St Lawrence, Queensland

St Lawrence is a rural town and locality in the Isaac Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census the locality of St Lawrence had a population of 235 people.[1]

St Lawrence
Queensland
View along St Lawrence's main street
St Lawrence is located in Queensland
St Lawrence
St Lawrence
Coordinates22.3455°S 149.5352°E / -22.3455; 149.5352 (St Lawrence (town centre))
Population235 (2016 census)[1]
 • Density0.1701/km2 (0.4405/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4707
Elevation18 m (59 ft)
Area1,381.8 km2 (533.5 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Isaac Region
State electorate(s)Mirani
Federal division(s)Capricornia
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
31.8 °C
89 °F		 10.9 °C
52 °F		 1,018.6 mm
40.1 in
Localities around St Lawrence:
Collaroy Clairview The Percy Group
Lotus Creek St Lawrence The Percy Group
Clarke Creek Ogmore Ogmore

Geography

St Lawrence is located 802 kilometres (498 mi) north of Brisbane and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) off the Bruce Highway.The town is located south of St Lawrence Creek, which flows into a vast bay known as Broad Sound, a waterway noted for its large tidal range (up to 9 metres (30 ft) in the summer).

The North Coast railway line passes through the town, which is served by St Lawrence railway station.

Newport is a neighbourhood within the locality, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south-east of the town (22.3686°S 149.5658°E / -22.3686; 149.5658 (Newport)).[4]

History

St Lawrence is located on Koinmerburra Country; the Custodians of this land are the Koinjmal People.

British settlement in the area began circa 1860 when John Arthur Macartney established Waverley pastora station.[5] The township of St Lawrence was originally established to maintain the Customs Office for the Port of St Lawrence.[6] It takes its name from one of the blocks on the Waverley pastoral station.[2]

The St Lawrence State School opened on 28 May 1871.[7]

Anglican services were held quarterly in the St Lawrence Courthouse (now the St Lawrence Police Station) until the opening of the meatworks in 1893 attracted sufficient residents to establish a church. In March 1898, Vicar Arthur Henry Julius purchased 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land at the end of Macartney Street (the main street through the town) where he said the church would be "conspicuous". The foundation block for Christ Church Anglican was laid on Saturday 21 May 1898 by Thomas Byrnes, the new Queensland Premier (and Queensland's first Roman Catholic Premier).[8] The church was designed by Rockhampton architect, Alfred Mowbray Hutton, to seat around 100 people with a classroom for Sunday School and a bedroom for visiting clergy. The contractors were Newman Bros of Rockhampton.[9][5]

The St Lawrence Library opened in 2001.[10]

At the 2006 census, St Lawrence and the surrounding area had a population of 195.[11]

Offices of the Isaac Regional Council (formerly Broadsound Shire Council Chambers), 2016

St Lawrence was the administrative centre of the Shire of Broadsound until 2008, when the shire was amalgamated with the Shire of Belyando and the Shire of Nebo to form the Isaac Region local government area. Moranbah is the administrative centre of the new region but the former Broadsound Shire offices at 36 Macartney Street are still used as the local offices of the Isaac Regional Council.[12] The building was described in 2004 as "a disarmingly elegant building which seems quite out of place in this otherwise undistinguished town".[13]

In the 2011 census, St Lawrence had a population of 396 people.[14]

In the 2016 census the locality of St Lawrence had a population of 235 people.[1]

Once a prosperous port town, exporting cattle from the hinterland, many residents are now DIDO coal miners.[15]

Heritage listings
Christ Church Anglican, 2009

St Lawrence has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Education

St Lawrence State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Macartney Street (22.3449°S 149.5297°E / -22.3449; 149.5297 (St Lawrence State School)).[18][19] In 2015, it had an enrolment of 10 students with 2 teachers (1 equivalent full-time).[20] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 9 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).[21] The school motto is 'Knowledge, Truth, Honesty'.[19]

The original school was opened on 28 May 1871 but it was completely destroyed by a cyclone on 22 January 1874 and had to be rebuilt.[22] A new school building was officially opened on 17 June 1938.[23] The school was completely destroyed by fire on 30 October 2007.[24] A mobile classroom was transported from Brisbane as the school's permanent replacement.[25] A wishing well handcrafted by Jack Dempsey was installed at the site and dedicated in 2008 in remembrance of the previous school building.[26]

St Lawrence State School celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021.[22]

There is no secondary school in St Lawrence nor nearby.[27] Distance education and boarding school are options.

