# Biddeston, Queensland

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Biddeston is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Biddeston had a population of 269 people.

## History

Crosshill State School opened on 9 August 1880 and closed on 1940.
A postal receiving office opened on 1 February 1882 and was upgraded to a post office on 1 July 1927. During that time it was run by the Anderson family of Biddeston Farm, which is probably the origin of the district name. The post office closed on 5 January 1965.
The town reserve was established on 26 August 1890.
In 1880, a 10-acre block of land on the Oakey-Southbrook Road was aside for a school. However, it was not until 14 October 1919 that the Biddeston State School finally opened, but with only a tent for a schoolroom for the 14 children enrolled under teacher Margaret Cecilla Cloherty Anderson. It was not until 10 October 1921 that the Education Department built a one-room timber building to replace the tent. Despite growing enrolment numbers, the Education Department would not enlarge the building apart from the addition of a verandah in 1927. It was not until 1954 that a second school room was built. A pre-school was added in 1986.
Burton Provisional School opened on 22 February 1900. On 1 January 1909, it became Burton State School. It closed on 5 December 1944. It was at 1840 Toowoomba Cecil Plains Road (27°32′58″S 151°45′11″E﻿ / ﻿27.5494°S 151.7531°E﻿ / -27.5494; 151.7531﻿ (Burton State School (former))).
Biddeston was the site of the Biddeston Murders that took place on 2 March 2015 when a grandfather killed his pregnant daughter and grandson.

## Demographics

In the 2011 census, the locality of Biddeston had a population of 328 people.
In the 2016 census, the locality of Biddeston had a population of 284 people.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Biddeston had a population of 269 people.

## Road infrastructure

The Toowoomba–Cecil Plains Road runs through from east to west.

## Economy

There are a number of homesteads in the locality:
* Aberdeen (27°32′24″S 151°44′48″E﻿ / ﻿27.5400°S 151.7467°E﻿ / -27.5400; 151.7467﻿ (Aberdeen (homestead)))
* Aughamore (27°34′06″S 151°43′43″E﻿ / ﻿27.5684°S 151.7285°E﻿ / -27.5684; 151.7285﻿ (Aughamore (homestead)))
* Bronte Park (27°34′14″S 151°44′40″E﻿ / ﻿27.5705°S 151.7445°E﻿ / -27.5705; 151.7445﻿ (Bronte Park (homestead)))
* Burton (27°32′25″S 151°44′56″E﻿ / ﻿27.5404°S 151.7489°E﻿ / -27.5404; 151.7489﻿ (Burton (homestead)))
* Chelandry (27°34′21″S 151°43′50″E﻿ / ﻿27.5726°S 151.7306°E﻿ / -27.5726; 151.7306﻿ (Chelandry (homestead)))
* Croxley (27°31′46″S 151°44′31″E﻿ / ﻿27.5294°S 151.7419°E﻿ / -27.5294; 151.7419﻿ (Croxley (homestead)))
* Egmont Park (27°36′09″S 151°43′49″E﻿ / ﻿27.6024°S 151.7302°E﻿ / -27.6024; 151.7302﻿ (Egmont Park (homestead)))
* Enterprise (27°30′45″S 151°44′55″E﻿ / ﻿27.5125°S 151.7486°E﻿ / -27.5125; 151.7486﻿ (Enterprise (homestead)))
* Glen Bride (27°32′21″S 151°44′20″E﻿ / ﻿27.5391°S 151.7388°E﻿ / -27.5391; 151.7388﻿ (Glen Bride (homestead)))
* Glen View (27°35′02″S 151°44′00″E﻿ / ﻿27.5838°S 151.7333°E﻿ / -27.5838; 151.7333﻿ (Glen View (homestead)))
* Goldrush Lodge (27°35′03″S 151°43′35″E﻿ / ﻿27.5843°S 151.7264°E﻿ / -27.5843; 151.7264﻿ (Goldrush Lodge (homestead)))
* Hillview (27°34′52″S 151°45′07″E﻿ / ﻿27.5810°S 151.7519°E﻿ / -27.5810; 151.7519﻿ (Hillview (homestead)))
* Kerrabee Park (27°32′40″S 151°45′19″E﻿ / ﻿27.5445°S 151.7552°E﻿ / -27.5445; 151.7552﻿ (Kerrabee Park (homestead)))
* Lange (27°33′17″S 151°43′53″E﻿ / ﻿27.5546°S 151.7315°E﻿ / -27.5546; 151.7315﻿ (Lange (homestead)))
* Martrise (27°32′06″S 151°42′06″E﻿ / ﻿27.5349°S 151.7018°E﻿ / -27.5349; 151.7018﻿ (Martrise (homestead)))
* Mayfield (27°32′41″S 151°45′33″E﻿ / ﻿27.5448°S 151.7591°E﻿ / -27.5448; 151.7591﻿ (Mayfield (homestead)))
* Parklands (27°33′57″S 151°44′31″E﻿ / ﻿27.5659°S 151.7419°E﻿ / -27.5659; 151.7419﻿ (Parklands (homestead)))
* Rayhill (27°35′11″S 151°42′41″E﻿ / ﻿27.5865°S 151.7114°E﻿ / -27.5865; 151.7114﻿ (Rayhill (homestead)))
* Roxanna (27°33′05″S 151°45′04″E﻿ / ﻿27.5513°S 151.7511°E﻿ / -27.5513; 151.7511﻿ (Roxanna (homestead)))
* Silver Springs (27°35′24″S 151°43′45″E﻿ / ﻿27.5899°S 151.7291°E﻿ / -27.5899; 151.7291﻿ (Silver Springs (homestead)))
* The Towers (27°30′52″S 151°43′20″E﻿ / ﻿27.5145°S 151.7221°E﻿ / -27.5145; 151.7221﻿ (The Towers (homestead)))
* Wallaby Hill (27°36′04″S 151°43′56″E﻿ / ﻿27.6012°S 151.7323°E﻿ / -27.6012; 151.7323﻿ (Wallaby Hill (homestead)))
* Windemere (27°33′02″S 151°45′00″E﻿ / ﻿27.5506°S 151.7501°E﻿ / -27.5506; 151.7501﻿ (Windemere (homestead)))
* Ziebel (27°31′13″S 151°43′58″E﻿ / ﻿27.5203°S 151.7328°E﻿ / -27.5203; 151.7328﻿ (Ziebel (homestead)))

## Education

Biddeston State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 2425 Cecil Plains Road (27°33′15″S 151°41′50″E﻿ / ﻿27.5541°S 151.6973°E﻿ / -27.5541; 151.6973﻿ (Biddeston State School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 61 students with 5 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 70 students with 6 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).
There is no secondary schools in Biddeston. The nearest government secondary school is Oakey State High School in neighbouring Oakey to the north.

## Events

The Biddeston Tractor Pull is an annual event in which restored and modified tractors compete to pull heavy loads.