Wrights Creek, Queensland Explained

Type:suburb
Wrights Creek
State:qld
Coordinates:-17.0211°N 145.7738°W
Pop:160
Postcode:4869
Area:22.7
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:5.7
Dir1:SE
Location1:Bentley Park
Dist2:7.1
Dir2:N
Location2:Gordonvale
Dist3:16.4
Dir3:S
Location3:Cairns CBD
Dist4:1683
Dir4:NNW
Location4:Brisbane
Lga:Cairns Region
Stategov:Mulgrave
Fedgov:Kennedy
Fedgov2:Leichhardt
Near-N:Portsmith
Near-Ne:Packers Camp
Near-E:Packers Camp
Near-Se:Gordonvale
Near-S:Mount Peter
Near-Sw:Mount Peter
Near-W:Edmonton
Near-Nw:Edmonton

Wrights Creek is a rural locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, Wrights Creek had a population of 160 people.

The origin of the suburb name is from the Wright brothers who brought cattle to Wrights Creek in the year 1878.[2]

Geography

The locality is mostly low-lying flat land (approx 10 metres above sea level) with a small area of mountainous area in the south-west of the locality rising to an unnamed peak of 200 metres above sea level. The Trinity Inlet (aka Smith Creek) is the northern boundary of the locality while Wrights Creek (the watercourse from which the locality takes its name) and Mackey Creek form parts of the eastern and western boundaries of the locality. Warner Road is the southern boundary. The northern part of the locality is undeveloped wetlands and the mountainous region is also undeveloped. However, apart from these undeveloped areas, the land use is farming (predominantly grwowing sugarcane).

The Bruce Highway and North Coast railway line pass through the south-western part of the locality with Kamma railway station on the boundary with neighbouring Gordonvale serving the local area.[3] There is also a network of cane tramways to transport the harvested sugarcane to the Mulgrave Sugar Mill.[4]

History

Wrights Creek is situated in the Yidinji traditional Aboriginal country.[5]

Wright's Creek Provisional School opened on 8 October 1894, becoming Wright's Creek State School on 1 January 1909. It closed in September 1953.[6] It was on the north-eastern side of the railway line south of Harris Road (approx).[7] [8]

The locality was formerly serviced by now-abandonded Yatee railway station (-17.0397°N 145.7618°W).[9]

Demographics

In the, Wrights Creek had a population of 156 people.

In the, Wrights Creek had a population of 160 people.

Education

There are no schools in Wrights Creek. The nearest government primary schools are Hambledon State School in neighbouring Edmonton to the west and Gordonvale State School in neighbouring Gordonvale to the south-east. The nearest government secondary schools are Bentley State College in Bentley Park to the north-west and Gordonvale State High School in Gordonvale.[10]

Development

As part of the Wrights Creek development plan, a trade, enterprise, freight and industry zone has been proposed in the southern part of Wrights Creek nearby Gordonvale to diversify the economy of the Cairns region and to provide employment opportunities. The development plan utilises the location of the Bruce Highway and North Coast railway line transport corridors. Significant portions of land would be retained for the purpose of sugarcane farming in the area and environmental management purposes.[11] The local council supported the state development area on the basis that existing private businesses in the region would not be impacted by competition.[12]

As part of the Bruce Highway Southern Access Corridor development project, the construction of an off-road cycling path and an upgrade of the Bruce Highway has been funded by the state and federal governments, with construction expected to be completed from 2021–2023.[13] [14]

Notes and References

  1. 12 December 2017.
  2. Web site: W Suburbs . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200413152844/https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/11859/WSuburbs.pdf . 13 April 2020 . 14 April 2020 . Cairns Heritage Page . Cairns Regional Council.
  3. 31 March 2024.
  4. 13 December 2017.
  5. Web site: Indigenous culture and history . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200409215848/https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/community-environment/first-people/culture-history . 9 April 2020 . 23 June 2020 . Cairns Regional Council.
  6. News: 30 September 1953 . HISTORIC SCHOOL CLOSING . 31 March 2024 . . Queensland, Australia . 1 . National Library of Australia . 16,0[?]6.
  7. Web site: 1942 . Gordonvale . 31 March 2024 . . Map . 8 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231008040826/https://apps.information.qld.gov.au/data/v2/HistoricalMaps/StaticMap/topographic/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-gordonvale-1942/original . live .
  8. Web site: 1950 . Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m425 . 31 March 2024 . . Map.
  9. Web site: 2 October 2020 . Railway stations and sidings - Queensland . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201005070354/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/transport-features-queensland-series/resource/84fff9a0-e315-4844-9c4d-63934562a9bd . 5 October 2020 . 5 October 2020 . Queensland Open Data . Queensland Government.
  10. Web site: Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments . 31 March 2024 . Queensland Globe . . 19 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171219175447/https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ . live .
  11. Web site: Cairns South state development area. 13 October 2019. State Development. Queensland Government. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191019095945/https://www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/coordinator-general/state-development-areas/current/cairns-south-state-development-area.html. 19 October 2019. 2019-10-23.
  12. Web site: Council concerned industrial hub could bring unwelcome competition. Cluff. Renee. 2019-10-08. TropicNow. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191019095943/https://www.tropicnow.com.au/2019/october/8/council-concerned-industrial-hub-could-bring-unwelcome-competition.html. 19 October 2019. 2019-10-23.
  13. Web site: Bruce Highway - Cairns Southern Access Corridor - Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale. 2019-08-02. Transport and Main Roads. Queensland Government. en-AU. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191019095944/https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/B/Bruce-Highway-Cairns-Southern-Access-Corridor-Stage-3-Edmonton-to-Gordonvale. 19 October 2019. 2019-10-23.
  14. Web site: Bike path to connect Cairns and Gordonvale. Cluff. Renee. 2019-09-23. TropicNow. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191019095945/https://www.tropicnow.com.au/2019/september/23/bike-path-to-connect-cairns-and-gordonvale.html. 19 October 2019. 2019-10-23.