Helidon, Queensland

Helidon
Queensland

Helidon, Queensland
Helidon
Coordinates 27°33′02″S 152°07′32″E / 27.55056°S 152.12556°E / -27.55056; 152.12556Coordinates: 27°33′02″S 152°07′32″E / 27.55056°S 152.12556°E / -27.55056; 152.12556
Population 1,053 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 4344
Location
LGA(s) Lockyer Valley Region
County Cavendish
Parish Helidon
State electorate(s) Lockyer
Federal Division(s) Blair
Localities around Helidon:
Upper Lockyer White Mountain
Seventeen Mile		 Seventeen Mile
Lockyer
Helidon Spa		 Helidon Grantham
Iredale Iredale
Carpendale		 Carpendale

Helidon is a town in the Lockyer Valley region of southeast Queensland, Australia. Helidon is located on the Warrego Highway, 106 kilometres (66 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane, and 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Toowoomba. The town had a population of 1,053 at the 2011 census.[1]

Helidon is known in Queensland for its high quality sandstone, used extensively in private and public buildings in the state and elsewhere, including Brisbane City Hall, and sought after internationally for its quality, especially in China.[2] Helidon is also the location of a natural mineral spring[3] whose products were sold by the Helidon Spa Water Company, now known as Kirks.

Geography

The Toowoomba Second Range Crossing will join the Warrego Highway at Helidon and is expected to open in 2018.[4] Parts of the hilly, undeveloped north of Helidon have been protected within Lockyer National Park.

History

The Country Women's Association Rest Room opened in 1957 (Photo taken in 2009)

The Helidon district is called by Aboriginal inhabitants "Yabarba," the name of the Curriejung, and the nearby spring is known as "Woonar-rajimmi," the place "where the clouds fell down!"

Helidon Post Office opened on 1 August 1866.[5]

Richard Kettle (born in Whissendine, England in 1838), together with his family, were amongst the early pioneering farming families to establish Helidon.

Spring Water

The quality of the water at Helidon had long been known to the local indigenous population prior to colonisation, who believed the water had great healing and strength giving properties.[6] They knew the spring water as "kowoor".[7] These properties were thought to be the result of high lithium content, leading it to be sold and marketed as a powerful tonic for cleansing the bladder, kidneys and digestive system.[8]

In the 1820s, botanist and explorer Alan Cunningham became the first European to be introduced to Helidon's mineral waters. In 1879, chemist Reginald Larard was selling water from the spring as "Oogar Dang Water",[9] and by 1881 had entered a partnership with Scottish sportsman and entrepreneur Gilbert E. Primrose, who had purchased the agricultural land around the springs, establishing the Helidon Spa Water Company. To combat competition from imported soft drink products, the company would later merge with Owen Gardner & Sons in 1959 to become Kirks, now owned by Coca-Cola Amatil.

With the popularity of Helidon's spa water, the first 'spa park' was opened in 1926.[10] During the 60's, a large caravan park and pool were constructed, briefly earning the area the name 'Tawoomba's Gold Coast'. The area remained popular until the 1980s amid water safety concerns, however a few spa hotels still remain today.

Flooding

On 10 January 2011, Helidon was hit by a wall of flood water which had previously struck Toowoomba, part of the 2010–2011 Queensland floods.[11] Few houses were affected directly; those that were inundated sat directly on the creek bank, lower than the rest of the town. The main creek bank did not break, and the town was used as an evacuation centre for nearby Grantham.[12]

Heritage listings

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

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Helidon (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  2. ↑ Morley, Peter (12 May 2008). "Helidon sandstone helps build China by the block". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 11 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "Places to Visit:Helidon". queenslandholidays.com.au, Retrieved 12 January 2011
  4. ↑ Queensland Treasury and Trade (28 January 2014 Projects Queensland). "Toowoomba Second Range Crossing - Project Fact Sheet" (PDF). Retrieved 5 November 2014. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Helidon Hills/Helidon Spa Park/Lockyer Valley". 2012-03-14. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  7. ↑ Meston, Archibald (1891). Queensland railway & tourists' guide : compiled under instructions from the Queensland Railway Commissioners, with concise history of the colony, and complete description of all country traversed by the railway lines, with interesting extra information. Brisbane: Gordon and Gotch. p. 29.
  8. ↑ "Bottles and cans: an adventure in suburban archaeology | There once was a creek . . .". www.oncewasacreek.org. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  9. ↑ "Helidon | Queensland Places". queenslandplaces.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  10. ↑ "Bottles and cans: an adventure in suburban archaeology | There once was a creek . . .". www.oncewasacreek.org. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  11. ↑ Kerin, Lindy "Wall of water hits Helidon". ABC Radio, AM. 11 January 2011, Retrieved 12 January 2011
  12. ↑ Amber Jamieson (11 January 2011), ‘Situation continues to deteriorate’: QLD floods
  13. ↑ "Bank of New South Wales premises and attached residence (former) (entry 600512)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 10 July 2013.

Further reading

Media related to Helidon, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

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