Kalbar, Queensland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kalbar Queensland
Kalbar Community Baptist Church
Kalbar Location in Queensland
Population	1,093 (2016 census)
• Density	34.48/km2 (89.3/sq mi)
Established	1876
Postcode(s)	4309
Area	31.7 km2 (12.2 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	11.0 km (7 mi) NW of Boonah 43.2 km (27 mi) SSW of Ipswich 43.7 km (27 mi) W of Beaudesert 81.8 km (51 mi) SW of Brisbane CBD
LGA(s)	Scenic Rim Region
State electorate(s)	Scenic Rim
Federal Division(s)	Wright
Localities around Kalbar: Silverdale Kents Lagoon Obum Obum Frazerview Kalbar Teviotville Fassifern Fassifern Valley Templin

Kalbar (formerly Engelsburg / Engelsberg) is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Kalbar had a population of 1,093 people.

History

Passengers waiting at Kalbar railway station on the Mount Edwards railway line, 1917

Edward Street in the 1920s

Farms close to Warrill Creek, 2015

Settlement began at the location in 1876 and by 1890 a small town had developed. The town was once known as Fassifern Scrub and then Engelsburg after the first settler of the town. The town has a very rich German history, reflected today in the many Anglo-German road and street names as well as the many local German settler descendant surnames. The name changed to Kalbar because of anti-German sentiment in 1916. The Mount Edwards railway line reached the town in the same year.

Kalbar State School opened in 1879.

Engelsburg Post Office opened on 7 July 1897 (a receiving office had been open from 1878. known as Engels for five years) and was renamed Kalbar in 1916.

During the 1899 referendum to decide if Australia should become a federation, Kalbar registered the highest No vote of any town in Queensland. In 1920, the Kalbar School of Arts hall and half the businesses in town were destroyed by fire.

From 1961 to 1990, Kalbar held a large annual celebration, the Fassifern Potato Festival. The event included a street parade with motorised floats culminating at the show grounds and continuation of festivities. Some artifacts from the festival can be found at the Templin Historical Museum. Harvest Festivals organised by the local Salvation Army church extended back to the 1920s. The annual agricultural show is held in June.

Heritage listings

St John’s Lutheran Church, 2015

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

• 7 Ann Street: Wiss House
• 1008B Boonah-Fassifern Road: Fassifern Homestead
• 63 - 65 Edward Street: School of Arts and Memorial Hall
• 99 George Street: Wiss Brothers Store
• Teviotville Road: St John’s Lutheran Church

Education

Kalbar State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at George Street (27°56′32″S 152°37′26″E / 27.9421°S 152.6238°E / -27.9421; 152.6238 (Kalbar State School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 202 students with 21 teachers (15 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

There is no secondary school in Kalbar. The nearest government secondary school is Boonah State High School in Boonah to the south-east.