Caboolture, Queensland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Caboolture Queensland |
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 Caboolture central business district. |
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| Postcode: | 4510 |
| Location: | 50 km from Brisbane |
| LGA: | Caboolture Shire Council |
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 has a rich, yet quiet history. 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.[citation needed] 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.
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[edit] Indigenous population
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.
[edit] Agricultural development
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.[citation needed]
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.
[edit] Mining
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.
[edit] Urban development
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.[citation needed]
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.
The result has been the polarization of the population into three main groups:
- A lower socioeconomic group who live in dense housing estates of relatively cheap housing.
- A more affluent group who live in 'acreage' properties where they can enjoy a semi-rural lifestyle within easy reach of Brisbane.
- A relatively affluent group who can live in a few select suburbs where they can enjoy middle-class properties at a lower property price than comparable properties nearer to Brisbane.[citation needed]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Transport
Caboolture is a regional major transport hub. With its connections across the Great Dividing Range via the D'Aguilar highway, easy highway acess 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.
[edit] 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.[2]
[edit] 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.
[edit] Issues and concerns
The recent large influx of marginalised families and individuals who are often dependent on Welfare has resulted in typical 'outer suburban' problems such as youth unemployment, young single mothers and anti social behaviour.[citation needed] In this respect Caboolture is similar to other outer suburban areas in Australia such as Sydney's western suburbs or areas to the south and west of Brisbane such as Logan City or Ipswich.
With the rapid growth of the shire, as repeated in many locations around Queensland (most noteably in the South-East), pressure is being placed on resources. As Caboolture has only two major roads (East-West via King Street and Lower King Street connecting to the Bruce Highway (East) and the D'Aguilar Highway (West), and Beerburrum Road/Morayfield Road connecting points North and South respectively, road traffic can slow to a crawl in peak hour. This is being somewhat alleviated by the construction of the Caboolture Bypass, splitting off from the D'Aguilar highway at Wamuran, passing North of the CBD across the Caboolture Showgrounds, and connecting to the Bruce Highway at a new interchange between the existing Caboolture/Bribie Island and the Caboolture/Toorbul/Donnybrook interchange. There appears to be no clear solution to the problems of North-South traffic aside from synchronising the traffic lights, of which there are many. This appears to have been placed in the 'too hard' basket by successive Councils.[citation needed]
Additionally, a long-lasting drought across the South-East corner is placing severe pressure on water supplies, with Caboolture drawing much of its water from the same dams that supply Brisbane and other Councils. It is expected that, despite Level 4 water restrictions (no hosing of gardens, bucket-watering 7pm-7am every other day), these dams will empty in under two years without significant and repeated rainfall.[citation needed] The Queensland Government has recently abandoned plans for a Plebescite on Recycled Water, opting instead to proceed with its implementation without a public vote.[3]
The 2006 Council budget was recently handed down, with a rise in Land Rates, blamed (by the same Council which is opening large tracts of land to development) on 'population pressure on services'.[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ South East Queensland - Place Names 2 January 2006
- ^ Caboolture CBD Parking Study.
- ^ Beattie scraps water poll amid 'Armageddon situation'. ABC News Online 28 January 2007.]
