| Beenleigh Logan City, Queensland |
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| Population: | 7,816 (2006 census) | ||||||||||||
| Postcode: | 4207 | ||||||||||||
| Location: | 34 km (21 mi) south of Brisbane CBD | ||||||||||||
| LGA: | Logan City | ||||||||||||
| State District: | Electoral district of Waterford | ||||||||||||
| Federal Division: | Division of Forde | ||||||||||||
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Beenleigh is a suburb in the Logan City area of Queensland, Australia. Beenleigh and adjoining suburbs are located near the confluence of the Logan and Albert rivers. Whilst it was once a stand-alone town built on sugar and home to Australia's oldest rum distillery built in 1864,[1] increasing development in South East Queensland since the 1980s has seen it enveloped by Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
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Beenleigh was first colonised in the 1860s, with the first permanment European settlement occurring by John Davy and Frank Gooding who named their sugar cane plantation Beenleigh in memory of their family estate in Devonshire, England.[1] The first sugar cane mill was built in 1867 and by 1885 another 29 were operational.[1]
Historically, Beenleigh's main industries have been sugar cane harvesting and beef production at an abattoir.[2] The abattoir was established in 1952 and is still one of the largest industries in Beenleigh. Commercial dairying in the area began in 1889.[3]
Until the 1990s, Beenleigh was the centre of the Albert Shire, which also included the suburbs of Eagleby, Alberton, Mt Warren Park, Windaroo, Edens Landing, Holmview, Pimpama, Jacob's Well. The Albert Shire was dissolved and Beenleigh and the surrounding suburbs were then merged with Gold Coast City Council. A few years ago, these suburbs were unmerged from Gold Coast City Council (despite protests from locals who voted against being part of Logan) and are currently under the jurisdiction of Logan City Council.
Still predominately a self-sufficient town with expanding retail and commercial areas close by, Beenleigh is home to three shopping centres with Coles Supermarkets, Woolworths, BI-LO, Big W, Aldi and a Mitre 10 MEGA.
At the heart of Beenleigh stands the Southern District Court complex, first established in 1871. For many years, the court was constituted solely of three magistrates, this changed with the allocation of a permanent sitting District Court of Queensland Judge in 1998. The first presiding District Court Judge in Beenleigh was Judge O'Brien. Recently, the Southern District Court complex has played an integral role in the development of the progressive Drug Court.
Beenleigh Mitre 10 MEGA opened in 2004 it was the company's first Australian MEGA store, it employs over 200 people.[4]
Day care facilities are available at the Lutheran Beenleigh Family Day Care Scheme.
Beenleigh is situated on the Pacific Motorway. QR Citytrain provides frequent services to Brisbane and the Gold Coast via the Beenleigh railway line at the centrally located Beenleigh railway station.
There are three major high schools within the immediate area of Beenleigh, as well as many primary schools. The town has its own library, community centre and two theatres (Crete Street Theatre and Phoenix Ensemble). Social events of note are the annual Cane Festival and Beenleigh Show.
Sporting facilities that are represented in Beenleigh cover baseball, soccer, BMX, football, tennis, swimming and roller derby. Beenleigh enjoys access to the Logan River via boat ramp located near the northern bridge on the Pacific Motorway.
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