Biggenden

Biggenden
Queensland

Biggenden's main street
Biggenden
Coordinates 25°31′0″S 152°03′0″E / 25.51667°S 152.05000°E / -25.51667; 152.05000Coordinates: 25°31′0″S 152°03′0″E / 25.51667°S 152.05000°E / -25.51667; 152.05000
Population 682 (2011 census)[1]
Established 1889
Postcode(s) 4621
Location
LGA(s) North Burnett Region
State electorate(s) Callide
Federal Division(s) Hinkler
Localities around Biggenden:
Didcot Degilbo Woowonga
Coalstoun Lakes Biggenden Lakeside
Dundarrah Stockhaven Boompa

Biggenden is a town and locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.[2][3] It is on the Isis Highway 339 kilometres (211 mi) north-west of the state capital Brisbane, and 84 kilometres (52 mi) west of Maryborough. At the 2011 census, Biggenden had a population of 682 people.[1]

History

The name is derived from the Kabi word bigindhan meaning a place of stringybark.[2][3]

Biggenden was founded in 1889 as a service centre to the short-lived goldrush towns of Paradise and Shamrock; and for coach passengers travelling west from Maryborough. The township, including the intriguingly named Live And Let Live Inn, moved to a new location alongside the railway station when the rail line arrived in 1891. Biggenden Post Office opened on 16 May 1891.[4]

Biggenden Provisional school opened on 9 May 1892, becoming Biggenden State School in 1900. In January 1953, the school experimented with offering high school subjects by correspondence. In 1958, a secondary school section was added.[5][6]

Economy

Biggenden Bismuth Mine, 1908

Primary production is the most significant industry in the Shire with beef and dairy cattle being predominant.[7] Other agricultural pursuits include grain crops, piggeries, peanuts, citrus and timber. The area is also rich in minerals. Biggenden Mine is located eight kilometres out of town off Ban Ban Springs Road. Gold, bismuth and more recently magnetite have been extracted from the mine. The township is also close to Coalstoun Lakes National Park and Mount Walsh National Park.

Paradise Dam

In November 2005, the Queensland Government opened the Paradise Dam, about 30 minutes north-west of Biggenden, on the Burnett River. The 300,000ML dam, which submerges the former gold mining town of the same name, is touted as securing the future of the nearby Bundaberg and Childers region, although no water will be available for residents of the Biggenden area. However, more than 400 jobs were created during its construction and the dam site is proving to be one of the shire's largest tourist attraction.[8] Artefacts and buildings removed from Paradise before the dam wall was built are now on display by the Biggenden Historical Society.

Paradise Dam will be used by the government as the model for the highly controversial Traveston Crossing Dam on the Mary River, about two hours south. A 2005 report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund found Paradise to be one of the six worst-planned dams since the World Commission on Dams in 2000.

Facilities

Biggenden has a public library, swimming pool, bowling and golf club, memorial hall and showground

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Biggenden". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Biggenden (entry 2545)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Biggenden (entry 47364)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  4. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  5. ↑ "Agency ID4847, Biggenden State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "History". Biggenden State School. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  7. ↑ "Biggenden is really booming". Fraser Coast Chronicle (The Maryborough Hervey Bay Newspaper Company). 9 December 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Burnett Water". Paradise Dam Information Archive. Sunwater. Archived from the original on 2007-08-30. Retrieved 2007-07-29.

External links

Media related to Biggenden, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

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