CABOOLTURE, QUEENSLAND

The town of 'Caboolture' () is the administrative centre of the Caboolture Shire Local Government Area in South East Queensland, Australia, part of the County of Canning, Queensland.
Caboolture is located approximately 50 km north of the state capital Brisbane. Caboolture shire was one of the first areas in Australia to use slave labour from the South Pacific brought in by Captain Whish to work in the local sugar cane fields. Due to its proximity to Brisbane, Caboolture was one of the first areas of the state opened up to European settlement. It hosts the Urban Country Music Festival each year, a ute muster and country music headlined by various artists.

Contents

History

Pre European

1800s

Recent history

Business and industry

Transport

Population pressure

Local government

References

External links

History

Pre European

The Caboolture area is the traditional home of the Kabi Aboriginal people. The name "Kabultur" is derived from Kabi words meaning "Place of the Carpet Snake".^[1]
The Kabi people harvested bush food, fresh water mussels, oysters, fish, and some game animals, moving around the land to take best advantage of seasonally available produce.
Each year in March, the Kabi people would hold Bunya Festivals to feast on the plentiful and nutritious annual nuts of the Bunya Pine. These huge trees provided a food source which could sustain large numbers of people. Neighbouring clans were invited to the festivals, where singing, dancing story-telling, trading and arranging of marriages took place.

1800s

The Caboolture area was first settled in 1842 when the land around the Moreton Bay penal colony was opened up to free settlers. ^[2]
By the mid 1860's the local pastoralists were experimenting with sugar cane and cotton. In 1867, a tiny settlement was established as a supply and trading centre for the settlers in the area and to service the needs of miners trekking from Brisbane to the goldfields near Gympie. The local shire was constituted in 1879 and in 1888 the railway line from Brisbane was opened.^[2]
Timber was the principal industry of the area until the 1860s. The valuable red cedar, now very rare in the Shire, provided a good income for the timber getters. The massive logs were rafted down the Caboolture River to Deception Bay, from where they were taken by steamer to Brisbane. Settlers also made good use of the valuable timber, using it wherever possible for houses, barns and even fence posts.
The first crown land sold in the area was auctioned in 1864 for one pound Sterling an acre. Soon, the area had a thriving agricultural industry. The first major crop was sugar cane, and soon wheat, maize and Indian corn were being grown on the river flats. Vegetables were grown for local consumption. After an early unsuccessful foray with a wool industry, damp-susceptible sheep were abandoned in favour of more hardy cattle.
Settlement in Caboolture was accelerated with the discovery of gold at Gympie. In 1868, the town was used as a stop-over point by the Cobb and Co coach service connecting Brisbane, Gympie and Maryborough. This function continued with the rail link established in 1888.

Recent history

Formerly a small town, the location of Caboolture on the corridor between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast resulted in an influx of residents in the 1970s and 1980s. The two main factors in this expansion were the electrification of the railway line to Brisbane, enabling travel to the Brisbane CBD in less than an hour, and the development of the Bruce Highway to freeway (motorway) standard.
In common with many outer areas of Brisbane, the Caboolture Shire Council encouraged the development of low-cost housing areas which were affordable compared to established areas in Brisbane. This policy resulted in estates of small houses on small blocks, often clad in low-cost materials such as 'fibro', a synthetic composite board.
At the same time, the Council allowed the subdivision of rural land into 'acreage' housing estates consisting of blocks of 3/4 acre, 2 acres and 5 acres.

Business and industry

All the above groups have attracted a large expansion of retail and service industries, such as the Morayfield Shopping Centre - a major outer-Brisbane centre offering all the services enjoyed by any other Brisbane suburb.

Transport

Caboolture is a regional major transport hub. With its connections across the Great Dividing Range via the D'Aguilar highway, easy highway access to Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast via the Bruce Highway, and major road to Bribie Island, it is a focal point for road traffic. Caboolture railway station is the terminus for QR CityTrain's Caboolture Line, as well as being a major stop on the North Coast railway line. QR CityTrain operates a 6-car half-hourly service to Brisbane and Ipswich, in addition to interurban services from Nambour and Gympie. Significant expansion of rail services north of Caboolture is planned for the next two decades. The Shire and surrounds are also serviced by several bus companies, the largest of which is Kangaroo Bus Lines. In addition there is an airfield that services GA and recreational aviation.

Population pressure

With the increased population growth of the shire, significant pressure is being placed on the transport network. The car parks at Caboolture, Morayfield and Burpengary stations are at over capacity, despite several expansions in recent years.^[4]

Local government

Local Government for the area is provided by Caboolture Shire Council. Caboolture is the administrative centre and main commercial hub for the shire.From March 2008 the Caboolture Shire will be merged with the Pine Rivers Shire and the City of Redcliffe to form a new 'super council' which has been provisionally named "North Moreton Regional Council".

References

1. South East Queensland - Place Names 2 January 2006
2. http://www.caboolture.qld.gov.au/discover.aspx?id=348
3. http://www.caboolture.qld.gov.au/discover.aspx?id=348
4. Caboolture CBD Parking Study.

External links

★ Caboolture Shire Council

★ Urban Country Music Festival

★ Caboolture Shire Herald

★ Australian Places - Caboolture

★ Caboolture Shire Direct