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Bakers Creek, Queensland

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Coordinates: 21°13′13″S 149°08′48″E / 21.2203°S 149.1466°E / -21.2203; 149.1466 (Bakers Creek (town centre))
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Bakers Creek
Queensland
Bakers Creek is located in Queensland
Bakers Creek
Bakers Creek
Coordinates21°13′13″S 149°08′48″E / 21.2203°S 149.1466°E / -21.2203; 149.1466 (Bakers Creek (town centre))
Population1,590 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density77.2/km2 (199.9/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4740
Area20.6 km2 (8.0 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Mackay Region
State electorate(s)Mirani
Federal division(s)Capricornia
Localities around Bakers Creek:
Racecourse Ooralea Paget
Te Kowai Bakers Creek Coral Sea
Sandiford Rosella McEwens Beach

Bakers Creek is a rural town and coastal locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Bakers Creek had a population of 1,590 people.[1]

Geography

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Bakers Creek is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Mackay. The Bruce Highway and the North Coast railway line traverse the locality from south to north, passing the town which is served by the Bakers Creek railway station with a second railway station Dundula in the north of the locality. The Dundula railway station was named on 30 October 1913 by J. Strachan, the Mackay railway traffic manager of the Queensland Railways Department as an Aboriginal word meaning eucalypt tree.[4][5] In turn, the surrounding neighbourhood and also the school are named Dundula.[6]

The land in Bakers Creek is flat and low-lying (under 10 metres above sea level) and is well-watered by the watercourse Bakers Creek which flows into the Coral Sea. To the north of mouth of the creek is the Bakers Creek Conservation Park.[6]

The land is predominantly used for growing sugarcane and there is a network of cane tramways to deliver the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mills.[6]

History

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The locality was named after the creek, which in turn was named after John I. Baker, a customs officer in Mackay in 1863.[2][7]

Dundula State School opened on 28 August 1922 with 37 children enrolled on the first day, with 45 enrolled by the end of 1922. The first headmaster was Courtney Hoffman.[8][9][10]

Bakers Creek Post Office opened on 1 July 1927 (a receiving office had been open since 1909) and closed in 1979.[11]

In 1943, a USAAF aircraft crashed in the locality, killing 40 of the 41 people on board. The Bakers Creek air crash is Australia's worst aviation disaster by death toll. A memorial to the disaster was built in 1981 and is located in the grounds of the Bakers Creek Community Hall.[12]

In 1964, the Queensland Government built a meatworks. In 1978, it was sold to Thomas Borthwick & Sons who enlarged the facility. It was purchased by NH Foods in 1994 but continues to trade as Thomas Borthwick & Sons.[13]

Demographics

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In the 2006 census, the town of Bakers Creek had a population of 770 people.[14]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Bakers Creek had a population of 1,161 people.[15]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Bakers Creek had a population of 1,590 people.[1]

Economy

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The main industry is a large meat processing plant operated by Thomas Borthwick & Sons (Aust) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of NH Foods. Cattle are obtained from the Central Highlands and Coalfields through to the Atherton Tablelands, North Western Districts onto the Gulf of Carpentaria. The plants supplies the domestic market as well as export markets including Chin Europe Union, Japan, the Middle East, and the United States of America. The plant is certified to produce halal meat.[13]

Education

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Dundula State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 1 Main Street (21°12′06″S 149°08′55″E / 21.2016°S 149.1487°E / -21.2016; 149.1487 (Dundula State School)).[16][17] In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 48 students with 4 teachers (3 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[18] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 68 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 10 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).[19]

There are no secondary schools in Bakers Creek. The nearest government secondary school is Mackay State High School in South Mackay to the north.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Bakers Creek (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b "Bakers Creek – town in Mackay Region (entry 1272)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Bakers Creek – locality in Mackay Region (entry 46756)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Dundula – neighbourhood in Mackay Region (entry 10845)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  5. ^ "District Place Names". Daily Mercury. Vol. 56, no. 562. Queensland, Australia. 9 December 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 7 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ a b c "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  7. ^ "THE GAZETTE". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 23 March 1868. p. 4. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
  8. ^ "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  9. ^ "History". Dundula State School. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014.
  10. ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  11. ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Bakers Creek Air Crash Memorial". December 2003. Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
  13. ^ a b "Thomas Borthwick & Sons". NH Foods Australia. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  14. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Bakers Creek (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 April 2011.
  15. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Bakers Creek (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  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. ^ "Dundula State School". Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Annual Report 2016" (PDF). Dundula State School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
  19. ^ "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 9 May 2024.

Further reading

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  • Cutler, Robert S (2003), Mackay's Flying Fortress : the story of Australia's worst air crash in World War II (60th anniversary commemoration ed.), Central Queensland University Press, ISBN 978-1-876780-27-2
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bakers Creek, Queensland.
  • "Bakers Creek". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
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