| Gatton Queensland |
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A Landsat montage of Gatton township |
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Gatton
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| Population: | 5,295 (2006 Census)[1] | ||||||
| Established: | 1855 | ||||||
| Postcode: | 4343 | ||||||
| Elevation: | 94 m (308 ft) [2] | ||||||
| Time zone: | AEST (UTC+10) | ||||||
| Location: | |||||||
| LGA: | Lockyer Valley Region | ||||||
| County: | Churchill | ||||||
| Parish: | Gatton | ||||||
| State District: | Electoral district of Lockyer | ||||||
| Federal Division: | Division of Blair | ||||||
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Gatton is a town and the administrative centre of the Lockyer Valley Local Government Area situated in the Lockyer Valley of South East Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Gatton had a population of 5,295.[1]
The Gatton area was explored by Major Edmund Lockyer in 1825. A settlement known as Gatton was gazetted in 1855.[3] The post office opened 1 January 1866, with Frederick Lloyd, a dairyman, as the first postmaster.[4] The small village did not experience significant growth until the mid 1870s, after the railway to Grandchester attracted people to the area.[5]
As part of the "Salad Bowl" of the Lockyer Valley, the area is primarily agricultural, with vegetables making up the majority of crops. Fruit was grown extensively in the Shire until the 1990s, when economic conditions changed and many of the orchards were removed. There is also significant beef and dairy cattle farming, (Stanbroke Beef operates it's abattoir at nearby Grantham) along with a growing equine industry, and the town is also a noted producer of fodder crops, particularly prime lucerne hay.
The University of Queensland has a campus on the former Queensland Agricultural College site at Lawes, just to the east of the town of Gatton. This campus is now the base for much of the university's rural focused research and teaching.
Over recent years, the rural tranquility of the Gatton Shire has started to be encroached on by the suburban sprawl of metropolitan Brisbane and Ipswich in the east and Toowoomba in the west. The Warrego Highway, which runs east-west through the Shire, has also experienced increasing strip development, with fuel outlets and commercial properties gradually spreading along the highway.
The Lights on the Hill Truck and Coach Drivers' Memorial is located at Lake Apex Park on the outskirts of Gatton.
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