Amiens, Queensland

Amiens
Queensland

Information board about the Pikedale soldier settlements, Amiens, 2015
Amiens
Coordinates 28°35′19″S 151°48′32″E / 28.5887°S 151.809°E / -28.5887; 151.809Coordinates: 28°35′19″S 151°48′32″E / 28.5887°S 151.809°E / -28.5887; 151.809
Population 435 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 4380
Localities around Amiens:
Goldfields Passchendaele Bapaume
Pikedale Amiens Cannon Creek
Pikedale Greenlands Broadwater

Amiens is a rural locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] At the 2011 Australian Census Amiens recorded a population of 435.[1]

History

Amiens settlement, 1920

Following World War I, Amiens was one of the Pikedale soldier settlements established in the Granite Belt area of the Darling Downs.[3]

The name Amiens refers to the World War I battlefield in northern France, of special importance to the Australian Imperial Force in March–April 1918. The name was suggested by surveyor George Grant in 1920.[2]

Construction of the Amiens railway line commenced in 1919 and the line was opened on 7 June 1920.[4] Edward, Prince of Wales travelled the length of the Amiens branch in a royal train to officially open the line on 26 July 1920.[5]

Although the intention of the soldier settlement farms in the district was fruit growing, the fruit trees required a number of years before they would bear fruit and the government loans on the farms required immediate interest payments. Many soldier settlers turned to vegetable growing, both for their own use and to enable them to sell for a short-term income.[6]

The railway line closed on 28 February 1974.[4] Fruit and vegetables are carried by road to the markets.

Heritage listings

Amiens has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Economy

Apple trees under netting to protect them from hail, Amiens, 2015

Amiens is a fruit and vegetable growing district. As the Granite Belt suffers from regular hail, many orchards are protected by hail nets. Traditionally hail nets were intended to prevent the hail from entering the orchard; however, the heavy hail would pool in the nets and break through onto the orchard below. Modern hail nets are designed to have gullies between the rows of the trees which allow the hail to fall into the orchards but avoiding the fruit on the trees.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Amiens (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 "Amiens (entry Number)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  3. ↑ Randall, Brian (3 November 2014). "Pikedale soldier settlements". State Library of Queensland. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Southern Downs Steam Railway (2008). "Historical information: (Warwick) - Cottonvale - Amiens". Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  5. ↑ QR Limited. "QR History - Royal goes by train". Retrieved 18 November 2008.
  6. ↑ "Amiens, Thulimba, Applethorpe district". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
  7. ↑ "St Denys Anglican Church (entry 602530)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  8. ↑ "Hail lashes Stanthorpe region". Warwick Daily News. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2015.

External links

Media related to Amiens, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

Media related to Pikedale soldier settlement at Wikimedia Commons

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