Fishery Falls, Queensland

Fishery Falls is a locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Fishery Falls had a population of 205 people.[3]

For the waterfall, see Fishery Falls (Queensland).

Fishery Falls
Queensland
Sugar cane fields, looking west along Stewart Road towards the Bellenden Ker Range, 2018
Fishery Falls is located in Queensland
Fishery Falls
Fishery Falls
Coordinates17.1863°S 145.8908°E / -17.1863; 145.8908 (Fishery Falls (centre of locality))
Population205 (SAL 2021)[1]
Postcode(s)4871
Area14.8 km2 (5.7 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Cairns Region
State electorate(s)Mulgrave
Federal division(s)Kennedy
Suburbs around Fishery Falls:
Aloomba Aloomba Aloomba
Wooroonooran Fishery Falls Aloomba
Wooroonooran Deeral Deeral

Geography
Bruce Highway crosses Fishery Creek, 2018

The Mulgrave River forms the eastern boundary of the locality; it flows into the Coral Sea in the neighbouring locality of Deeral. The land in the locality is flat (about 10 metres above sea level) and is predominantly freehold farming land with sugarcane the principal crop.[4]

Fishery Falls township along the Bruce Highway, 2018

The Bruce Highway passes through the locality from south to north-west with the North Coast railway line running immediately parallel and east of the highway. Today, there is no railway station within Fishery Falls, but historically there were three, all now abandoned (from north to south):

There is also a cane tramway network within the area to deliver the sugarcane to the Mulgrave Sugar Mill in Gordonvale.[4]

Although there is no official town, there is a hotel, a large caravan park, and a number of streets of houses clustered just west of the Bruce Highway at 17.1840°S 145.8862°E / -17.1840; 145.8862 (Fishery Falls (township)), although the school is located 2 km south of this township.[4]

History

The locality is presumed to be named after the waterfall of the same name which is located in neighboroughing Wooroonooran approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) west of the locality of Fishery Falls.[6]

McDonald's Creek State School opened on 22 September 1913.[7] In 1916, the spelling was changed to McDonnell's Creek State School. It is now simply known as McDonnell Creek State School.[8]

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Fishery Falls had a population of 141 people.[9]

In the 2021 census, Fishery Falls had a population of 205 people.[3]

Education

McDonnell Creek State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 69273 Bruce Highway (17.1966°S 145.8973°E / -17.1966; 145.8973 (McDonnell Creek State School)).[10][11] In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 25 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).[12] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 14 students with 3 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).[13]

As the name suggests, the school is located very near to McDonnell Creek approximately 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the township.[4]

There are no secondary schools in Fishery Falls. The nearest government secondary schools are Gordonvale State High School in Gordonvale to the north-west and Babinda State School in Babinda to the south.[14]

Attractions

The South Sea Islander Memorial at the corner of the Bruce Highway and McMahon Drive commemorates over 60,000 Kanakas who were contracted to work in the sugarcane plantations from 1863 to 1906. Although some came voluntarily, others were misinformed about their contracts, while some were kidnapped (a practice known as blackbirding).[15][16]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Fishery Falls (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. "Fishery Falls – locality in Cairns Region (entry 48634)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
  3. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Fishery Falls (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  5. "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  6. "Fishery Falls – waterfall in the Cairns Region (entry 12540)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  7. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  8. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  9. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Fishery Falls (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  10. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  11. "McDonnell Creek State School". Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  12. "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). McDonnell Creek State School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  14. "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  15. "South Sea Islander Memorial". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 23 September 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  16. "South Sea Islander Monument". Cairns Regional Council. Archived from the original on 11 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.

Further reading

Media related to Fishery Falls, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

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