| Type: | town |
| Grantham | |
| State: | qld |
| Coordinates: | -27.5769°N 152.2022°W |
| Pop: | 796 |
| Postcode: | 4347 |
| Area: | 49.3 |
| Timezone: | AEST |
| Utc: | +10:00 |
| Elevation: | 109 |
| Lga: | Lockyer Valley Region |
| Stategov: | Lockyer |
| Fedgov: | Wright |
| County: | Cavendish |
| Parish: | Lockyer |
| Near-N: | Seventeen Mile |
| Near-Ne: | Ringwood |
| Near-E: | Gatton Placid Hills |
| Near-Se: | Lower Tenthill |
| Near-S: | Veradilla Winwill |
| Near-Sw: | Carpendale |
| Near-W: | Helidon |
| Near-Nw: | Helidon |
Grantham is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] [2] The town is located west of the state capital, Brisbane. In the, the locality of Grantham had a population of 796 people.
The Warrego Highway passes through from east to west. The north-west corner is occupied by part of the Lockyer State Forest.
The area was first settled in 1841, by George Mocatta.[3] He named his pastoral run Grantham, which became the name of the town.
In 1866, a railway siding from the main Toowoomba line was opened which assisted in the development of a small settlement. It wasn't until the mid-1870s that the Grantham railway station was built.
In August 1895, tenders were called for the erection of a provisional school at Grantham Scrub.[4] In January 1896 teacher, Catherine M. Ludeman was appointed to the Grantham Scrub Provisional School, suggesting it opened around that time.[5] [6] On 1 January 1909, it became Grantham Scrub State School. It closed circa 1950. It was located at 119 Missouri Road (corner of Grantham Scrub Road,) within the present-day locality of neighbouring Veradilla.[7] [8]
Grantham Provisional School opened on 23 January 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became Grantham State School.
A butter factory was established in 1907. The building was replaced in 1926 by a brick building which operated until 1971.
Grantham Post Office opened on 1 January 1890 (a receiving office had been open from 1876).[9]
On 10 January 2011, Grantham was severely damaged in a huge flash flood. 12 people died and a large number of houses and other buildings were destroyed.[10] Following the floods, Grantham received visits by politicians including Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on numerous occasions. Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce also visited the town.[11] In May 2011, it was announced that the town would be moved to higher ground to prevent future damaging floods.[12] A 935-acre site was purchased so that landholders could be provided a voluntary swap of equivalent-sized blocks. The new site is situated on a hill overlooking Grantham and has permission from the state government to bypass the normal development approval process.[13] Residents of nearby Murphys Creek, Postmans Ridge, Withcott and Helidon have been included in the fast-tracked plan. As of March 2022, 110 houses are on the hill but over 50 dwellings remain in the older part of town.[14]
In the, the locality of Grantham had a population of 634 people. 81.1% of people were born in Australia and 90.9% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 24.3%, Catholic 17.8% and Anglican 15.5%.[15]
In the, the locality of Grantham had a population of 796 people.
Grantham State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 15 Victor Street (-27.574°N 152.202°W).[16] [17] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 95 students with 6 teachers and 6 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).[18]