Mon Repos, Queensland

Mon Repos is a coastal locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2016 census Mon Repos had a population of 30 people.[1]

Mon Repos
Queensland
Mon Repos Beach, 2020
Mon Repos is located in Queensland
Mon Repos
Mon Repos
Coordinates24.8049°S 152.4405°E / -24.8049; 152.4405 (Mon Repos (centre of locality))
Population30 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density4.8/km2 (12.5/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4670
Area6.2 km2 (2.4 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Bundaberg Region
State electorate(s)Burnett
Federal division(s)Hinkler
Suburbs around Mon Repos:
Burnett Heads Coral Sea Coral Sea
Qunaba Mon Repos Coral Sea
Qunaba Qunaba Bargara

Geography
Newly-hatched baby turtles heading for the sea, 2020

Mon Repos Beach (24.7960°S 152.4416°E / -24.7960; 152.4416 (Mon Repos Beach)) is a long sandy beach along most of the coastline at Mon Repos.[3][4]

Most of the coastline is within the Mon Repos Conservation Park (24.7954°S 152.4400°E / -24.7954; 152.4400 (Mon Repos Conservation Park)), established to protect the nesting areas of turtles. The north of the locality is still used for agriculture, a mixture of grazing and crop growing. The south of the locality is reserved for environmental purposes. There are some small pockets of housing and a caravan park on the coast [4]

The Barolin Nature Reserve is inland of the conservation park (24.8105°S 152.4440°E / -24.8105; 152.4440 (Barolin Nature Reserve)). It is filled with grassy plains and wetlands and has a sizeable population of birds. Earlier known as Pasturage Reserve, it was primarily used for cattle grazing. However, grazing has been reduced significantly to save the forest.[5][6]

History

Mon Repos is French for "My Rest" and was the name of the homestead built in 1884 by Augustus Purling Barton, a Queensland sugar industry pioneer.[7][8] Barton also built the Mon Repos sugar-mill in 1884, as a crushing plant, which was converted into a manufacturing plant in 1888. State Library of Queensland hold the Barton Family records which includes information about the Mon Repos homestead and the running of the Barton's sugar mills and plantations. [9]

In the 1890s, the governments of France, Queensland and New South Wales decided to construct an undersea telegraph cable to link Australia to North America across the Pacific Ocean via New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, and Hawaii. The cable came ashore at Mon Repos, where a cable station was constructed. The cable was used until the 1920s when it was replaced by a radio service via Sydney and the cable station demolished. The cables remained in place under the sea where they were used during World War II by the Royal Australian Navy to train crews in midget submarines operating from HMS Bonaventure to cut cables in preparation to cut undersea telephone cables in Tokyo. Two lieutenants Bruce Enzer and Bruce Carey died during the training. Some remains of the cable station can be seen within the caravan park.[10]

Sandhills Provisional School opened on 20 March 1893. On 1 January 1909 it became Sandhills State School. In January 1921 it was renamed Bargara State School.[11]

In 1912 pioneer aviator Bert Hinkler launched one of his first home-made gliders on Mon Repos Beach and flew 10 metres (33 ft) above the sand dunes.[12][13]

In the 2016 census Mon Repos had a population of 30 people.[1]

Heritage listings
South Sea Islander Wall, 2009

Mon Repos has a number of heritage-listed sites, including Grange Road: South Sea Islander Wall[14]

Around 1884 Augustus Barton, owner of the Mon Repos homestead used South Sea Islander indentured labour on his properties, which before being planted with cane had to be cleared of scoria stones, remnants of a volcanic formation located nearby. These stones were then used to construct the South Sea Islander Walls which remain substantially intact and are now heritage listed, a reminder of the people who were brought to work as slaves on Queensland farms between 1863 and 1904.[15]

Education

Despite the name, Bargara State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 591 Bargara Road in Mon Repos (24.8221°S 152.4387°E / -24.8221; 152.4387 (Bargara State School)).[16][17] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 448 students with 31 teachers (26 full-time equivalent) and 22 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent).[18]

There are no secondary schools in Mon Repos. The nearest secondary school is Kepnock State High School in Kepnock in Bundaberg to the south-west.[19]

Facilities

Despite the name, Bargara SES Facility is at 18 Potters Road in Mon Repos (24.8219°S 152.4390°E / -24.8219; 152.4390 (Bargara SES Facility)).[20]

Conservation Centre

The Mon Repos Turtle Centre, designed by KIRK architect (Richard Kirk Architect), was built in 2019 for Queensland Parks & Wildlife to facilitate research and education surrounding turtle conservation.

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mon Repos (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "Mon Repos – locality in Bundaberg Region (entry 44747)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. "Mountain ranges beaches and sea passages - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  5. "Barolin Nature Reserve". Bundaberg Regional Council. Archived from the original on 5 August 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. "Barolin Nature Reserve, QLD". Greenfleet. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. "South Sea Islander Wall (entry 602230)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  8. "Family Notices". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser (Qld. : 1860 – 1947). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 5 January 1885. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 January 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  9. This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Mon Repos Plantation (23 June 2021) published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 29 June 2021.
  10. "Mon Repos Cable Station Remains" (PDF). Bundaberg Regional Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
  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. "Up, up and away: Aussie aviator Bert Hinkler's start on Mon Repos Beach". Bundaberg Regional Council. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  13. "Hinkler Hall of Aviation - History". Discover Bundaberg. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  14. "South Sea Islander Wall (entry 602230)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  15. This Wikipedia article incorporates text from Mon Repos Plantation (23 June 2021) published by the State Library of Queensland under CC BY licence, accessed on 29 June 2021.
  16. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  17. "Bargara State School". Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  18. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  19. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  20. "Emergency services facilities - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.

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