Wondai

Wondai (/wɒndaɪ/)[2] is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.[3][4] In the 2021 census, Wondai had a population of 1,975 people.[1]

Wondai
Queensland
Post office
Wondai is located in Queensland
Wondai
Wondai
Coordinates26.3183°S 151.8736°E / -26.3183; 151.8736 (Wondai (town centre))
Population1,975 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density49.38/km2 (127.88/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4606
Elevation321 m (1,053 ft)
Area40.0 km2 (15.4 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)South Burnett Region
State electorate(s)Nanango
Federal division(s)Flynn
Localities around Wondai:
Chelmsford Wheatlands Ficks Crossing
Greenview Wondai Cherbourg
Tingoora Charlestown Charlestown

Geography

Wondai is located to the south of the Bunya Highway, 241 kilometres (150 mi) north west of the state capital, Brisbane.

History
Butcher shop in Wondai, 1935
A funeral procession in Wondai, ca. 1915

The name Wondai is believed to be an aboriginal word from the Wakawaka language derived from either watya meaning dingo (a native dog) or wandar meaning nape of the neck.[3][4]

Wondai was first settled in the 1850s and closer settlement took place in the early 1900s.

Wondai Provisional School opened on 2 May 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became Wondai State School. A secondary department was added in 1964.[5]

Wondai Methodist Church opened on Sunday 4 October 1908,[6] being replaced by the current church building on 9 August 1914. When the Methodist Church amalgamated into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became Wondai Uniting Church.[7]

In December 1912, a Baptist church opened in Wondai.[8][9][10]

St Mary's Anglican Church was dedicated on Thursday 21 September 1939 by Archbishop William Wand.[11][12] It replaced an earlier church.[13]

St John-Trinity Lutheran Church was built from timber in 1950.[14] In 1964, St John's Lutheran Church in Mondure was relocated to Wondai to become the church hall for St John-Triniity Lutheran church.[15]

On Sunday 31 January 1954, Archbishop James Duhig opened the St John the Baptist Primary Catholic School in Wondai.[16] It was operated the Presentation Sisters who already operated a convent school in Murgon. The school was always small with only two or three teachers serving there. In January 1968 it was decided that the two teachers should travel by car from the Murgon convent each day rather than operate a separate convent in Wondai. With student numbers falling below 30 and the Murgon Catholic School being only 9 miles (14 km) away, the St John's school closed at the end of 1969.[17]

In the 2006 census, Wondai had a population of 1,402 people.[18]

In the 2011 census, Wondai had a population of 2,127 people.[19]

In the 2016 census, Wondai had a population of 1,973 people.[20]

In the 2021 census, Wondai had a population of 1,975 people.[1]

Heritage listings

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

Economy

Important industries include beef, dairy, grains and duboisia, used in the production of the antispasmodic drug butylscopolamine. Growing in importance is the wine industry.

Education

Wondai State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep-9) school for boys and girls at 32 Kent Street (26.3207°S 151.8821°E / -26.3207; 151.8821 (Wondai State School)).[22][23] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 162 students with 20 teachers (18 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent).[24] It includes a special education program.[22]

For secondary education to Year 12, the nearest schools are Murgon State High School in Murgon to the north-west or Kingaroy State High School in Kingaroy to the south.[25]

Amenities

The South Burnett Regional Council operates a library in Wondai.[26] The Wondai library building opened in 1962 and is located at 78 Mackenzie Street.[27][28]

The Wondai branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 86 McKenzie Street.[29]

St Mary's Anglican Church is at 32 Baynes Street (26.3198°S 151.8765°E / -26.3198; 151.8765 (St Mary's Anglican Church)).[30]

St John the Baptist Catholic Church is at 16 Bramston Street.[31][32]

Wondai Uniting Church (formerly Wondai Methodist Church) is at 56 Pring Street.[7]

Wondai Baptist Church is at 48 Cadell Street.[33]

St Andrew's Presbyterian Church is at 38 Pring Street.[34]

St John-Trinity Lutheran Church is at 37 Edward Street (26.31532°S 151.8743°E / -26.31532; 151.8743 (St John Trinity Lutheran Church)).[35][14]

Notable residents

Notable people from Wondai include

Wondai was also home to the legendary pacer Wondai's Mate.[36]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Wondai". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
  3. "Wondai – town in South Burnett Region (entry 37889)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  4. "Wondai – locality in South Burnett Region (entry 46282)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  5. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  6. "PERSONAL". Gympie Times And Mary River Mining Gazette. Vol. XL, no. 5273. Queensland, Australia. 3 October 1908. p. 3. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Wondai Uniting Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  8. "Queensland Baptist churches by date of erection/opening". Baptist Church Archives Queensland. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  9. "1912 Wondai". Baptist Church Archives Queensland. Archived from the original on 26 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  10. "THOUGH THE EAST.—IV". The Brisbane Courier. No. 17, 143. Queensland, Australia. 21 December 1912. p. 12. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "NEW ANGLICAN CHURCH AT WONDAI DEDICATED". The Telegraph. Queensland, Australia. 22 September 1939. p. 12 (CITY FINAL LAST MINUTE NEWS). Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Year Book" (PDF). Anglican Archdiocese of Brisbane. 2019. p. 132. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  13. "NEW ANGLICAN CHURCH AT WONDAI". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 21, 180. Queensland, Australia. 28 September 1939. p. 2. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 16 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. Blake, Thom. "St John Trinity Lutheran Church". Queensland religious places database. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  15. Blake, Thom. "St John's Lutheran Church". Queensland religious places database. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  16. "Drift To Cities Condemned". Morning Bulletin. No. 29, 476. Queensland, Australia. 25 January 1954. p. 4. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. "The Story of St Joseph's Catholic Parish, Murgon" (PDF). c. 2019. pp. 2–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  18. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Wondai (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
  19. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Wondai". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 September 2015.
  20. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Wondai (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  21. "Boondooma Homestead (entry 600967)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  22. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  23. "Wondai State School". Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  24. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  25. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  26. "Locate a Library - South Burnett Regional Council". South Burnett Regional Council. Archived from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
  27. "Queensland Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin 2016-2017" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  28. "Wondai Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 15 August 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  29. "Branch Locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  30. "St Mary's Anglican Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 17 September 2020. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  31. "St John the Baptist Wondai". murgon.brisbanecatholic.org.au. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  32. "St John the Baptist Catholic Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  33. "Wondai Baptist Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  34. "St Andrew's Presbyterian Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  35. "St John-Trinity Lutheran Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  36. "24 HOURS OF SADNESS HITS THE SOUTH BURNETT". Just Racing. Phil Purser. 2004. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 1 March 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

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