Amenities

The Isaac Regional Council operates a public library at 22 Railway Parade (22.3510°S 149.5233°E / -22.3510; 149.5233 (St Lawrence public library)).[28]

Christ Church Anglican is on Cannon Street at the junction with Macartney Street (22.3458°S 149.5378°E / -22.3458; 149.5378 (Christ Church Anglican)). It is part of the Parish of North Rockhampton (also known as the All Saints Anglican Community) within the Anglican Church of Central Queensland.[29]

Events

Each June, an annual eco festival called "Wetlands Weekend" is held in St Lawrence to celebrate the wetlands and local produce.[30] First held in 2008 to raise awareness of the importance of wetland conservation, the event incorporates various cultural activities, workshops, environmental art, musical performances as well as a 'Welcome to Wetlands' evening, a 'farm to plate' seafood lunch and a bush dinner.[30][31][32][33] There are also celebrity appearances from personalities such as Gardening Australia presenter Costa Georgiadis and celebrity chef Matt Golinski.[34][35] Isaac Regional Council credited the 2019 event for adding $121,000 to the local economy.[30]

  • St Lawrence River - low tide
    St Lawrence River - low tide
  • St Lawrence River - across the park
    St Lawrence River - across the park
  • St Lawrence - Bird watching
    St Lawrence - Bird watching

See also

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "St Lawrence (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  2. "St Lawrence – town in Isaac Region (entry 32101)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. "St Lawrence – locality in Isaac Region (entry 47035)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. "Newport – locality unbounded in Isaac Regional (entry 24168)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. "Christ Church Anglican Church (entry 601661)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  6. "St Lawrence - Isaac Regional Council". www.isaac.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  8. "THE PREMIER'S VISIT". The Capricornian. Vol. 24, no. 23. Queensland, Australia. 4 June 1898. p. 12. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Christ Church Anglican Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  10. "Queensland Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "St Lawrence (Broadsound Shire) (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  12. "Contact Us - Isaac Regional Council". www.isaac.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  13. "St Lawrence". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  14. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "St Lawrence". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  15. Hooker, Amber. "Huge new mine project to hire 450 workers". Morning Bulletin. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  16. "Police Station and former Courthouse and Cell Block (entry 601152)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  17. "Meatworks and Wharf Site (former) (entry 601173)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  18. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  19. "St Lawrence State School". Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  20. "2015 School Annual Report" (PDF). St Lawrence State School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  21. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  22. Petith, Heidi (13 June 2021). "St Lawrence State School celebrates 150 years". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  23. "New state school at St Lawrence". Daily Mercury. 22 June 1938. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  24. "Town loses school but not its spirit". Daily Mercury. 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  25. "Fire-hit St Lawrence school get new mobile classroom". ABC News. 1 November 2007. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  26. "St Lawrence School". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  27. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  28. "St Lawrence Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  29. "Parish of North Rockhampton". Anglican Church of Central Queensland. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  30. Charles, Caitlyn (29 August 2019). "How one weekend pumped $121,000 into rural economy". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  31. Lees, Chris (14 April 2016). "St Lawrence wetlands a hidden gem for wildlife". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  32. Cassidy, Tara (22 May 2017). "St Lawrence Wetlands Weekend returns". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  33. Watkins, Lillian (11 June 2021). "Artists descend on St Lawrence for Wetlands Weekend". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  34. Wilson, Rae (13 June 2021). "A foodie date with Matt Golinski in St Lawrence". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  35. Wilson, Rae (23 March 2019). "Popular TV presenter gives a green thumbs up to Isaac". Daily Mercury. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
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