Howard, Queensland

Howard is a rural town and locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2][3] It is a southern boundary of the Dundaburra peoples of the Northern Kabi Kabi Isis districts and surrounds. In the 2016 census, Howard had a population of 1,359 people.^[1] It is located 284 kilometres (176 mi) north of Brisbane and 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of Hervey Bay.

Howard Queensland
Post office at Howard
Howard
Coordinates	25°19′05″S 152°33′33″E / 25.3180°S 152.5591°E / -25.3180; 152.5591 (Howard (town centre))
Population	1,359 (2016 census)^[1]
• Density	29.61/km^2 (76.68/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4659
Area	45.9 km^2 (17.7 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	37 km (23 mi) W of Hervey Bay 284 km (176 mi) N of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Fraser Coast Region
State electorate(s)	Maryborough
Federal division(s)	Hinkler
Localities around Howard: Cherwell Pacific Haven Burrum River Cherwell Howard Burrum Town Duckinwilla Duckinwilla Torbanlea

Geography

The Bruce Highway passes through the locality in an east–west direction skirting the edge of the town. Queensland's North Coast railway line passes in a NW-SE direction through the town centre with Howard railway station (25°19′05″S 152°33′50″E / 25.3181°S 0152.5639°E / -25.3181; 0152.5639 (Howard railway station)) serving the town.^[4] The main streets of Howard are Steley and William.^[5]

History

The town was originally known as Steley (after Abel Steley) but was renamed after William Howard, a pioneer in coal mining in the Burrum area.^[2][6][7]

Abel Steley commenced coal mining in the area in 1856. After a series of setbacks, he eventually established the successful Beauford Colliery and the Queensland Collieries Company.^[8]

In 1877 George Howard and his son William established the Howard Colliery.^[9]

The first Burrum Post Office opened on 22 July 1878 and was renamed Howard in 1883.^[10]

Burrum Provisional School opened on 18 February 1879. On 3 October 1884, it was renamed Howard State School.^[11]

St Matthew's Anglican Church was opened on 3 October 1883 by Bishop Matthew Hale. It was built on 1 acre (0.40 ha) of land donated by the Queensland Land and Coal Company.^[12] It was made of hardwood and was 40 by 23 feet (12.2 by 7.0 m) with walls 15 feet (4.6 m) high, capable of holding 200 people. A new church was dedicated on 29 October 1913 by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson and the old church became the church hall.^[13] During World War II the hall was used as a field hospital. Its closure circa 2017 was approved by Bishop Jeremy Greaves.^[14][15] The church and hall are at 11 William Street on the south-west corner with Diamantina Drive (25°18′49″S 152°33′57″E / 25.3136°S 152.5659°E / -25.3136; 152.5659 (St Matthew's Anglican Church)).^[16]

On Sunday 30 March 1884 a Primitive Methodist Church was opened in Howard.^[17][18] With the amalgamation of the various Methodist denominations c 1900, it became the Howard Methodist Church and with the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Howard Uniting Church.^[19][20]

Howard was the seat of the Howard Division (1900-1903) and its successor Shire of Howard (1903-1917).^[21]

 

Howard War Memorial

The Howard War Memorial was unveiled by Colin Rankin on 17 December 1921. Unusually for an Australian war memorial, the statue was made in Italy and depicts a soldier in Italian uniform.^[22]

In May 1984, the Bruce Highway bypass was opened. Previously the highway had run through the town on Robertson Street. Neighbouring Torbanlea was also bypassed as part of same project.^[23]

The Howard Library opened in 2000 and underwent a major refurbishment in 2014.^[24]

In the 2011 census, Howard had a population of 1,364.^[25]

In the 2016 census, Howard had a population of 1,359 people.^[1]

The historic wooden foot bridge over the railway line in Steley Street near the C.W.A Hall was demolished in 2016 as it became too expensive to maintain. It was a popular spot for photographing trains traveling north or south.^{[citation needed]}

Heritage listings

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

• William Street (25°19′03″S 152°33′45″E / 25.3176°S 152.5624°E / -25.3176; 152.5624 (Howard War Memorial)): Howard War Memorial^[26]
• 23 William Street (25°18′50″S 152°33′55″E / 25.3140°S 152.5652°E / -25.3140; 152.5652 (Brooklyn House)): Brooklyn House^[27]

Education

Howard State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 108 William Street (25°19′19″S 152°33′28″E / 25.3219°S 152.5578°E / -25.3219; 152.5578 (Howard State School)).^[28][29] In 2012 the school had an enrolment of 177 students with 12 teachers (11.3 full-time equivalent).^[30][31] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 108 students with 8 teachers (7 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (5 full-time equivalent).^[32]

There is no secondary school in Howard; the nearest are in Childers to the north-west, Hervey Bay to the east and Maryborough to the south.

