St George, Queensland
St George is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia. It is the administrative centre for the Shire of Balonne. In the , St George had a population of 3,048 people. Geography. The town is due west of Brisbane and the Gold Coast and sits just inside the region of South West Queensland, Australia. St George is on the Balonne River which is reputedly an excellent fishing site for fish such as Yellowbelly and Murray Cod. It sits at the junction of several highways including the Castlereagh Highway, the Moonie Highway, the Carnarvon  Highway and the Balonne Highway. The only crossing of the Balonne River is the Andrew Nixon Bridge on the Balonne Highway. History. Mandandanji (also known as Mandandanyi, Mandandanjdji, Kogai) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Mandandanji people. The Mandandanji language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Maranoa Regional Council, particularly Roma, Yuleba and Surat, then east towards Chinchilla and south-west towards Mitchell and St George. The town was named by Major Thomas Mitchell who crossed the Balonne River on St George's Day, 23 April 1846. St George State School opened on  2 February 1874. In 1960 a secondary department was added which operated until St George State High School was opened in 1978. The St. George Standard and Balonne Advertiser newspaper was published from 1878 - 1879 and 1902 - 1904. Climate data for St George was collected at the St George Post Office from 1881 to 1997. The first St Patrick's Catholic Church was built in 1874; it is now known as the old parish hall. Burgorah South Provisional School opened in 1902. On 1 January 1909 it became Burgorah South State School. It closed on circa 1917. The Balonne Beacon  newspaper was published in St George from 2 January 1909 to 29 December 1954. The Balonne Central Café opened on The Terrace in St George on 3 April 1912. T.C. Andrews was the first proprietor. Paspalas & Co. took over the café from 1924 to 1953, employing Ioanis Thanasis Tzonakas (Tsonakas) to assist them. Ioannis (alias Jack) was known in the district as John Jonacas. He was born in Vounichora, Fokida, Greece, (βουνιχώρα, Φωκίδα, Ελλάδα) in 1901. By the early 1930s Jack was a co-owner of the Balonne Central Café until 1953 when he retired from the cafe to start  a hardware/building supplies business in Grey St, naming it Jonacas & Co. He died aged 69 in 1970 and is buried in St George General Cemetery. Myrtlemount Provisional School, Warrie Provisional School and Hollymount Provisional School (all named after local pastoral stations) opened on 29 September 1919 as a group of part-time schools (sharing a teacher between them). All three schools closed in 1922 due to low student numbers. Tow Towri State School opened circa 1931. It closed circa 1945. Towtowri is a local pastoral property. St Patrick's Catholic School was established by the Sisters of St Joseph  of the Sacred Heart. The school opened on 19 February 1933. However, rain caused the official opening and blessing by Bishop James Byrne to be postponed to Sunday 28 May 1933. In 1988 the Sisters withdrew from the operation of the school and it is now under lay leadership. On 3 May 1959 the new St Patrick's Catholic Church was blessed and opened. St George State High School opened on 23 January 1978. Rocky Crossing State School opened on 25 January 1988 and closed on 31 December 2003. It was from St George. The town was severely affected by  flooding in March 2010, which peaked at 13.5 metres, and again in December 2010 - January 2011. At the , St George had a population of 2,647. Flooding once again occurred in February 2012. When there was a possibility of the river reaching 15 metres, about 2000 residents were mandatorily evacuated on 4 and 5 February to evacuation centres in Dalby and Brisbane. A temporary levee was built in St George on the morning of 5 February (Sunday). The Balonne River reached a height of 13.85 metres on Tuesday 7 February. In the , St George had a population of 3,048 people. Heritage  listings. St George has the following heritage-listed sites: Economy. The town is a centre for cotton growing, as well as sheep, wheat, onions, garlic, corn, carrots and grapes. Facilities. St George has a visitor information centre, cultural centre, swimming pool, showground, bowling and the St George Golf Club. The address of the golf club is Wagoo Road. It was opened in 1948. The town also has an airport, St George Airport. Balonne Shire Council operates a library in Victoria Street. The St George branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 73 Victoria Street. Christ  Church Anglican is at 133 Victoria Street (). The St George Lutheran congregation hold their services at the Anglican Church. Education. St George State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Grey Street (). In 2015, the school had an enrolment of 217 students with 24 teachers (22 full-time equivalent) and 15 non-teaching staff (12 full-time equivalent). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 246 students with 25 teachers (24 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education (Early Childhood-12) program. St Patrick 's School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 36-44 Balonne Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 180 students with 14 teachers (12 full-time equivalent) and 12 non-teaching staff (9 full-time equivalent). St George State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at 2 Victoria Street (). In 2015, the school had an enrolment of 221 students with 25 teachers (22 full-time equivalent) and 24 non-teaching staff (17 full-time equivalent). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 205 students with  28 teachers (23 full-time equivalent) and 20 non-teaching staff (16 full-time equivalent). Events. The St George show is celebrated every year over the Labour Day long weekend (weekend of the first Monday in May). Everyone is encouraged to go and locals have a great time sharing stories at the bar and watching the rodeo. Notable residents. St George gained national attention with the election of local accountant Barnaby Joyce to the Australian Senate following the 2004 federal election. It is also the hometown of National Rugby League player Dale Shearer. Sir Charles Kingsford Smith father was also  a resident being the Bank of New South Wales manager during the 1930s.