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Leyburn, Queensland facts for kids

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Leyburn
Queensland
Macintyre Street (main street), Leyburn, 2015.JPG
Macintyre Street (main street), Leyburn, 2015
Leyburn is located in Queensland
Leyburn
Leyburn
Location in Queensland
Population 476 (2016 census)
 • Density 2.533/km2 (6.56/sq mi)
Postcode(s) 4365
Area 187.9 km2 (72.5 sq mi)
Time zone AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)
State electorate(s)
  • Condamine
  • Southern Downs
Federal Division(s) Maranoa
Localities around Leyburn:
Tummaville Ellangowan Ellangowan
Stonehenge Leyburn Old Talgai
Pratten
Stonehenge Karara Thanes Creek

Leyburn (pronounced Lee-burn) is a rural town in the Southern Downs Region and a locality split between the South Downs Region and the Toowoomba Region in Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Leyburn had a population of 476 people.

History

StateLibQld 1 204740 Royal Hotel, Leyburn, ca. 1933
Royal Hotel, Leyburn, circa 1933
Royal Hotel, Leyburn, 2015
Royal Hotel, Leyburn, 2015

Leyburn was named in the 1840s by William Gray, Snr., who came to the area by bullock dray from Pitt Town on the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales. The first name for the locality was Canal Creek; the name was changed to Leyburn by Henry and Jane Kirby, Gray's son-in-law and daughter, and derives from the market town of Leyburn in the English county of Yorkshire. The site for the town was surveyed in November 1852. Henry Kirby and another man named Collins applied in 1854 for the licence of the Travellers' Home Inn at Leyburn.

The post office at Leyburn opened on 1 January 1861.

The Rosenthal Division was established in 1889 and became the Shire of Rosenthal in 1903. Although Leyburn was the largest town within this local government area, it was not chosen as the administrative centre as Leyburn did not have a railway connection in 1889. Instead, offices were established in Warwick outside of the district.

An airfield with a 7,000 foot runway was constructed by April 1943 for the use of the United States Army Air Force. The airfield was eventually used by 21 Squadron, 23 Squadron and 99 Squadron. and was eventually abandoned by the RAAF in December 1945. The abandoned airfield became the site of the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, the first time the Australian Grand Prix was held in Queensland. At the 2006 census, Leyburn and the surrounding area had a population of 348.

Leyburn State School opened in 1862 and caters for students from Prep to Year six.

Events

Centaur-Graham-Ruckert
Centaur Waggott GT, Leyburn Sprints, 2007

In 1996 the Leyburn Sprints was established. Celebrating the 1949 Australian Grand Prix, historic racing cars and cars of special interest compete in numerous classes to compete in a short 1.0 kilometre (0.62 mi) course through the town. The event has become the town's biggest attraction.

Heritage listings

Granall, former coffee house and court house, erected 1858, the oldest surviving building in Leyburn, 2015
Granall, former coffee house and court house, erected 1858, the oldest surviving building in Leyburn, 2015

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

Education

Leyburn State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 34 Peter Street (28°00′48″S 151°34′42″E / 28.0132°S 151.5783°E / -28.0132; 151.5783 (Leyburn State School)). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 39 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 9 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent).

There are no secondary schools in Leyburn. The nearest government secondary schools are Pittsworth State High School (to Year 12) in Pittsworth to the north, Clifton State High School (to Year 12) in Clifton to the north-east, Allora State School (to Year 10) in Allora to the east, Warwick State High School (to Year 12) in Warwick to the south-east, and Millmerran State School (to Year 10) in Millmerran to the north-west.

Notable residents

Australian rugby league player Shane Webcke grew up in Leyburn.

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