Jump to content

Cherbourg, Queensland

Coordinates: 26°17′31″S 151°57′15″E / 26.2920°S 151.9543°E / -26.2920; 151.9543 (Cherbourg (town centre))
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

Cherbourg
Queensland
George of Saxby Downs with his wife at Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, 1909
Cherbourg is located in Queensland
Cherbourg
Cherbourg
Coordinates26°17′31″S 151°57′15″E / 26.2920°S 151.9543°E / -26.2920; 151.9543 (Cherbourg (town centre))
Population1,194 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density37.55/km2 (97.25/sq mi)
Established1900
Postcode(s)4605
Elevation310 m (1,017 ft)
Area31.8 km2 (12.3 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg
State electorate(s)Nanango
Federal division(s)Wide Bay
Localities around Cherbourg:
Ficks Crossing Murgon Murgon
Wondai Cherbourg Murgon
Wondai Charlestown Moffatdale

Cherbourg (/ˈʃɜːbɜːɡ/[2]), formerly known as Barambah, Barambah Aboriginal Settlement and Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement, is a rural town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg, Queensland, Australia.[3][4]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Cherbourg had a population of 1,194 people, of whom 1,151 (96.4%) identified as Indigenous Australians.[1]

Geography

[edit]

Cherbourg is located off the Bunya Highway approximately 250 kilometres (155 mi) north-west of Brisbane and 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the town of Murgon. It is situated on Barambah Creek, close to Bjelke-Petersen Dam.[5]

History

[edit]

Wakka Wakka (Waka Waka, Wocca Wocca, Wakawaka) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Burnett River catchment. The Wakka Wakka language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the North and South Burnett Regional Council, particularly the towns of Cherbourg, Murgon, Kingaroy, Gayndah, Eidsvold and Mundubbera.[citation needed]

The town was founded as a settlement for Aboriginal people, known as an Aboriginal reserve, under a policy of segregation being pursued by the Government of Queensland under the Aboriginals Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1897. In 1900, the Salvation Army negotiated for the establishment of the Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, which was gazetted over 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) on 23 February 1901.[6][7] It was sponsored by the Ipswich Aboriginal Protection Society.[8][9]

Daniel Cobbo, an Indigenous Soldier of the Australian Light Horse, 1917. Cobbo came from the Barambah Aboriginal Mission.[10]

The mission took its name from the original 1840s pastoral run, "Barambah", which was taken up as a grazing run in 1843 by J.S. Ferriter and Edmund Uhr.[citation needed]

Angora billy goat and goat herd from Barambah Aboriginal Settlement, 1912

It was known as Barambah Aboriginal Settlement from c.1904 to 1932 and then Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement until 1986. Other names include Barambah Aboriginal Mission, Barambah Aboriginal Reserve, Barambah Mission Reserve and Barambah Mission Station.[11]

The district was renamed Cherbourg on 8 December 1931 to avoid confusion with the mail deliveries to the Barambah pastoral station.[8] The name Cherbourg derives from the parish name, which takes its name from the original 1840s pastoral run name, which is believed to be a corruption of Chirbury, a town in Shropshire, England, the birthplace of pastoralist Richard Jones who leased the pastoral run in the 1850s.[3][4][12]

It was initially populated with a few local Aboriginal people, but others from the Esk region and further afield were soon sent to the reserve. Many were forcibly removed from their land and "settled" at Barambah. People from 109 different areas[13] were mixed together and they were not allowed to speak their own languages. The effect of mixing these different groups of people together and forcing them to learn to speak a foreign language (English) has been an almost total loss of their cultural heritage. Many of the languages are considered to be extinct, surviving only in notes and recordings stored at the University of Queensland. The settlement housed a reformatory school and training farm, a home training centre for girls, a hospital, dormitories in which the women and children lived, and churches of various denominations. Training was provided in a variety of agricultural, industrial and domestic fields. People were hired out as cheap labour and at one stage they were not allowed to leave the reserve. In fact, until the referendum in 1967, the Indigenous people at Cherbourg were not even counted in the census.[14]

Barambah Aboriginal School opened in 1904, its name changing to Cherbourg Aboriginal School in 1931–1932. The school was operated by the Department of Native Affairs until the 1960s when it came under the control of Queensland Department of Education and became Cherbourg State School.[15][16]

The reserve was administered by the Aboriginal Protection Society, Ipswich, until February 1905, when control passed to the Government of Queensland and a Superintendent was appointed, who reported to the Chief Protector of Aborigines. There were approximately 2079 documented removals of Aboriginal people to Barambah between the years of 1905 and 1939.[9]

Cherbourg Provisional School opened on 1932 for the children of the white officials, separate to the school for the Aboriginal children. It closed in 1941.[15]

The Anglican Church of the Holy Spirit was dedicated on 19 February 1939 by the Bishop-Coadjutor. Its closure circa 2018 was approved by Bishop Cameron Venables.[17]

Cherbourg Post Office opened on 15 November 1965 and closed in 1986.[18]

In 1982, Cherbourg was granted a Deed of Grant in Trust (DOGIT), becoming self-managed by its own local authority.[8]

