The suburb was named after the Windaroo sugar plantation, one of several nineteenth century enterprises along the Albert River.[3] The area remained essentially rural until the late 1970s, when a rural residential estate, Windaroo Acres, was subdivided, with the land being first released for sale in 1983,[6] prior to this, the land was used for dairying.[3]
The suburb was named and bounded on 1 June 1981.[2]
Windaroo State School opened on 28 January 1992.[7] It is now within neighbouring Mount Warren Park.[5]
Windaroo Valley State High School opened on 1 January 1994.[7] It is now within neighbouring Bahrs Scrub.[5]
Windaroo Australian Peace Keepers Memorial, 2013
On Sunday 29 October 2000, the Windaroo Australian Peacekeepers Memorial was dedicated to military personnel and civilians who had served in Australia's peace-keeping missions.[8][9]
Until 2008, Windaroo was within the local government area of City of Gold Coast. However, local government boundary changes in 2008 transferred suburbs north of the Albert River (including Windaroo) into the City of Logan,[10] even though a plebiscite held in 2007 found 2,534 residents supported the change while 10,821 were opposed.[11]
Demographics
In the 2011 census, Windaroo had a population of 2,715 people, 50.9% female and 49.1% male. The median age of the Windaroo population was 36 years, 1 year below the national median of 37. 70.6% of people living in Windaroo were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 8.9%, New Zealand 7.4%, South Africa 1.1%, Scotland 0.8%, Ireland 0.6%. 91.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.7% Romanian, 0.6% Mandarin, 0.4% Spanish, 0.3% Russian, 0.3% German.[12]
In the 2016 census, Windaroo had a population of 2,827 people, 49.6% female and 50.4% male. The median age of the Windaroo population was 38, being on par with the national median of 38. 73.6% of people living in Windaroo were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 8.1%, New Zealand 6.8%, South Africa 1.0%, Scotland 0.6%, and Germany 0.5%. 90.9% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.5% Japanese, 0.4% Afrikaans, 0.4% Spanish, 0.4% German, and 0.4% Mandarin.[13]
In the 2021 census, Windaroo had a population of 2,771 people, 50.8% female and 49.2% male. The median age of the Windaroo population was 40, 2 years above the national median of 38. 76.4% of people living in Windaroo were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 7.4%, New Zealand 6.7%, South Africa 1.2%, Scotland 0.5%, and Wales 0.4%. 93.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.6% Mandarin, 0.4% Russian, 0.4% Romanian, 0.3% Samoan, and 0.3% Arabic.[1]
Education
There are no schools in Windaroo. The nearest government primary school is Windaroo State School in neighbouring Mount Warren Park to the north. The nearest government secondary school is Windaroo Valley State High School in neighbouring Bahrs Scrub to the north-west.[5]
