Ballandean, Queensland

Ballandean is a small town and locality in the Granite Belt Region of the Southern Downs, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] It is on the Queensland border with New South Wales.[4] At the 2016 census the town recorded a population of 338.[1] The town has a number of nearby vineyards which attracted tourists to the area.[5]

Ballandean
Queensland
Ballandean railway station with the big dinosaur, 2015
Ballandean
Coordinates28.801°S 151.843°E / -28.801; 151.843
Population338 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density1.6934/km2 (4.386/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4382
Area199.6 km2 (77.1 sq mi)
Location
LGA(s)Southern Downs Region
State electorate(s)Southern Downs
Federal Division(s)Maranoa
Localities around Ballandean:
Nundubbermere Somme
Fletcher		 Eukey
Girraween
Sundown Ballandean Lyra
Wyberba
Back Creek (NSW) Tarban (NSW) Wallangarra

Geography

The Severn River marks part of the northern boundary. Kelvin Grove Creek, Washpool Creek, Accommodation Creek and Smiths Creek all flow through Ballandean into the Severn River.[6]

The New England Highway passes through Ballandean from north to south in the north-east of Ballandean in close parallel to the Southern railway line. The Ballandean railway station is in this area and the urban development surrounds the railway station. The station is now closed as there are no passenger services on this line. The rest of the locality is predominantly farmland.[6]

The northern part of Ballandean is also known as Apple Vale.[7]

History
Britannia Hotel, Ballandean, established by Thomas Henry Fletcher, circa 1872

The name Ballandean derives from the name of a pastoral run, belonging to Henry Hayter Nicol in 1841, believed to be linked to his childhood association with Ballindean House, near Inchture, Perthshire, Scotland.[3]

The town was surveyed and officially named in 1872.[5]

Thomas Henry Fletcher built the Britannia Inn in the same year which attracted other businesses to the area.[8][9] Fletcher went on to establish the first commercial orchard on the Granite Belt.[10][11][12]

General store at Ballandean, ca. 1920

Ballandean Post Office opened on 1 January 1873.[13]

Land in Ballandean was open for selection on 17 April 1877; 98 square miles (250 km2) were available.[14]

Ballandean State School opened on 18 January 1909 under head teacher Frances Emily Wallace.[15][16]

St Oswald's Anglican Church was dedicated on 1 March 1926 by Archbishop Gerald Sharp.[17][18] Although it has now closed, the church building is still located at 12 Bents Road (28.7978°S 151.8410°E / -28.7978; 151.8410 (St Oswald's Anglican Church)).[19]

Heritage listings
Ballandean Homestead, 2015

Ballandean has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Attractions

The man-made Ballandean Pyramid was constructed by Ken Stubberfield as a way to dispose of excess granite on his farm and is an unusual sight in Queensland.[21]

The Balladean railway station is a well-known landmark on the New England Highway due to the big dinosaur in front of it, nicknamed the Fruitisforus (Fruit-is-for-us). The dinosaur was originally constructed for a float in the 1998 Apple and Grape Festival. After the festival, the community placed it in front of the railway station to get passing traffic to stop and buy fruit for a community fundraiser. It proved so popular that it was reinforced with fibregrass and painted and made a permanent roadside feature. It is 6.7 metres (22 ft) long and 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) high.[22]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Ballandean (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  2. "Ballandean (town) (entry 1375)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  3. "Ballandean (locality) (entry 45907)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  5. Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland) (2000). Heritage Trails of the Great South East. State of Queensland. p. 121. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.
  6. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  7. "Apple Vale – unbounded locality in Southern Downs Region (entry 695)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  8. "Advertising". Warwick Examiner And Times. VI (291). Queensland, Australia. 5 October 1872. p. 4. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Stanthorpe". The Queenslander. VII (349). Queensland, Australia. 12 October 1872. p. 10. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Our Illustrations". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 27 February 1892. p. 394. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Last Night's Telegrams". Toowoomba Chronicle And Darling Downs General Advertiser (3109). Queensland, Australia. 10 December 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "JUBILEE OF STANTHORPE". The Telegraph (15, 346). Queensland, Australia. 2 February 1922. p. 3 (SECOND EDITION). Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  14. "Proclamations under the New Land Acts". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 2 March 1877. p. 3. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via Trove.
  15. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  16. "Agency ID 4810, Ballandean State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  17. "Closed Churches". Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  18. "ANGLICAN CHURCH AT BALLANDEAN". The Brisbane Courier (21, 248). Queensland, Australia. 2 March 1926. p. 8. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "St Oswald's Anglican Church - Former". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  20. "Ballandean Homestead (entry 600832)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  21. Werkmeister, Sarah. "Ballandean Pyramid". Four Thousand. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
  22. "Landmark Legends of Stanthorpe". Granite Belt Wine Country. Archived from the original on 12 June 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2015.

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