Leyburn, Queensland

Leyburn (pronounced Lee-burn) is a rural town in the Southern Downs Region and a locality split between the South Downs Region and the Toowoomba Region in Queensland, Australia.[2][3][4] In the 2016 census, Leyburn had a population of 476 people.[1]

Leyburn
Queensland
Macintyre Street (main street), Leyburn, 2015
Leyburn
Coordinates28.0122°S 151.5838°E / -28.0122; 151.5838 (Leyburn (town centre))
Population476 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density2.533/km2 (6.561/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4365
Area187.9 km2 (72.5 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)
Federal Division(s)Maranoa
Localities around Leyburn:
Tummaville Ellangowan Ellangowan
Stonehenge Leyburn Old Talgai
Pratten
Stonehenge Karara Thanes Creek

Geography

The Toowoomba Karara Road (State Route 48) passes through the locality from north-east to south, running immediately to the east of the town. Tourist Drive 12 (the Sprint Route) follows Leyburn Cunningham Road to the outskirts of Warwick.[5]

Leyburn State Forest is a protected area in the east of the locality (28.0316°S 151.6344°E / -28.0316; 151.6344 (Leyburn State Forest)).[6]

History
Royal Hotel, Leyburn, circa 1933
Royal Hotel, Leyburn, 2015

Leyburn was named in the 1840s by William Gray, Snr., who came to the area by bullock dray from Pitt Town on the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.[7] The first name for the locality was Canal Creek; the name was changed to Leyburn by Henry and Jane Kirby, Gray's son-in-law and daughter, and derives from the market town of Leyburn in the English county of Yorkshire.[7]

The site for the town was surveyed in November 1852. Henry Kirby and another man named Collins applied in 1854 for the licence of the Travellers' Home Inn at Leyburn.[7]

In 1858 James Murray erected his Coffee Room Inn and Boarding House (now the Granall Residence).[8]

The post office at Leyburn opened on 1 January 1861.[9]

A police force was established in 1861. At that time the town had a permanent population 65 but many transients.[10]

Leyburn State School opened on 13 January 1862.[11][12][13]

In 1863 James Murray built The Royal Hotel at 71 MacIntyre Street (28.0113°S 151.5831°E / -28.0113; 151.5831 (Royal Hotel)), opposite his Coffee Inn.[14]

A court house was built in 1866. It was used until 1929.[10]

The Rosenthal Division was established in 1889 and became the Shire of Rosenthal in 1903. Although Leyburn was the largest town within this local government area, it was not chosen as the administrative centre as Leyburn did not have a railway connection in 1889. Instead, offices were established in Warwick outside of the district.[15]

St Matthew's Catholic Church, 2015

On Sunday 8 December 1901 Fathers Horan and O'Brien officially opened St Matthew's Catholic Church.[16][17] Fund raising for the church had commenced in 1871.[18] It has been suggested that the church was completed (but not officially opened) in 1897 with a wedding held there in September 1898.[19][20]

The Leyburn branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association was formed in 1924. They built their hall in 1928.[21]

During World War II, an airfield with a 7,000-foot runway was constructed by April 1943 for the use of the United States Army Air Force.[22] The airfield was eventually used by 21 Squadron, 23 Squadron and 99 Squadron.[22] and was eventually abandoned by the RAAF in December 1945.[22] The abandoned airfield became the site of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, the first time the Australian Grand Prix was held in Queensland.

In the 2006 census, Leyburn and the surrounding area had a population of 348.[23]

In the 2011 census, Leyburn had a population of 416 people.[24]

In the 2016 census, Leyburn had a population of 476 people.[1]

Events
Centaur Waggott GT, Leyburn Sprints, 2007

In 1996 the Leyburn Sprints was established. Celebrating the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, historic racing cars and cars of special interest compete in numerous classes to compete in a short 1.0 kilometre (0.62 mi) course through the town. The event has become the town's biggest attraction.[25]

Heritage listings
Granall, former coffee house and court house, erected 1858, the oldest surviving building in Leyburn, 2015

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

Amenities

The Southern Downs Regional Council operates a mobile library service which visits Leyburn School in Peter Street and Leyburn Hall in MacIntyre Street.[29]

The Leyburn branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at its hall at 89 MacIntyre Street (28.0097°S 151.5834°E / -28.0097; 151.5834 (Leyburn Hall)).[30]

Notable residents

Australian rugby league player Shane Webcke grew up in Leyburn.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Leyburn (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Leyburn – town in Southern Downs Region (entry 19259)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  3. "Leyburn – locality in Southern Downs Region (entry 45947)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  4. "Leyburn – locality in Toowoomba Region (entry 47990)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  5. Google (29 July 2019). "Leyburn, Queensland" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  6. "Leyburn State Forest – state forest in Southern Downs Regional (entry 19262)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  7. From series of articles published under the title Queensland place names and obelisks by Sydney May (formerly Honorary Secretary of the Queensland Place Names Committee) in Local Government, June 1957 - November 1964
  8. Cultural Heritage Survey, Vol 3, p. 72
  9. Porter, Harry S. (1954) Queensland Numeral Cancellations, p. 13. Melbourne: The Hawthorn Press
  10. Cultural Heritage Survey, Vol 3, p. 61
  11. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  12. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  13. "Leyburn SS". Archived from the original on 4 February 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  14. Cultural Heritage Survey, Vol 3, p. 70
  15. "Rosenthal Shire". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  16. "Religious Notes". Warwick Examiner And Times. 35 (4595). Queensland, Australia. 14 December 1901. p. 7. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "LEYBURN". Toowoomba Chronicle And Darling Downs General Advertiser (6217). Queensland, Australia. 12 December 1901. p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. "Advertising". The Darling Downs Gazette And General Advertiser. XIV (1090). Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1871. p. 2. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "St Matthew's Catholic Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  20. "Orange blossoms". Warwick Argus. XXXIV (2756). Queensland, Australia. 3 September 1898. p. 7. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 1 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. Cultural Heritage Survey, Vol 3, p.79
  22. Dunn, Peter. "LEYBURN AIRFIELD, LEYBURN, QLD, AUSTRALIA ALSO KNOWN AS STRATHANE INITIALLY DURING WW2". www.ozatwar.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  23. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Leyburn (Warwick Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 5 July 2008.
  24. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Leyburn (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  25. "Historic Leyburn Sprints". Leyburn Motor Sprints Committee Inc. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  26. "St Augustines Anglican Church, Leyburn (entry 600828)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  27. "Leyburn State School (entry 600827)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  28. "Local Heritage Register". Southern Downs Regional Council. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  29. "Library Details". Southern Downs Regional Council. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  30. "Branch locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.

Sources
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