page_title: Biddeston, Queensland
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Biddeston, Queensland / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Biddeston State School tent, Queensland, 1919 Child holding a horse in front of the Biddeston State School tent, opened 14 October 1919.
context_page_description: Biddeston is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Biddeston had a population of 284 people.
context_section_description: 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.
  In the 2011 census, Biddeston had a population of 328 people.
  In the 2016 census, Biddeston had a population of 284 people.
caption: Biddeston State School opened in a tent, Queensland, 1919
exif: {}