The locality is 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of the state capital, Brisbane. The Bruce Highway passes from south to north through the locality approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) east of the town. Beerburrum Road enters from the south and ends at an intersection with Glass House Mountains Road (Steve Irwin Way) which continues to the north.[4] The North Coast railway line also passes from south to north through the locality which is served by Beerburrum railway station on the eastern edge of the town.[5]
The eastern part of the locality is low-lying land with many creeks which drain into the Pumicestone Passage. The western part of the locality is higher hillier land and includes two of the Glass House Mountains: Mount Beerburrum and Mount Tibberoowuccum, both of which are protected within the Glass House Mountains National Park.
Mount Tibberoowuccum (26°55′47″S152°55′58″E / 26.92972°S 152.93278°E / -26.92972; 152.93278 (Mount Tibberoowuccum)) is composed of alkali rhyolite. It is 220 metres (720 ft) high. The mountain is a dome-shaped rock surrounded by eucalypt open forest, as well as complex rainforest, although the area is not extensive. There is a small population of Narrow-leaf bitter-pea (Daviesia Mimosoides) present on the southern slope of the mountain. This shrub is widespread in Victoria and New South Wales, but rare in Queensland, and the Mount Tiberoocwuccum population is the most northerly known.[10][12]
History
Looking towards the railway station, Beerburrum, 1916Soldiers farm, Beerburrum, 1918
The name is derived from that of the mountain Beerburrum. In the language of the Indigenous Kabi nation, bir means green parrot and burru mountain.[2]
On 26 July 1799, Matthew Flinders and two sailors from the ship Norfolk climbed Mount Beerburrum accompanied by Aboriginal man Bongaree from Sydney. They were the first Europeans to climb one of the Glass House Mountains.[13]
The North Coast line from Caboolture to Landsborough (which included a siding at Beerburrum) was completed on 1 February 1890. This opened up access to the district for settlement.[18][19][20]
A cemetery was established at Beerburrum circa 1908. It was officially closed in 1970 with about 12 graves still visible.[21]
In 1916, Beerburrum was chosen to be a soldier settlement with over 24,000 hectares (59,000 acres) subdivided into more than 550 farm lots, making the Beerburrum Soldier Settlement the largest soldier settlement in Queensland. [22] The expectation was that hilly land would be suitable for growing pineapples and other fruits. However, by 1929, it was generally acknowledged that the scheme had failed (like many others), due to the farms being too small to be economically viable. This was compounded by shortages of skills, capital, and markets.[23]
Beerburrum Post Office opened by 1917 (a receiving office had been open from 1893).[24]
Beerburrum State School opened on 22 April 1918.[25]
The Beerburrum School of Arts was opened on Thursday 9 May 1918.[26][22]
In 1920, a memorial avenue of trees (camphor laurels and weeping figs) was planted in the town's main street to commemorate those who had served in World War I. The street was renamed Anzac Avenue.[27]
Circa 1920, the Beerburrum Bakery opened as part of a group of shops in Anzac Avenue. With the failure of the soldier settlement, most of the shops closed and the buildings relocated elsewhere. The bakery is the only surviving shop building from the settlement.[28]
A School of Arts hall was established circa 1920 in Anzac Avenue and remains one of the few buildings that survive from the settlement.[29]
On 4 February 1922, the Queensland TreasurerJohn Fihelly officiated at the opening of the cottage hospital at Beerburrum.[30] It closed in 1931 following the failure of the settlement.[31]
St George's Anglican Church was dedicated on 20 August 1922 by Canon D.J. Garland.[32][33] The building was originally built as a chapel at the Enoggera army barracks during World War I by the Soldiers' Church of England Help Society.[34] Many of the furnishings and ornaments in the Enoggera barracks church were donated in memory of soldiers who had died, including the altar and its furnishings which were donated in the memory of Earl Kitchener.[35] Due to the failure of the soldier settlement, the church fell into disuse. It was officially closed in August 1931, after which the church was moved to Maleny, where it was dedicated to St George on 6 September 1931 by Archbishop Sharp.[33]
After World War II, pine plantations were developed in the area as state forests creating a local forestry industry. Circa 1947 a Forestry Station Barracks was built to accommodate forestry workers.[36]
The Bruce Highway originally passed along the western boundary of the town (later known as Old Bruce Highway and now as Beerburrum Road). In the early 1970s, the town was bypassed to its immediate east in the early 1970s, and that road (called Glasshouse Mountains Road and now Steve Irwin Way) was itself superseded by the current alignment of the highway further to the east in 1985.
Demographics
In the 2006 census, the town of Beerburrum had a population of 287 people.[37]
In the 2011 census, the locality of Beerburrum had a population of 600 people.[38]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Beerburrum had a population of 763 people.[39]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Beerburrum had a population of 941 people.[1]
Heritage listing
Beerburrum has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Beerburrum railway station, situated in Beerburrum, QLD, serves as a vital stop along the North Coast railway line—a key link connecting Brisbane to Cairns over a 1,681-kilometre stretch. Translink operates a number of bus routes across Beerburrum that provide further connectivity within the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.
^Kerr, John (1990). Triumph of narrow gauge : a history of Queensland Railways. Boolarong Publications. p. 84. ISBN978-0-86439-102-5.
^"RAILWAYS". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLVI, no. 9, 994. Queensland, Australia. 25 January 1890. p. 6. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"CABOOLTURE". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XLV, no. 9, 687. Queensland, Australia. 31 January 1889. p. 3. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Beerburrum". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
^"FINE INVESTMENT". Queensland Times. Vol. LXIII, no. 11, 207. Queensland, Australia. 6 February 1922. p. 5 (DAILY.). Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"ANGLICAN CHURCH AT BEERBURRUM". Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 – 1933). 23 August 1922. p. 6. Archived from the original on 3 September 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
^"WAR-TIME CHURCH". The Telegraph. No. 18, 333. Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1931. p. 11 (FIRST EDITION). Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.Download
^"HISTORIC CHURCH". The Brisbane Courier. No. 22, 968. Queensland, Australia. 9 September 1931. p. 15. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
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