| Stalworth Queensland | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
  Stalworth | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 26°06′39″S151°35′44″E / 26.1108°S 151.5955°E /-26.1108; 151.5955 (Stalworth (centre of locality)) | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 37 (2021 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| • Density | 0.820/km2 (2.125/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4613 | ||||||||||||||
| Area | 45.1 km2 (17.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | South Burnett Region | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Nanango | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Flynn | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Stalworth is a rurallocality in theSouth Burnett Region,Queensland, Australia.[2] In the2021 census, Stalworth had a population of 37 people.[1]
Okeden Road forms most of the south-western boundary of the locality.[3]
Hopefield is a neighbourhood in the centre of the locality (26°07′00″S151°36′00″E / 26.1166°S 151.6°E /-26.1166; 151.6 (Hopefield)).[4]
The land use is predominantlygrazing on native vegetation with some crop growing andplantation forestry.[3]
The locality was officially named and bounded by government on 16 October 1998,[2] although the locality name has been used since the earliest days of settlement.
A hall was built at Stalworth which hosted dances and social events for many years. It opened on Saturday 21 September 1929[5] and was later extended with significant alternations and improvements which were opened on Saturday 3 March 1934.[6][7] Church services and activities were also held in the hall regularly.[8][9] A Stalworth branch society within the Christian Endeavour movement met in the hall and they hosted the Weinholt Christian Endeavour Union rally there in 1937.[10]
Other social activities in the district included the formation of a Stalworth local soccer team.[11]
There was also a cheese factory at Stalworth for a short time. Newspaper articles from 1925 report that it was destroyed by fire on 30 December 1924 along with the adjoining residence,[12] and the circumstances were regarded as suspicious with the possibility of insurance fraud.[13] It was insured for £1100[13] and was owned at the time by E.V.Hobbs who did not reside there but engaged a caretaker.[14] The caretaker was James Wardill.[15] A local farmer giving evidence at the subsequent inquiry held in Wondai Court House[15] testified that the factory had by then been in disuse for many years,[16] however the owner testified that his son-in-law had operated the cheese plant for a short time between approximately 1919 and 1922 generating turnover to the value of £6000.[14] An advertisement was placed in theMaryborough Chronicle, Wide Bay and Burnett Advertiser newspaper on 6 June 1917 calling for tenders to construct the Stalworth cheese factory by its proprietor E.T.Howes of Memerambi.[17]
One of the first settlers in the district was Sydney Shaw, who subsequently became the first teacher at nearby Abbeywood State School.[18]
Communication services were established relatively early. Telephone was first made available at Stalworth on 25 March 1926.[19] Further, the district is mentioned in theCommonwealth of Australia Gazette 23 June 1932 when the Postmaster General was calling for tenders for mail delivery in the area - "Proston and Proston, via Block 10, Stalworth PostOffice, Slingers and Jingeri letter-box, twice a week. Tenderers to state additional price required for three trips a week."[20]
In the2016 census, Stalworth had a population of 33 people.[21]
In the2021 census, Stalworth had a population of 37 people.[1]
There are no schools in Stalworth but primary and secondary schooling (to Year 10) are available in neighbouringProston. The nearest secondary school to Year 12 is atMurgon.[22]
Children living in the area attended primary school at Abbeywood State School while it operated between the years 1914 and 1969.
