Geham

Geham
Queensland
Argyle Homestead, 2009
Geham is located in Queensland
Geham
Geham
Coordinates27°23′18″S 151°59′54″E / 27.3883°S 151.9983°E / -27.3883; 151.9983 (Geham (centre of locality))
Population470 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density9.92/km2 (25.68/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4352
Area47.4 km2 (18.3 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Toowoomba Region
State electorate(s)Condamine
Federal division(s)Groom
Suburbs around Geham:
Groomsville Groomsville Merritts Creek
Groomsville Geham Mount Luke
Kleinton Cabarlah Fifteen Mile

Geham is a rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Geham had a population of 470 people.[1]

Geography

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The locality is bounded to the north and north-west by Cooby Creek and to the west by the Cooby Creek Reservoir (also known as Lake Cooby) which impounds the creek.[3][4]

The Great Dividing Range passes through the south-east of the locality from Mount Luke to Cabarlah, but there are no named peaks of the range within the locality. Cooby Mountain is in the west of the locality (27°23′23″S 151°58′06″E / 27.3898°S 151.9683°E / -27.3898; 151.9683 (Cooby Mountain)) and rises to 619 metres (2,031 ft) above sea level; it is not part of the range.[5]

The New England Highway enters the locality from the north-west (Merritts Creek / Mount Luke) and exits to the south (Cabarlah).[3]

Despite the names, the Geham National Park is in neighbouring Mount Luke, while the Geham State Forest is in neighbouring Mount Luke and Merritts Creek.[3]

The land use is predominantly agricultural, a mixture of grazing on native vegetation, production forestry, and crop growing.[3]

Climate

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The locality is in two climate zones with the humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa) in the north of the locality and the oceanic climate (Cfb) in the south of the locality. Gehem has the most northerly oceanic climate at altitude in Australia.[6]

History

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Highfields Post Office opened on 1 January 1868 and was renamed Geham in 1876.[7]

Highfields No. 2 State School opened on 4 April 1871 without any ceremony. It had an initial enrolment of 47 students with first headmaster John O'Beirne. It was renamed Geham State School in 1876. The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021.[8]

Geham Presbyterian Church was opened on Sunday 8 September 1878. It was built from timber on a 12-acre (0.20 ha) site donated by Mrs Black.[9][10] It was re-erected in 1926.[11][12][13]

Holy Trinity Anglican Church opened on Sunday 16 October 1887.[14] It was dedicated on 29 October 1891 by the Very Reverend St Clair Donaldson. Its closure circa 2018 was approved by Bishop Cameron Venables.[15][16] It was sold in September 2019 for $153,000.[17] It was at 9 Pioneer Road (27°23′30″S 151°59′53″E / 27.3916°S 151.9980°E / -27.3916; 151.9980 (Holy Trinity Anglican Church)), but the entrance to the church was on Connolly Road through a lychgate. As at August 2023, the church building is still extant.[3][18]

Demographics

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In the 2016 census, Geham had a population of 489 people.[19]

In the 2021 census, Geham had a population of 470 people.[1]

Heritage listings

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

Education

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Early days at Geham State School

Geham State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 9625 New England Highway (27°24′23″S 151°59′45″E / 27.4063°S 151.9959°E / -27.4063; 151.9959 (Geham State School)).[21][22] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 140 students with 11 teachers (8 full-time equivalent) and 9 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).[23]

There are no secondary schools in Geham. The nearest government secondary schools are Highfields State Secondary College (to Year 12) in Highfields to the south-west and Crows Nest State School (to Year 10) in Crows Nest to the north-east.[24]

Amenities

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Geham Presbyterian Church is at 9621 New England Highway (27°24′21″S 151°59′46″E / 27.40576°S 151.99622°E / -27.40576; 151.99622 (Geham Presbyterian Church)), immediately north of the school.[25][26][27]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Geham (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Geham – locality in Toowoomba Region (entry 49691)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Cooby Creek Reservoir – reservoir in the Toowoomba Region (entry 8012)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Mountain peaks and capes - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Interactive Australia / New Zealand Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Map". www.plantmaps.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  7. ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  8. ^ "History". Geham State School. 31 January 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  9. ^ "General summary". The Darling Downs Gazette And General Advertiser. Vol. XX, no. 2629. Queensland, Australia. 7 September 1878. p. 3. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Adelaide". Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs General Advertiser. No. 1389. Queensland, Australia. 10 September 1878. p. 3. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Advertising". Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LXV, no. 59. Queensland, Australia. 10 March 1926. p. 1. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Advertising". Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. LXV, no. 99. Queensland, Australia. 27 April 1926. p. 1. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ Blake, Thom. "Geham Presbyterian Church". Queensland Religious Places. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Advertising". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. XXXI, no. 7, 030. Queensland, Australia. 15 October 1887. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. "Closed Churches". Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Holy Trinity Anglican Church | Geham". Queensland Religious Places Database. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  17. ^ "9 Pioneer Road, Geham, Qld 4352". realestate.com.au. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Holy Trinity Anglican Church (view from Connolly Road)" (Map). Google Maps. August 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  19. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Geham (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  20. ^ "Argyle Homestead (entry 600436)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  21. ^ "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  22. ^ "Geham State School". Geham State School. 9 December 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  23. ^ "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
  24. ^ "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  25. ^ Blake, Thom. "Geham Presbyterian Church". Queensland Religious Places. Archived from the original on 10 September 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Geham". North Toowoomba Presbyterian Church. Archived from the original on 3 March 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Geham Presbyterian Church" (Map). Google Maps. September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2023.

Further reading

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Media related to Geham, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons