Woodford Archived 19 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Woodford Newspaper. Retrieved 20 December 2011
  9. ↑ "Woodford Correctional Centre". Queensland Government. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Woodford (Qld) (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 September 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 13 November 2011. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  12. ↑ "Woodford Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 13 November 2017. Archived from the original on 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  13. ↑ "Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin 2016-17" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society Archived 23 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  15. ↑ "Woodford Show Society". Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  17. ↑ "woodfordnewspaper.com". 12 February 2010. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  18. ↑ "Woodfordnewspaper.com". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Kilcoy Sentinel". Anglican Probe. Kilcoy. 7 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  21. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  22. ↑ "Courier". Dark Heart of Kilcoy. Brisbane. 7 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  24. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  25. ↑ "Stanley River Catholic Church". Archived from the original on 27 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  26. ↑ "{title}". Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  27. ↑ https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/moreton/church-versus-chocolate-the-verdict-this-easter/news-story/feb775d008e51c8e08dc5d7980da8bd5?nk=168d58e5c3134cebed3a71fbc3e3401d-1533617005
  28. ↑ Stanley River Cricket Club Archived 8 September 2012 at Archive.is Retrieved 20 December 2011.


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