Caboolture, Queensland
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| Caboolture Queensland |
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 Caboolture central business district. |
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| Population: | 17,739 (2006 Census) | ||||||||||||
| Established: | 1842 | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 4510 | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 50 km (31 mi) from Brisbane | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | Moreton Bay Regional Council | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Pumicestone | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Fisher, Longman | ||||||||||||
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Caboolture is a suburb 50 km north of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. Caboolture is considered to be the northernmost urban area of the greater Brisbane metropolitan region within South East Queensland, as it marks the end of the Brisbane suburban commuter railway service along the North Coast railway line.
It hosts the QUT Urban Country Music Festival each year, and a ute muster.
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[edit] History
[edit] Pre European
The Caboolture area is the traditional home of the Kabi Aboriginal people. The name "Kabultur" is derived from the Yugarabul dialect meaning "place of the carpet snake".[1] The Kabi people harvested bush food, fresh water mussels, oysters, fish, and some game animals, moving around the land to take best advantage of seasonally-available produce.
Each year in March, the Kabi people would hold Bunya Festivals to feast on the plentiful and nutritious annual nuts of the Bunya Pine. These huge trees provided a food source which could sustain large numbers of people. Neighbouring clans were invited to the festivals, where singing, dancing story-telling, trading and arranging of marriages took place.
[edit] 1800s
The Caboolture area was first settled in 1842 when the land around the Moreton Bay penal colony was opened up to free settlers. [2] Due to its proximity to Brisbane, Caboolture was one of the first areas of the state opened up to European settlement.[citation needed]
By the mid 1860s the local pastoralists were experimenting with sugar cane and cotton. In 1867, a tiny settlement was established as a supply and trading centre for the settlers in the area and to service the needs of miners trekking from Brisbane to the goldfields near Gympie. The local shire was constituted in 1879 and in 1888 the railway line from Brisbane was opened.[3]
Timber was the principal industry of the area until the 1860s. The valuable red cedar, now very rare in the Shire, provided a good income for the timber getters. The massive logs were rafted down the Caboolture River to Deception Bay, from where they were taken by steamer to Brisbane. Settlers also made good use of the valuable timber, using it wherever possible for houses, barns and even fence posts.[citation needed]
The first crown land sold in the area was auctioned in 1864 for one pound Sterling an acre. Soon, the area had a thriving agricultural industry. The first major crop was sugar cane, then soon wheat, maize and Indian corn were being grown on the river flats. Vegetables were grown for local consumption. After an early unsuccessful foray with a wool industry, damp-susceptible sheep were abandoned in favour of more hardy cattle.[citation needed]
Settlement in Caboolture was accelerated with the discovery of gold at Gympie. In 1868, the town was used as a stop-over point by the Cobb and Co coach service connecting Brisbane, Gympie and Maryborough. This function continued with the rail link established in 1888.
[edit] Recent history
Formerly a small dairy town, the location of Caboolture on the corridor between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast resulted in an influx of residents in the 1970s and 1980s. The three main factors in this expansion were the electrification of the railway line to Brisbane, enabling travel to the Brisbane CBD in less than an hour, the development of the Bruce Highway to freeway (motorway) standard, and the availability of cheap land.
In common with many outer areas of Brisbane, the Caboolture Shire Council encouraged the development of low-cost housing areas that were affordable compared to established areas in Brisbane. This policy resulted in estates of small inexpensive houses on small blocks. At the same time, the Council allowed the subdivision of rural land into 'acreage' housing estates consisting of ¾, 2, and 5 acre blocks .[citation needed]
[edit] Transport
Caboolture is a regional transport hub. With its connections across the Great Dividing Range via the D'Aguilar highway, easy highway access to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast via the Bruce Highway, and major road to Bribie Island, it is a focal point for road traffic.
Caboolture railway station is the terminus for QR Citytrain's Caboolture railway line, as well as being a major stop on the North Coast railway line. Citytrain operates regular services to Brisbane, in addition to interurban services to Nambour and Gympie, with significant expansion of services north of Caboolture planned over the next decade. The Shire and surrounds are serviced by several bus companies, the largest of which is Kangaroo Bus Lines.
Caboolture contains an airfield that services general and recreational aviation.
[edit] Local government
Local Government for the area is provided by Shire of Caboolture. Caboolture is the administrative centre and main commercial hub for the shire.
From March 2008, the Caboolture Shire will be merged with the Pine Rivers Shire and Redcliffe City councils to form Moreton Bay Regional Council.
[edit] References
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This article or section may contain an excessive amount of external links. Please improve this article by incorporating them into the appropriate end section, or by converting them to inline citations (February 2008) |
[edit] External links
- Caboolture Shire Council
- QUT Urban Country Music Festival
- Caboolture Shire Herald
- Australian Places - Caboolture
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