Lake Barrine, Queensland Explained

Type:suburb
Lake Barrine
State:qld
Coordinates:-17.2461°N 145.6408°W
Pop:170
Postcode:4884
Area:19.4
Timezone:AEST
Utc:+10:00
Dist1:8.7
Dir1:E
Location1:Yungaburra
Dist2:14.9
Dir2:NNE
Location2:Malanda
Dist3:21.4
Dir3:E
Location3:Atherton
Dist4:65.4
Dir4:SW
Location4:Cairns
Dist5:1706
Dir5:NNW
Location5:Brisbane
Lga:Tablelands Region
Stategov:Hill
Fedgov:Kennedy
Near-N:Danbulla
Near-Ne:Gadgarra
Near-E:Gadgarra
Near-Se:Gadgarra
Near-S:Lake Eacham
Near-Sw:Yungaburra
Near-W:Barrine
Near-Nw:Barrine

Lake Barrine is a rural locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, Lake Barrine had a population of 170 people.

Geography

The locality is on the Atherton Tableland. It takes its name from the lake of the same name in the west of the locality, which in turn comes from the Aboriginal word "barrang", meaning big water.[2]

The locality is bounded to west by Congo Creek.

The lake and surrounding area is part of the Crater Lakes National Park. There is some rural residential housing in the south of the locality, with the land use in the rest of the locality being grazing on native vegetation.

The Gillies Range Road (also known as Gillies Highway) enters the locality from the north-east (Danbulla), passes west of the lake, and then exits the locality to the south-east (Yungaburra / Lake Eacham).

History

In the 1880s, there was logging of the rainforest timbers. However, concern about the potential loss of large kauri and cedar pines near the lake led to the establishment of a scenic reserve in 1888 to protect the trees. In 1920, George and Margaret Curry established a tourism business with lake cruises and a tea house. The completion of the Cairns Range Road (now known as the Gillies Highway) from Gordonvale to Atherton in 1926 provided much better access to the area for tourists.[3] In 1934, the Queensland Government created the Lake Barrine National Park.

Lakebank State School (sometimes written as Lake Bank State School) opened on 18 July 1922. In 1936, it was renamed Lake Barrine State School. It closed on 30 June 1949. The school was at 3426 Gillies Range Road .[4]

Gadgarra State School opened on 28 March 1928 and closed in 1958. It was at 211 Gadgarra Road, now within the locality boundaries of Lake Barrine .[5] [6] During World War II, air raids on Australian towns by Japan and the fear of an invasion by the Japanese led to evacuations from northern Australian towns. In March 1942, the students of St Augustine's College in Cairns were evacuated to the guest house at Lake Barrine.[7] In late 1942, Lieutenant General Thomas Blamey decided to establish army facilities on the Atherton Tableland for the recuperation and training of troops returning from the Middle East to defend Australia against the Japanese. With 40,000 troops on the Atherton Tableland, Lake Barrine became an important recreational facility and the guest house was used by the 2/1 Australian Army Convalescent Depot. After the war ended, the Curry family resumed their tourist business at the lake.

In 1988, UNESCO declared the Wet Tropics of Queensland a World Heritage Site with 14 areas protected, one of which was at Lake Barrine.[8] In 1994, the Queensland Government merged the Lake Barrine National Park and the Lake Eacham National Park to form Crater Lakes National Park.[9]

Demographics

In the, Lake Barrine had a population of 152 people.

In the, Lake Barrine had a population of 170 people.

Education

There are no schools in Lake Barrine. The nearest government primary school is Yungaburra State School in neighbouring Yungaburra to the south-west. The nearest government secondary schools is Malanda State High School in Malanda to the south.

Attractions

The lake has a day use area on Lake Barrine Access Road off the Gilles Range Road . It has a teahouse and is the departure point for lake cruises. It is the start/end of the lake circuit walk which has two lookout points, one of the western side of the lake (-17.2549°N 145.6354°W) and the other on the southern side of the lake (-17.2491°N 145.6307°W).[10] [11]

Notes and References

  1. 31 December 2017.
  2. 14 November 2018.
  3. Web site: 2/1 Australian Convalescent Depot. Queensland WWII Historic Places. Queensland Government. https://web.archive.org/web/20181114234119/https://www.ww2places.qld.gov.au/places/?id=852. 14 November 2018. live. 15 November 2018.
  4. Web site: 1942 . Gordonvale . 8 October 2023 . . Map . 8 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231008040826/https://apps.information.qld.gov.au/data/v2/HistoricalMaps/StaticMap/topographic/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-gordonvale-1942/original . live .
  5. Web site: 1943 . Bartle Frere . 8 October 2023 . . Map . 8 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231008034538/https://apps.information.qld.gov.au/data/v2/HistoricalMaps/StaticMap/topographic/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-bartle-frere-1943/original . live .
  6. Web site: 1943 . Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m404 . 8 October 2023 . . Map . 8 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231008035630/https://apps.information.qld.gov.au/data/v2/HistoricalMaps/StaticMap/cadastral/cad-map-2mile-qld-2m404-surv-control-1943/original . live .
  7. Web site: Saints History. St Augustine's College. https://web.archive.org/web/20181115000338/http://www.sac.qld.edu.au/saints-history. 15 November 2018. live. 15 November 2018.
  8. Web site: Wet Tropics of Queensland. World Heritage List. UNESCO. https://web.archive.org/web/20181115002846/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/486/multiple%3D1%26unique_number%3D565. 15 November 2018. live. 15 November 2018.
  9. Web site: Crater Lakes National Park Management Statement 2013 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20181115003638/https://www.npsr.qld.gov.au/managing/plans-strategies/statements/pdf/crater-lakes.pdf . 15 November 2018 . 15 November 2018 . Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing . Queensland Government.
  10. Web site: 18 November 2020 . Tourist points - Queensland . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20201124222328/https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/built-features-queensland-series/resource/c0b6c26c-6bde-452c-b60a-d77b969b60d2 . 24 November 2020 . 24 November 2020 . Queensland Open Data . Queensland Government.
  11. Web site: 2022-05-17 . About Crater Lakes National Park . 2023-10-08 . Parks and forests . Queensland Government . en-AU . 30 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230330174237/https://parks.des.qld.gov.au/parks/crater-lakes/about . live .