Westbrook, Queensland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Westbrook
Queensland
I6usn.jpg
Main Street, Westbrook, looking toward Mount Rascal
Population3,885 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)4350
Location
  • 10 km (6 mi) SW of Toowoomba
  • 116 km (72 mi) W of Brisbane
LGA(s)Toowoomba Region
State electorate(s)Condamine
Federal division(s)Groom
Suburbs around Westbrook:
Biddeston Wellcamp Glenvale
Biddeston Westbrook Drayton
Athol Wyreema Finnie

Westbrook is a town and locality in Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] In the 2016 census, the town recorded a population of 3,885.[1]

Geography[]

The Gore Highway passes through Westbrook.[4] The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing passes through the western part of the locality with no intersections.[citation needed]

History[]

Open carriage outside the Westbrook Station homestead, circa 1877

The name Westbrook comes from the name of the Westbrook pastoral run named by John 'Tinker' Campbell, a pastoralist and merchant, in 1841.[2][5]

In 1877, 11,500 acres (4,700 ha) of land was resumed from the Westbrook pastoral run to establish smaller farms. The land was offered for selection on 17 April 1877.[6]

Bunker's Hill State School opened on 1 January 1899 under head teacher Walter Richmond.[7][8][9]

Westbrook Reformatory School for Boys opened on 5 May 1900, having been relocated from Lytton Hill on the orders of Colonel George Arthur French, Commandant of the newly created Queensland Defence Force.[10] On 30 October 1919, it was renamed Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook to have a "positive 'moral effect' on the boys". On 26 May 1966 it was renamed Westbrook Training Centre. Around 1987 Westbrook it was renamed Westbrook Youth Detention Centre. It closed on 30 June 1994.[9][11][12][13][14]

Westbrook Presbyterian Church was officially opened on Sunday 15 June 1902 by Reverend Robert Henry Roberts. Reverend Joseph Lundie and Messrs Munro and Robertson, all of Toowoomba, donated the 1-acre (0.40 ha) site, while Frederick George Gray Couper of Westbrook Station gifted the building. Prior to the opening of the church, Presbyterian worship had been held in the home of Mr and Mrs Hugh Campbell.[15][16]

Westbrook State School, 1930

Westbrook Crossing State School opened on 9 February 1910, but changed its name to Westbrook State School. It was officially opened by James Tolmie and Thomas Robert Roberts, the two Members of the Queenland Legislative Assembly for Drayton and Toowoomba.[17] The school closed on 6 July 1969.[9][18]

On Sunday 20 February 1920 Reverend Father Fouhy opened a Catholic Church in Westbrook, about 4 miles (6.4 km) from the railway crossing on the main Westbrook Road. The architects were James Marks and Son of Toowoomba and it was built by H. Andrews.[19]

Westbrook War Memorial, Anzac Day 1922

On 25 April (Anzac Day) 1922, the Westbrook War Memorial was unveiled by Littleton Groom, the then Attorney-General for Australia and Member for the Darling Downs. The memorial commemorates the service of 47 local men in World War I and is located at Main Street in front of the Westbrook Hall (

 WikiMiniAtlas
27°36′33″N 151°52′01″E / 27.609195°N 151.866870°E / 27.609195; 151.866870 (Westbrook War Memorial)).[20][21][22]

The town has grown to become a satellite suburb of Toowoomba and is now one of the fastest growing areas of the city, and is home to many of its workers.[23]

Heritage listings[]

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

Education[]

Bunker's Hill State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 315 Bunkers Hill School Road (

 WikiMiniAtlas
27°36′22″S 151°50′00″E / 27.6060°S 151.8333°E / -27.6060; 151.8333 (Bunker's Hill State School)).[26][27] In 2012, it had 205 students enrolled with 17 teachers (12.6 full-time equivalent).[28] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 253 students with19 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent).[29]

There are no secondary schools in Westbrook. The nearest government secondary school is Harristown State High School in Harristown to the north-east.[30]

Facilities[]

Library services in Westbrook are provided by the Toowoomba Regional Council's mobile library service. The van visits Main Street every Saturday.[31]

References[]

  1. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Westbrook (State Suburb)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 21 September 2017. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ a b "Westbrook – population centre in the Toowoomba Region (entry 37091)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  3. ^ "Westbrook (locality) (entry 48092)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  5. ^ "IN THE TRACKS OF EARLY SQUATTERS". Sunday Mail. No. 379. Queensland, Australia. 25 July 1937. p. 42. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Proclamations under the New Land Acts". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 2 March 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 19 February 2020 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Agency ID 96, Bunkers Hill State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  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. ^ a b c "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Lytton Hill (entry 601366)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  11. ^ "Agency ID 11373, Westbrook Reformatory for Boys". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  12. ^ "Agency ID 11374, Farm Home for Boys, Westbrook". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  13. ^ "Agency ID 11375, Westbrook Training Centre". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Agency ID 48, Westbrook Youth Detention Centre". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  15. ^ "WESTBROOK". Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser. No. 6294. Queensland, Australia. 19 June 1902. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "NEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AT WESTBROOK". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. XLIV, no. 10, 544. Queensland, Australia. 17 June 1902. p. 2. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "M.U.I.O.O.F., No. 44". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LII, no. 8937. Queensland, Australia. 26 February 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Agency ID 6042, Westbrook State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  19. ^ "R.C. CHURCH AT WESTBROOK". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LII, no. 8925. Queensland, Australia. 12 February 1910. p. 4. Retrieved 4 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "Westbrook War Memorial". Monument Australia. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  21. ^ "PERSONAL". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 22 April 1922. p. 19. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  22. ^ "OBSERVANCE IN TOOWOOMBA". The Brisbane Courier. National Library of Australia. 26 April 1922. p. 8. Retrieved 8 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Westbrook". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  24. ^ "Westbrook Homestead (entry 600636)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Westbrook War Memorial (entry 600637)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  26. ^ "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  27. ^ "Bunker's Hill State School". Retrieved 4 October 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ^ "2012 School Annual Report" (PDF). Bunker's Hill State School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  29. ^ "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Queensland State and Non-State Schools". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  31. ^ "Mobile library". Toowoomba Regional Council. Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.

External links[]

  • "Westbrook". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
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