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Bloomfield
Queensland
Bloomfield; Queensland
	Ayton general store, 2009
	Bloomfield
Coordinates	15°56′00″S 145°20′30″E / 15.9333°S 145.3416°E
Population	228 (2021 census)
• Density	0.2740/km2 (0.7097/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4895
Area	832.1 km2 (321.3 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	63.2 km (39 mi) S of Cooktown ; 103 km (64 mi) N of Mossman ; 179 km (111 mi) N of Cairns ; 1,884 km (1,171 mi) NNW of Brisbane ;
LGA(s)	Shire of Cook; Shire of Douglas;
State electorate(s)	Cook
Federal division(s)	Leichhardt
	Localities around Bloomfield:

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Bloomfield is a rural town in the Shire of Cook and a coastal locality which is split between the Shire of Cook and the Shire of Douglas in Queensland, Australia.^[2]^[3]^[4] The neighbourhood of Ayton is within the locality (15°55′17″S 145°21′11″E / 15.92139°S 145.35306°E / -15.92139; 145.35306 (Ayton, Queensland)).^[5] In the 2021 census, the locality of Bloomfield had a population of 228 people.^[1]

The neighbourhood of China Camp is an abandoned tin mining area within the locality (16°02′42″S 145°18′00″E / 16.045°S 145.300°E / -16.045; 145.300 (China Camp)).^[6]

Geography

The locality of Bloomfield is geographically divided into a northern section in the Shire of Cook and a southern section in the Shire of Douglas. The narrow boundary between the two sections is about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) in width and follows Granite Creek, a tributary of the Bloomfield River which passes through the locality to its mouth at the Coral Sea.^[7]^[8]

Much of the northern section of Bloomfield is within the Ngalba Bulal National Park. Much of the southern section of Bloomfield is within the Ngalba Bulal National Park and the Daintree National Park.^[8]

Although Bloomfield (15°56′00″S 145°20′30″E / 15.93333°S 145.34167°E / -15.93333; 145.34167 (Bloomfield, Queensland (town))) is officially the population centre, in practice, there is little there apart from the school. Most of the development is in Ayton, on the northern bank of the Bloomfield River near its mouth.^[8]

History

Yalanji (also known as Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Yalaja, Kuku Yelandji, and Gugu Yalanji) is an Australian Aboriginal language of Far North Queensland. The traditional language region is Mossman River in the south to the Annan River in the north, bordered by the Pacific Ocean in the east and extending inland to west of Mount Mulgrave. This includes the local government boundaries of the Shire of Douglas, the Shire of Cook and the Aboriginal Shire of Wujal Wujal and the towns and localities of Cooktown, Mossman, Daintree, Cape Tribulation and Wujal Wujal. It includes the head of the Palmer River, the Bloomfield River, China Camp, Maytown, and Palmerville.^[9]

The town and locality are named after the Bloomfield River.^[2]

The Bloomfield River Sugar Company was established in 1882 by Frederick Bauer and his two sons. They established a sugarcane plantation that they called Vilele. The sugar mill they constructed did its first full-scale crush in 1885. In 1886 they built a saw mill and had 10 miles (16 km) of tramway built from portable track. The sugar mill closed in 1890 as it proved to be not economic.^[10]

Ayton Provisional School opened on the road from Cape Tribulation to Cooktown circa 1897. On 1 January 1909 it became Ayton State School. It 1924 it was closed due to low student numbers.^[11]

Bloomfield River State School opened on 16 July 1952.^[11]

Prior to the deamalgamation of Shire of Douglas on 1 January 2014, Bloomfield was split between Shire of Cook and Cairns Region.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the locality of Bloomfield had a population of 403 people.^[12]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Bloomfield had a population of 204 people.^[13]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Bloomfield had a population of 228 people.^[1]

Facilities

Cook Shire Council operates a public library in Ayton.^[14]

Education

Bloomfield River State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 3202 Rossville-Bloomfield Road (15°56′07″S 145°20′29″E / 15.9352°S 145.3413°E / -15.9352; 145.3413 (Bloomfield River State School)).^[15]^[16] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 41 students with 6 teachers and 9 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).^[17]

The nearest primary school is in Rossville, which is another small school about 30 mins away and then the nearest secondary school is in Cooktown (approximately 1 hour away).^[8]