Atherton, Queensland
| Atherton Queensland | |||||||||||||
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 The main street of Atherton | |||||||||||||
  Atherton | |||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 17°15′45″S 145°28′37″E / 17.26250°S 145.47694°ECoordinates: 17°15′45″S 145°28′37″E / 17.26250°S 145.47694°E | ||||||||||||
| Population | 7,287 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4883 | ||||||||||||
| Elevation | 752 m (2,467 ft) | ||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Tablelands Regional Council | ||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Dalrymple | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Kennedy | ||||||||||||
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Atherton is a town and locality on the Atherton Tablelands within the Tablelands Region, Far North Queensland, Australia.[2][3] At the 2011 census, Atherton had a population of 7,287.[1]
History
The town was named after John Atherton, a pioneer pastoralist who settled at Mareeba (then known as Emerald End) in 1875. The area was formerly known as Priors Pocket or Priors Creek.[2]
Atherton Post Office opened by 1903 (a receiving office had been open since 1889).[4]
The Atherton War Memorial commemorates local residents who died in World War I. It was dedicated on 1 May 1924 by the Tinaroo Shire chairman, Frederick Grau. It is the only war memorial in Queensland of a digger in an animated pose.[5][6]
The Atherton Courthouse was used as a wartime hospital for officers during World War II and has air raid bunkers beneath the building.[7]
Heritage listings
Atherton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
- Herberton Road: Chinatown[8]
- Herberton Road: Atherton Chinese Temple[9]
- Kennedy Highway: Atherton War Memorial[10]
- corner of Kennedy Highway and Rockley Road: Atherton War Cemetery[11]
- 42 Mable Street: Atherton State School Head Teacher's Residence[12]
- 53 Main Street: Barron Valley Hotel[13]
- Mazlin Street: Merriland Hall[14]
Climate
Atherton has a humid subtropical climate that differs from the surrounding tropical savannah climate due to the town's elevation high on the Atherton Plateau. Temperature extremes have ranged from 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) to -0.6 °C (30.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,379.8 mm (54.3 in)
| Climate data for Atherton (1992-2009) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 36.0 (96.8) |
33.5 (92.3) |
32.6 (90.7) |
31.1 (88) |
29.0 (84.2) |
30.0 (86) |
30.3 (86.5) |
30.0 (86) |
34.9 (94.8) |
36.7 (98.1) |
36.6 (97.9) |
36.4 (97.5) |
36.7 (98.1) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 28.4 (83.1) |
27.8 (82) |
26.4 (79.5) |
25.0 (77) |
23.4 (74.1) |
21.5 (70.7) |
21.4 (70.5) |
22.4 (72.3) |
25.6 (78.1) |
27.5 (81.5) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.0 (84.2) |
25.6 (78.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 18.8 (65.8) |
19.3 (66.7) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.7 (62.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
12.8 (55) |
10.2 (50.4) |
11.1 (52) |
12.6 (54.7) |
15.2 (59.4) |
16.7 (62.1) |
18.3 (64.9) |
15.3 (59.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) |
13.8 (56.8) |
11.0 (51.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
1.7 (35.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
6.0 (42.8) |
7.9 (46.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 235.5 (9.272) |
347.7 (13.689) |
224.7 (8.846) |
118.7 (4.673) |
59.6 (2.346) |
42.0 (1.654) |
40.0 (1.575) |
34.5 (1.358) |
19.2 (0.756) |
35.2 (1.386) |
72.0 (2.835) |
150.7 (5.933) |
1,379.8 (54.323) |
| Average rainy days (≥ 0.2mm) | 19.8 | 20.6 | 17.4 | 20.8 | 16.6 | 16.1 | 12.5 | 11.9 | 8.3 | 9.4 | 11.0 | 15.5 | 179.9 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[15] | |||||||||||||
Transport
Atherton is joined by the Gillies Highway to Yungaburra, the Kennedy Highway north to Mareeba and south to Ravenshoe and Mount Garnet, the Malanda Road to Malanda and the Herberton Road to Herberton.
Trans North offers a number of return services during a seven-day week between Atherton, Tolga, Walkamin, Mareeba, Kuranda, and Cairns including drop-offs to airport, railway station, hospitals and bus depots. There are connections available between Ravenshoe and Herberton and along the Wheelbarrow Way to Chillagoe. There is an Atherton taxi service.
Economy
The land around Atherton is used to grow a variety of crops, including sugar cane, peanuts, mangoes, maize (corn), potatoes, avocados and macadamia nuts. Dairy and beef cattle are also reared in the area.
Culture
Each year towards the end of August, Atherton celebrates the Maize festival, which features a parade with decorated floats, the Maize Queen pageant, children's amusement rides and activities including tug of war and wood chopping. There are also shop window displays and artwork competitions, as well as a prize given to the best float.
Education
Atherton has two primary schools, one secondary school, one independent Prep - Grade 12 school and a technical and further education (TAFE) campus. There are also two day care centres in the town.
- Atherton State High School
- Atherton State School
- Jubilee Christian College
- St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
- Tropical North Institute of TAFE
Health
Atherton Hospital is in the Tablelands Health District. It hospital provides obstetric, medical, surgical, operating theatre, accident and emergency services.
Notable people
- Ron Grainer, composer, best known for composing the Doctor Who theme music
- Rod Jensen, former North Queensland Cowboys and Huddersfield Giants player
- Dallas Johnson, North Queensland Cowboys lock forward and former Melbourne Storm player and Queensland State of Origin representative
- Elizabeth O'Conner, author
- Alexander Prokhorov, Soviet/Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner, born to a family of Russian revolutionaries who emigrated from Russia to escape repression by the tsarist government which subsequently relocated back to the Soviet Union by the time he turned seven and never returned to Atherton again.
- Peter Beattie, who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland from 1998 to 2007
References
- 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Atherton (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
- 1 2 "Atherton - town (entry 951)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
- ↑ "Atherton - locality (entry 48501)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ↑ "Atherton War Memor[?].". Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954). Qld.: National Library of Australia. 8 May 1924. p. 4. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ↑ "Atherton War Memorial". Monument Australia. Retrieved 6 April 2014.
- ↑ "Explore 150 years of Queensland courthouse history" (pdf). Queensland Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
- ↑ "Chinatown (entry 600011)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Hou Wang Miau (entry 600010)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Atherton War Memorial (entry 600012)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Atherton War Cemetery (entry 602765)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Head Teacher's Residence, Atherton State School (former) (entry 600013)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Barron Valley Hotel (entry 602587)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Merriland Hall (entry 602016)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
- ↑ "Atherton". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. March 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
External links
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