Murphys Creek, Queensland

Murphys Creek Queensland
Population:	449[1]
Postcode:	4352
Location:	22 km (14 mi) from Toowoomba 121 km (75 mi) from Brisbane
LGA:	Lockyer Valley Region
County:	Churchill
Parish:	Taylor[2]
Federal Division:	Blair
Suburbs around Murphys Creek: Cabarlah White Mountain Spring Bluff Murphys Creek White Mountain Ballard Withcott Upper Lockyer

Murphys Creek is a town in Queensland, Australia, located at the foot of the Great Dividing Range. The town's name is correctly spelled without an apostrophe.^[3]

History

Murphys Creek developed as a railway town on the line between the regional city of Toowoomba and settlements to the west, including Helidon, Ipswich and Brisbane. A railway station in the town was opened in 1867, as a part of the Ipswich-Toowoomba segment of the Southern and Western Railway. Based at the foot of the Great Dividing Range, the station and water tank were intended to provide water and services for steam locomotives about to embark on the difficult journey up the steep slopes of the Toowoomba range. The station was named for a creek that ran through the area, that was in turn named for a shepherd who had built a hut in the area around 1864. A correspondent for the Brisbane Courier newspaper around this time described the site as a "feeding place for the engines" travelling to and from Toowoomba.

A small town quickly sprang up around the station, which had grown such an extent that by 1877 tenders had been called for the construction of a booking office and passenger platform at the station. These improvements were completed by 1878. However, in 1887 a fire at the station destroyed the lamp room and ladies' waiting room at the station, and in 1917 the station ceased to be used as a watering station for trains travelling up the range, with watering stations being provided elsewhere on the line (although a 40,000 litre emergency water tank was constructed at the station in 1921 for emergency purposes).

The need to maintain the Murphys Creek railway station diminished in the second half of the 20th century with the introduction of the diesel-electric locomotive. These new trains were capable of climbing the steep slopes west of Murphys Creek without the requirement for attached locomotives. Steam operations had ceased completely on the line by the mid 1960s, and the station was finally closed in 1992, with the installation of computerised signalling systems removing the last justification for the continued existence of the station. The station buildings were sold to the local progress association in 1993, and the water tank was re-assigned to be used as emergency water storage for the township, as well as for use watering the occasional steam heritage trains that periodically ran from Brisbane to Toowoomba.^[4]

Demographics

At the 2006 census, the town was recorded of having a population of 449 persons, living in 150 occupied dwellings. The median age of the population was 38 years, all of whom reported speaking English primarily at home. 65% of the population of the town were born in Australia, 4.2% in England, 1.3% in Zimbabwe, with the remainder being born in New Zealand, the Philippines or the United States of America.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Murphys Creek (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=SSC36959&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved 2008-08-17. 
2. ^ Queensland State Archives (1964). "Town of Murphy's Creek, Parish of Taylor, County of Churchill". http://www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/Search/ItemDetails.aspx?ItemId=621508. Retrieved 5 June 2011. 
3. ^ Grundy, Bruce (2007). So You Want to be a Journalist?. Cambridge University Press. pp. 168. ISBN 0521690498. 
4. ^ "Murphys Creek Railway Complex". http://www.epa.qld.gov.au/projects/heritage/index.cgi?place=601532&back=1. Retrieved 2006-08-17. ^{[dead link]}

Coordinates: 27°28′S 152°02′E / 27.467°S 152.033°E / -27.467; 152.033