Over the years, the policies towards Aboriginal people changed from protection to assimilation and eventually participation and a measure of self-government with the passage of the Community Services (Aborigines) Act 1984. The Act provided for elected community councils who could make recommendations to the Minister for Community Services on matters relating to the progress, development and wellbeing of the people they represented. On 28 August 1986 a Deed of Grant in Trust was granted to the Cherbourg community, giving this council official status.[6]

The Local Government (Community Government Areas) Act 2004 gave Cherbourg formal legal recognition as a local government.[8]

Alcohol limits were imposed on Cherbourg residents in March 2009 in an attempt to reduce violence.[19] In 2009, then-Mayor Sam Murray claimed the restrictions were not being enforced and the problem was being pushed underground.[19]

In 2022, Fujitsu opened a First Nations Service Centre in Cherbourg. The Service Centre is part of a program to boost the economic development of Queensland First Nations communities through digital skills training and employment opportunities.[20]

Demographics

[edit]

In the 2006 census, the town of Cherbourg had a population of 1,128.[21]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Cherbourg had a population of 1,269 people, of whom 98.7% identified as Indigenous Australians.[5]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Cherbourg had a population of 1,194 people, of whom 1,151 (96.4%) identified as Indigenous Australians.[1]

Education

[edit]

Cherbourg State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at Fisher Street (26°17′34″S 151°57′18″E / 26.2929°S 151.9551°E / -26.2929; 151.9551 (Cherbourg State School)).[22][23] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 130 students with 17 teachers and 40 non-teaching staff (25 full-time equivalent).[24] It includes a special education program.[22][25]

Cherbourg is home to the Nurunderi (meaning taught by Great Spirit) campus of TAFE Queensland South West (26°17′42″S 151°57′23″E / 26.2951°S 151.9565°E / -26.2951; 151.9565 (Nurunderi technical college)).[26] It offers general courses of study as well as ones specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. All people are welcome to study at this campus.[27]

There is no secondary school in Cherbourg. The nearest government secondary school is Murgon State High School in neighbouring Murgon to the north.[28]

Information and emergency services

[edit]
Square in front of the town hall

The Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council operates the Winifred Fisher Knowledge Centre in the Old Youth Respite Centre, Barambah Road.[29]

Other facilities include:

Notable people

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Cherbourg (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 June 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
  3. ^ a b "Cherbourg – town in Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg (entry 6986)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Cherbourg – locality in Aboriginal Shire of Cherbourg (entry 44517)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  5. ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Cherbourg (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  6. ^ a b "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships: Cherbourg community". The State of Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 September 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2009.
  7. ^ "Our History". Cherbourg. 9 September 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d "Cherbourg Aboriginal Settlement (c. 1904 - 1986)". Find & Connect. 20 November 2018. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Cherbourg". Queensland Government. 8 April 2015. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021. Text may have been copied from this source, which is available under a Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) Archived 16 October 2020 at the Wayback Machine licence.
  10. ^ Powell, Marg; Crump, Des (28 August 2017). "DANIEL CABBO #Q19612". Queensland's World War 1 Centenary. State Library of Queensland. Archived from the original on 16 April 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Barambah Aboriginal Settlement". Queensland State Archives - Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Cherbourg – parish in the South Burnett Region (entry 6987)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  13. ^ Evans, Raymond (2007). A History of Queensland. Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-521-87692-6.
  14. ^ "Amendment to Section 127". Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act. p. 24. Retrieved 9 November 2016 – via Documenting a Democracy Museum of Australian Democracy.
  15. ^ a b Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  16. ^ "Our school". Cherbourg State School. 21 February 2020. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Closed Anglican Churches". Anglican Church South Queensland. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  18. ^ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  19. ^ a b Emma Pollard (7 July 2009). "Cherbourg alcohol bans 'failing'". ABC News Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2009. Retrieved 22 October 2009.
  20. ^ "Fujitsu launches First Nations-led pilot program with Queensland Government to promote digital inclusion".
  21. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Cherbourg (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  22. ^ a b "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  23. ^ "Cherbourg State School". Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  24. ^ "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Cherbourg SS - Special Education Program". Archived from the original on 13 March 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  26. ^ a b "Landmark Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 21 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Nurunderi". TAFE Queensland South West. Archived from the original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  28. ^ "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  29. ^ "Cherbourg (Winifred Fisher Knowledge Centre)". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  30. ^ a b c "Emergency services facilities - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  31. ^ "Heliports and landing grounds - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  32. ^ "Official Launch of Winifred Fisher Indigenous Knowledge Centre (IKC), Cherbourg". State Library Of Queensland. 12 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  33. ^ "Cobbo keen for a strong season with the Seagulls". QRL.com.au. 11 February 2021. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cherbourg, Queensland.
  1. ^ Watson, Christine (1999). "Is That You, Ruthie?, Ruth Hegarty, published by University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Australia: 1999". The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education. 27 (2): 55. doi:10.1017/s1326011100600595. ISSN 1326-0111. S2CID 222843360. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cherbourg,_Queensland&oldid=1245963741"