The terrain is rugged with many sloped sections heavily vegetated. Lower elevations start at around 90 metres (300 ft) above sea level while in the south the McPherson Range climbs above 600 metres (2,000 ft). In the southeast lies multiple sections of Palen State Forest and part of Mount Barney National Park. On the slopes of Mount Giles in the west is another forest reserve. Between the two, the Mount Lindesay Highway winds along the valley floor.[citation needed]
In 1877, 15,500 acres (6,300 ha) were resumed from the Melcombe and Palen pastoral runs and offered for selection on 17 April 1877.[7]
Timber was an important early industry and there were two sawmills, one at Palen Creek owned by Campbells and one at Tylerville owned by Alfred John Raymond. These no longer exist.[8][9][10][11][12]
Barney View Lutheran Church was dedicated on Wednesday 16 November 1910 with sermons in both German and English.[15] The church closed in 1966.[16] In the 1970s the church building was relocated to Rathdowney to extend the Rathdowney Methodist (later Uniting) Church.[17] The Lutheran Church still owns the land on Barney View Road (now within the boundaries of Palen Creek, 28°16′02″S152°47′18″E / 28.2672°S 152.7884°E / -28.2672; 152.7884 (Abode Park)) and operates it as a campsite called Abode Park. It is named after Pastor Armin Bode who was a Lutheran minister in the Parish of Teviotville (which included Barney View) from 1915 to 1969.[16][18][19] A memorial at the park commemorates the former church.[16]
Palen Creek Methodist Church opened on Saturday 10 May 1913.[20] In 1957 it was relocated to 39 Running Creek Road in Rathdowney. In the 1970s it was further extended with the Glenapp hall and the Barney View Lutheran Church. When the Methodist Church became part of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Palen Creek Uniting Church. It held its last service on Sunday 23 February 2014.[17][21] It is now in private ownership.[22]
Demographics
At the 2011 census, Palen Creek and surrounds recorded a population of 219.[23]
In the 2016 census, Palen Creek had a population of 280 people.[24]
In the 2021 census, Palen Creek had a population of 368 people.[1]
Heritage listings
Palen Creek has the following heritage-listed sites:
There are no schools in Palen Creek. The nearest primary school is Rathdowney State School in neighbouring Rathdowney. The nearest secondary schools are Beaudesert State High School in Beaudesert and Boonah State High School in Boonah.[3]
^"Advertising". The Beaudesert Times. Vol. 3, no. 110. Queensland, Australia. 11 November 1910. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Palen Creek". The Beaudesert Times. Vol. 5, no. 241. Queensland, Australia. 23 May 1913. p. 8. Retrieved 19 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.