Veresdale, Queensland
Veresdale is a locality split between the City of Logan and the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census Veresdale had a population of 392 people.[1]
Veresdale Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Former Beaudesert railway line, 2009 | |||||||||||||||
![]() ![]() Veresdale | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 27.9089°S 152.978°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 392 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 24.05/km2 (62.29/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4285 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 16.3 km2 (6.3 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
LGA(s) | |||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Scenic Rim | ||||||||||||||
Federal Division(s) | Wright | ||||||||||||||
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History
Robert Towns established a cotton plantation called Townsvale in the area now known as Veresdale and Gleneagle. In 1863, he imported 73 Melanesians (locally known as Kanakas) to work on the plantation.[4]
St Joseph's Catholic Church was the first Catholic church in the Logan River district and was opened in 1876 on a 4-acre (1.6 ha) site (27.9464°S 152.9857°E), then known as Tullamore Hill, later as Veresdale, and now within Gleneagle. The site for the church was donated by William Rafter, whose residence was called Tullamore after his home town Tullamore in Ireland. Tullamore was the major centre of the district (prior to the rise of Beaudesert as the major centre). A cemetery was established behind the church. On 2 June 1889 Roman Catholic Archbishop Robert Dunne blessed the Catholic cemetery (now known as the Gleneagle Catholic Cemetery). In 1936 the church was lined and ceiled for the first time. By the early 1950s the smal church was in poor repair and it had a very small congregation (St Mary's Catholic Church in Beaudesert was very large and by then the major town of the district).[5][6] At that time, Mass was being held regularly at the O'Reilly Guesthouse in Goblin Wood, the private home of Bernard O'Reilly. So it was decided to relocate St Joseph's to the O'Reilly Guesthouse as a permanent church. It was dismantled, transported and re-assembled. On 27 November 1955, Father Steele presided over the first Mass in the relocated church and Archbishop James Duhig performed the opening ceremony. Although privately owned by the O'Reilly family, it is still strongly associated with the Beaudesert Catholic parish.[7] The cemetery in Gleneagle still operates. In 1983 the Catholic cemetery at Waterford West was sold by the Catholic Church for re-development; graves marked with headstones were exhumed and relocated to Gleneagle Catholic Cemetery.[8]
Veresdale railway station (27.9086°S 152.9781°E) was on the disused Beaudesert railway line from Bethania to Beaudesert.[9] The line opened on 16 May 1888.[10]
Christ Church Anglican was dedicated on 29 May 1906 by Henry Le Fanu, Archdeacon of Brisbane. Its closure on 3 May 2003 was approved by Assistant Bishop Ron Williams.[11]
Formerly in the Shire of Beaudesert, Veresdale was split between Logan City and Scenic Rim Region following the local government amalgamations in March 2008.
In the 2016 census Veresdale had a population of 392 people.[1]
References
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Veresdale (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
- "Veresdale (Logan City) (entry 45292)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- "Veresdale (Scenic Rim Region) (entry 45199)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- "Veresdale". Suburbs. Logan City Council. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- "Putting the Clock Back". The Beaudesert Times. Queensland, Australia. 13 June 1941. p. 1. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
- "Roman Catholic Churches". The Beaudesert Times. Queensland, Australia. 8 May 1936. p. 1. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2020 – via Trove.
- "St Joseph's, O'Reilly's". St Mary's Catholic Parish Beaudesert. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
- "Waterford West Catholic Cemetery – now shops" (PDF). Logan City Council. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 5 March 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2020.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
- "Veresdale – railway station in Logan City (entry 35976)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
- Kerr, John (1990). Triumph of narrow gauge : a history of Queensland Railways. Boolarong Publications. p. 224. ISBN 978-0-86439-102-5.
- "Closed Churches". Anglican Church Southern Queensland. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2019.