On Saturday 15 October 1921, a Methodist church was officially opened in Amiens by Reverend Edwin George Walker, of Stanthorpe.[7] It had been relocated from Tannymorel (where it had been opened in 1902).[8][9] In 1945, it was relocated to Severnlea, where it is now operates as the Severnlea Uniting Church.[10]
Although the intention of the soldier settlement farms in the district was fruit growing, the fruit trees required a number of years before they would bear fruit and the government loans on the farms required immediate interest payments. Many soldier settlers turned to vegetable growing, both for their own use and to enable them to sell for a short-term income.[11]
Amiens State School, 1922
Pikedale Soldier's Settlement State School opened on 10 March 1919. In 1920 it was renamed Amiens State School.[12][13]
On Sunday 1 July 1923, St Denys' Anglican Church was officially opened by Canon David Garland.[14][15][16] It was named after St Denys, a patron saint of France.[10]
On Saturday 26 June 1926, the Amiens Memorial School of Arts and Hall was officially opened by Major Edward Costello, the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Carnarvon.[17] It was used for the annual agricultural show as well as social events such as dances. It was located in Memorial Lane, but was relocated in the 1980s to Storm King Dam to be used as a recreation centre in the youth camp.[10][18]
St Patrick's Catholic Church was established in 1964, having been relocated from Sugarloaf.[19]
The railway line closed on 28 February 1974.[4] Fruit and vegetables are carried by road to the markets.
Demographics
In the 2016 census, Amiens had a population of 293 people.[20]
In the 2021 census, Amiens had a population of 343 people.[1]
Apple trees under netting to protect them from hail, Amiens, 2015
Amiens is a fruit and vegetable growing district. As the Granite Belt suffers from regular hail, many orchards are protected by hail nets. Traditionally hail nets were intended to prevent the hail from entering the orchard; however, the heavy hail would pool in the nets and break through onto the orchard below. Modern hail nets are designed to have gullies between the rows of the trees which allow the hail to fall into the orchards but avoiding the fruit on the trees.[22]
^Randall, Brian (3 November 2014). "Pikedale soldier settlements". State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
^"NEW CHURCH". Daily Mail. No. 6044. Queensland, Australia. 17 October 1921. p. 6. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"METHODISM". Warwick Daily News. No. 5109. Queensland, Australia. 30 November 1935. p. 8. Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^"ST. DENY'S CHURCH". The Brisbane Courier. No. 20, 418. Queensland, Australia. 2 July 1923. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^Blake, Thom. "St Denys' Anglican Church". Queensland religious places database. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
^"AMIENS". The Brisbane Courier. No. 21, 356. Queensland, Australia. 7 July 1926. p. 20. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^ abBlake, Thom. "St Patrick's Catholic Church". Queensland religious places database. Archived from the original on 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
