Pittsworth, Queensland

Pittsworth Queensland
Tattersalls Club Hotel, Pittsworth, 2011
Pittsworth
Coordinates	27°43′S 151°38′E / 27.717°S 151.633°E / -27.717; 151.633Coordinates: 27°43′S 151°38′E / 27.717°S 151.633°E / -27.717; 151.633
Population	5,503 (2013)[1]
Established	1876
Postcode(s)	4356
Elevation	519[2] m (1,703 ft)
LGA(s)	Toowoomba Region
State electorate(s)	Condamine
Federal Division(s)	Maranoa
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 24.2 °C 76 °F 11.5 °C 53 °F 693.4 mm 27.3 in

Pittsworth is a town located in the Darling Downs region of southern Queensland, Australia. Located 169 kilometres (105 mi) south-west of Brisbane via the Warrego Highway, 41 kilometres (25 mi) south-west of Toowoomba and is a service centre for the surrounding agricultural area. The Toowoomba Regional Council reported the population of Pittsworth was 5503 in 2013.^[1] For many years, Pittsworth was the administrative centre of the Pittsworth Shire. In March 2008 the Pittsworth Shire amalgamated with eight other shires to form the Toowoomba Region.

Geography

Pittsworth township is situated on the basalt upland section of the Darling Downs which is undulating in nature and hosts mixed farming and intensive animal industries. Nearby is an alluvial flood plain, mostly leading directly to the North Branch of the Condamine River. This flood plain provides some of the best quality grains and cotton in Australia and utilises overland flood flows for irrigation purposes. Climate of the Pittsworth district is temperate with large variations between summer and winter due to it being some 150 kilometres (93 mi) inland and 520 metres above sea level. Average rainfall for Pittsworth is 695 mm per annum, with the higher falls occurring in the summer months.

History

The Grand Hotel at Pittsworth, c. 1903

Crowd attending Pittsworth Races , ca. 1912

Situated on the Darling Downs, Pittsworth owes its existence to that great explorer and botanist Allan Cunningham who in early June 1827 discovered and named the area around Warwick and to the north, the Darling Downs. It was not until 1840 that the Leslie Brothers arrived on the Darling Downs with stock for pastoral settlement and on the second arrival camped on the banks of the Condamine River close to which is now Leslie Crossing.

Pittsworth grew up around a hotel (the Beauaraba) which attracted itinerant rural workers and local landholders. As such the town was originally known as Beauaraba but the name was changed in 1915 in honour of a prominent local family who took up land at Goombungee in 1854. Beauaraba Post Office opened on 1 November 1882 (a receiving office had been open from 1880). It was renamed Pittsworth in 1886.^[3] The hotel and surrounding land was taken over by the Lindenberg family in the early 1940s and was converted into a vintage auto museum which, by the 1960s became the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

After a number of years of pastoral settlement, the town was established and slowly grew to offer services for the surrounding agricultural industries. The European settlement of the area was greatly aided by the arrival of the railway in 1887 and the transition from large to smaller holdings and from sheep to dairy farming. The Co-operative Dairy Company opened in 1896. By 1914 Pittsworth had a number of dairy factories which were producing about 80 per cent of all the cheese being manufactured on the Darling Downs. In 1915, the town made a single block of cheddar cheese weighing 1.5 tonnes which was shipped to the World Dairy Show in London. At the time it was the world's largest block of cheese.

Pittsworth today remains as a service centre to local agricultural enterprises and has a small manufacturing base.

Heritage listings

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

• Short Street: former Pittsworth Shire Council Chambers and Shire Hall^[4]

Climate

Education

The town has two primary schools: Pittsworth State School, St Stephen's School; and a state high school, Pittsworth State High School.

Attractions

An important attraction in the town is the Pittsworth & District Historical Society Folk Museum. This interesting and well-presented complex is on the outskirts of town. Like many of the folk museums on the Darling Downs the Pittsworth Museum combines a fine collection of old buildings - schools, the former post office, an 1895 cottage - with some historical memorabilia. Items include a chantilly lace wrap which once belonged to Florence Nightingale, a love letter written by Governor Bligh's mother, an outdoor display of carts and farm equipment and memorabilia connected with Arthur Postle who, in 1906, was proclaimed 'the fastest man in the world' when he won the 220 yards World Championship Cup. In the main street the ANZ Bank (1905) and adjacent buildings are of interest. One block away is the St Stephens Catholic Church (1908). The annual Pittsworth Sprints is two days of car sprints against the clock on a set course around the Pittsworth Industrial Estate. The event attracts racers from all around Australia. The Pittsworth Library is operated by the Toowoomba Regional Council. The library is located on Yandilla Street and is open seven days.^[6]

Media

• Pittsworth FM 87.6 was launched in 2008 to serve the local Pittsworth area. It is a narrowcast station with an easy listening and country music format. It was previously known as Double 8FM in 2007.
• The Pittsworth Sentinel is Pittsworth's weekly newspaper, published and released every Wednesday.

Notable people

• Sir Alan Roy Fletcher, chairman of Pittsworth Shire Council and Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cunningham

Sources

• Queensland Holidays - Pittsworth
• Australian Bureau Of Meteorology Climate statistics for Australian locations - Pittsworth.

References

External links

Media related to Pittsworth, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

• University of Queensland: Queensland Places:Pittsworth