Gatton, Queensland
Gatton, Queensland
Main page
1948814

Gatton, Queensland

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
1948814

Gatton, Queensland

logo
Community Hub0 subscribers
What are your thoughts?
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Gatton, Queensland

Gatton is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre of the Lockyer Valley Region, situated in the Lockyer Valley of South East Queensland. In the 2021 census, the locality of Gatton had a population of 7,851 people.

Jagara is one of the Aboriginal languages of South-East Queensland. There is some uncertainty over the status of Jagara as a language, dialect, or a group or clan within the local government boundaries of Ipswich City Council, Lockyer Regional Council and the Somerset Regional Council.

The Gatton area was explored by Major Edmund Lockyer in 1825. A settlement known as Gatton was gazetted in 1855. The name Gatton is taken from the village of Gatton in Surrey, England.

The post office opened 1 January 1866, with Frederick Lloyd, a dairyman, as the first postmaster. The small village did not experience significant growth until the mid-1870s, after the railway to Grandchester attracted people to the area.

Catholic priest Father Brun established St Mary's School in 1868. However, in 1892, the only teacher at the school Miss Mary O'Keeffe married James McKeen of Mount Sylvia, and the school closed.

The Gatton Congregational Church opened on 26 November 1874. On 14 October 1901 the laying of the foundation blocks of present church was performed by William Drayton Armstrong, the Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Lockyer, together with Alexander Brown Wilson, the architect from Brisbane representing the Queensland Congregational Union. In 1965 the front of the church was covered with bricks. In June 1977 many Congregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches amalgamated to form the Uniting Church in Australia with the church in Gatton now known as Lockyer Uniting Church.

In January 1875, Gatton residents convened a meeting to establish a school. In June 1875 tenders were called for the construction of a school building and a teacher's residence. Gatton State School opened on 31 January 1876.

In October 1885, local Anglicans proposed to build a church. In April 1886, the tender of Mr J. Olsen to construct the church for £260 was accepted.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.