Crohamhurst, Queensland

Crohamhurst Queensland
Former Crohamhurst Observatory, 2007
Crohamhurst
Coordinates	26°48′30″S152°51′40″E / 26.8083°S 152.8611°E / -26.8083; 152.8611 (Crohamhurst (centre of locality))
Population	219 (2021 census) [1]
• Density	10.68/km2 (27.67/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4519
Area	20.5 km2 (7.9 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	13.8 km (9 mi) NW of Beerwah 34.7 km (22 mi) W of Caloundra 41.1 km (26 mi) SW of Maroochydore 89.3 km (55 mi) N of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Sunshine Coast Region
State electorate(s)	Glass House
Federal division(s)	Fisher
Suburbs around Crohamhurst: Wootha Maleny Bald Knob Peachester Crohamhurst Bald Knob Peachester Peachester Peachester

Crohamhurst is a rural locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. ^[2] In the 2021 census, Crohamhurst had a population of 219 people. ^[1]

In 1893, Crohamhurst recorded 907 mm (35.7 in) of rain in one day during the passage of a cyclone, which is the record highest 24-hour rainfall in Australia. ^[3]

Geography

Most of the southern boundary is marked by the Stanley River. The north of Crohamhurst is protected within a section of the Glass House Mountains National Park. Also in the area is the Crohamhurst State Forest.

Crohamhurst has the following mountains:

• Candle Mountain ( 26°48′48″S152°51′14″E / 26.8132°S 152.8540°E / -26.8132; 152.8540 (Candle Mountain) ) 293 metres (961 ft) ^{[4] [5]}
• Mount Blanc ( 26°48′51″S152°52′43″E / 26.8143°S 152.8785°E / -26.8143; 152.8785 (Mount Blanc) ) 227 metres (745 ft) ^{[4] [6]}

History

Group at Crohamhurst State School

The name Crohamhurst comes from the name of the farm Crohamhurst established by Owen and Emilie/Amelia Jones who immigrated from Surrey, England. The Jones family named their farm after a property called Crohamhurst (also written Croham Hurst) owned by Lord Goschen in Surrey. ^[2]

The son of Owen and Emilie/Amelia Jones was Inigo Owen Jones, the long-range weather forecaster who established the now heritage-listed Crohamhurst Observatory on the farm. His theories about weather cycles related to sunspot activity. ^{[2] [7]}

In 1893, Inigo Jones recorded 907 mm (35.7 in) of rain in one day at Crohamhurst during the passage of a cyclone, which is the record highest 24-hour rainfall in Australia. ^[3] He had just resigned as an employee of the Queensland Meteorological Service Inigo Owen Jones at that time. The 20-year-old Jones, later became a controversial climate forecaster, believing that weather patterns were influenced related to sunspot activityand electromagnetic effects of far away planets. ^{[2] [7] [8]}

Crohamhurst State School opened on 21 July 1913. It closed on 14 October 1960. ^{[9] [10]} It was located on Crohamhurst Road ( 26°48′37″S152°52′18″E / 26.8104°S 152.8717°E / -26.8104; 152.8717 (Crohamhurst State School (former)) ) on land donated by Owen Jones (father of Inigo Owen Jones) which is now within the Crohamhurst State Forest, land donated by Inigo Owen Jones. ^{[11] [12] [13]} It closed on 14 October 1960. ^{[9] [10]} The location of the school is marked with a sign by the road. ^[14]

Inigo Jones inherited the property from his parents, and in 1950 he gave the farm to the Queensland Government provided he and his wife could continue to live there until their deaths. The observatory part of the land is now heritage-listed and the rest of the land (including the school which closed about 1960) is now the Crohamhurst State Forest. ^{[2] [7]}

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Crohamhurst had a population of 203 people. ^[15]

In the 2016 census, Crohamhurst had a population of 217 people. ^[16]

In the 2021 census, Crohamhurst had a population of 219 people. ^[1]

Heritage listings

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

• former Crohamhurst Observatory, 131 Crohamhurst Road ( 26°48′35″S152°52′11″E / 26.8098°S 152.8697°E / -26.8098; 152.8697 (Crohamhurst Observatory) ) ^[7]

Education

There are no schools in Crohamhurst. The nearest government primary school is Peachester State School in neighbouring Peachester to the south. The nearest government secondary school is Beerwah State High School in Beerwah to the south-east. ^[17]

Facilities

Despite the name, Peachester Cemetery is on Cemetery Road in Crohamhurst ( 26°49′13″S152°52′20″E / 26.8202°S 152.8722°E / -26.8202; 152.8722 (Peachester Cemetery) ). ^[18]

Notable residents

• Inigo Owen Jones, long-range weather forecaster

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Crohamhurst (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
2. "Crohamhurst – locality in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 48592)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 8 August 2023.
3. "Rainfall and Temperature Records". Australian Bureau of Meteorology. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
4. "Mountain peaks and capes - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 25 November 2020.
5. "Candle Mountain – mountain in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 6038)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 25 November 2020.
6. "Mount Blanc – mountain in Sunshine Coast Region (entry 3150)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 25 November 2020.
7. "Crohamhurst Observatory (former) (entry 602682)". Queensland Heritage Register . Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
8. Sherratt, Tim (13 February 2011). "Inigo Jones: The Weather Prophet". discontents. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
9. "Agency ID 5959, Crohamhurst State School". Queensland State Archives . Retrieved 16 April 2014.
10. "STATE SCHOOLS". The Brisbane Courier . National Library of Australia. 27 June 1913. p. 8. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
11. Harden, W. P. H. (October 1940). "The History of the Peachester and Crohamhurst District". The Historical Society of Queensland Journal. 3 (2): 133. Archived from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
12. "Inigo Jones Farm Site (PEA4): Local Heritage Place" (PDF). Sunshine Coast Regional Council. p. SC6-143. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2016.
13. "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m74" (Map). Queensland Government. 1949. Archived from the original on 16 October 2021. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
14. Google (17 October 2021). "Sign for the former Crohamhurst State School" (Map). Google Maps . Google. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
15. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Crohamhurst (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
16. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Crohamhurst (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
17. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland . Retrieved 8 August 2023.
18. "Cemetery Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.

Further reading

• Harden, W. P. H. (1 January 1940), The history of the Peachester and Crohamhurst district, The Historical Society of Queensland, retrieved 10 July 2016 — available online