Amenities

Steley Street contains the skatepark, railway station, children's playground, community centre, kindergarten, respite centre, located on the southern end. Over the railway line is the Howard Sawmill (producers of kiln dried Queensland hardwood). The post office, drapery and patchwork store, hairdresser, grocery and hardware store are on the northern end. A 48-hour stop over for RVs is located in Steley Street opposite the Community Centre. The Howard Sub Branch of the RSL is located in Steley Street opposite the RV stop over.^{[citation needed]}

The Fraser Coast Regional Council operates a public library at 56 Steley Street (25°19′07″S 152°33′45″E / 25.3186°S 152.562558°E / -25.3186; 152.562558 (Howard Library)).^[33]

The Howard branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA hall at 77 Steley Street (25°19′00″S 152°33′42″E / 25.3167°S 152.5616°E / -25.3167; 152.5616 (Queensland Country Women's Association)).^[34]

William Street consists of a milk bar, butcher, bakery, pharmacy, hotel, bottle shop, newsagency, IGA supermarket, chip shop, doctor and several real estate agents.^{[citation needed]}

Howard/Torbanlea Uniting Church is in Coal Street (25°18′59″S 152°33′29″E / 25.3163°S 152.5581°E / -25.3163; 152.5581 (Howard Uniting Church)).^[35][36][19] It is part of the Mary Burnett Presbytery of the Uniting Church in Australia.^[37]

Howard also has a golf course on the outer part of the main part of town.^{[citation needed]}

The Bowls Club is located at Torbanlea.^{[citation needed]}

Events

The Howard Country Market is held on the first Saturday of every month except January at the community centre. This market is the largest on the Fraser Coast with well over 100 stalls selling a huge variety of goods.^{[citation needed]}

Notable residents

• Andrew Fisher, first Federal Member for the electorate of Wide Bay and second Labor Prime Minister of Australia. The house he built and lived in still stands.
• Annabelle Rankin, the first woman from Queensland to sit in the Parliament of Australia, the first woman to have a federal portfolio and the first woman to be appointed head of a foreign mission. She lived in Brooklyn House.
• Colin Rankin, chairman of the Shire of Howard, member for Burrum in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He lived in Brooklyn House.
• Eric Harris (rugby league), Rugby league player who played for Toowoomba, Wests Brisbane, Queensland and Leeds in England.

Notes and references

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Howard (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.  
2. "Howard – town in Fraser Coast Region (entry 16363)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
3. "Howard – locality in Fraser Coast Region (entry 50251)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
4. "Howard – Railway station in the Fraser Coast Region (entry 16365)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
6. "Howard, William 1838 – 1930". Burrum Mining Museum. 22 June 2020. from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
7. "THE BURRUM COALFIELD". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 2401. Queensland, Australia. 13 January 1880. p. 3. from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
8. "THE LATE MRS. STELEY, OF HOWARD". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 9906. Queensland, Australia. 3 September 1904. p. 2. from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
9. "Opening of the "Howard" Colliery on the Burrum River". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 1936. Queensland, Australia. 13 January 1877. p. 2. from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
10. Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
11. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
    - "Agency ID 5320, Howard State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
12. "BISHOP HALE'S VISIT". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 3, 192. Queensland, Australia. 6 October 1883. p. 3. from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
13. "HOWARD". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 12, 636. Queensland, Australia. 3 November 1913. p. 6. from the original on 5 September 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
14. Anglican Church of Southern Queensland. . Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
15. RosieJay (20 July 2015). "Historic St Matthew's Church facing closure". Fraser Coast Chronicle. from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
16. Google (3 July 2020). "St Matthew's Anglican Church and Hall, 11 William Street, Howard (Street View)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
17. "LOCAL NEWS". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 3, 338. Queensland, Australia. 27 March 1884. p. 2. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "HOWARD". Maryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser. No. 3, 344. Queensland, Australia. 3 April 1884. p. 3. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "Howard Uniting Church". Churches Australia. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
20. Blake, Thom. "Howard Primitive Methodist Church". Queensland religious places database. from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
21. "Agency ID 955, Howard Divisional Board". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
    - "Agency ID 956, Howard Shire Council". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
22. "Howard and Burrum District War Memorial". Monument Australia. from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
23. "Burrum and District Museum". Australian Museums and Galleries. from the original on 13 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
24. "Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin 2016-17" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. p. 13. (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
25. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Howard (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 June 2014.  
26. "Howard War Memorial (entry 600545)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
27. "Brooklyn House" (PDF). Local Heritage Register]. Fraser Coast Regional Council. Retrieved 18 September 2013.^{[permanent dead link]}
28. . Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
29. "Howard State School". from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
30. . Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
31. (PDF). Howard State School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
32. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
33. "Howard Library". Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. 19 August 2016. from the original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
34. . Queensland Country Women's Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
35. "Find a Church". Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod. from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
36. "Howard/Torbanlea – Hervey Bay Uniting Church". from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
37. "Queensland congregations and faith communities" (PDF). Uniting Church in Australia, Queensland Synod. March 2019. (PDF) from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2021.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Howard, Queensland.

• "Howard". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
• . Queensland Government. 1983. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020.