Mount Chalmers Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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![]() Rural landscape, Mount Chalmers, 2016 | |||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 23°17′51″S150°38′25″E / 23.2975°S 150.6402°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 226 (2021 census) [1] | ||||||||||||||
• Density | 6.494/km2 (16.82/sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4702 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 34.8 km2 (13.4 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Livingstone | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Keppel | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Capricornia | ||||||||||||||
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Mount Chalmers is a rural town and locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. [2] [3] In the 2021 census, the locality of Mount Chalmers had a population of 226 people. [1]
The town of Mount Chalmers is in the north of the locality with Mount Nicholson being a neighbourhood within the south of the locality ( 23°19′00″S150°39′00″E / 23.3166°S 150.65°E ). [4]
The locality contains the following named peaks: [5]
Gold was found in Mount Chalmers in 1860 but gold mining did not commence in the area until 1869. It was named after Mr Chambers who established a battery. In 1899 copper mining commenced. [10]
Mount Chalmers Provisional School opened on 23 January 1901. On 1 January 1909 it became Mount Chalmers State School. [11] The school was mothballed on 31 December 2005 and its closure finalised on 31 December 2006. [12] [13] In 2014 the Livingstone Shire Council purchased the site for $230,000 for use by the local community. [14] It is located at 16 School Street ( 23°17′56″S150°38′27″E / 23.2989°S 150.6409°E ). [15] [16]
In 1908, the Yeppoon railway line was established from Sleipners Junction on the North Rockhampton to Emu Park railway line and then through to Yeppoon railway station. [10] Mount Chalmers railway station ( 23°18′04″S150°38′28″E / 23.30111°S 150.64111°E ) served the town, and Mount Nicholson railway station ( 23°19′03″S150°38′38″E / 23.3175°S 150.6440°E ) served the south of the locality. [17]
In 1911, the census recorded a population of 1,181. [10]
The Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart opened St Joseph's Catholic primary school in 1913. [18] [19] It closed in 1914. [20]
Mining ended in 1914 and people moved away; the 1921 census showed the population had fallen to 95 people. [10]
The Yeppoon railway line ceased passenger services in 1978 and closed completely in 2004. [21]
In January 2023, Carinity Education Rockhampton opened a campus in Mount Chalmers in former Mount Chalmers State School to provide special education services. [22]
In the 2011 census, the locality of Mount Chalmers had a population of 216 people. [23]
In the 2016 census, the locality of Mount Chalmers had a population of 235 people. [24]
In the 2021 census, the locality of Mount Chalmers had a population of 226 people. [1]
Carinity Education Rockhampton is a special secondary co-educational school (Years 7 to 9) at 18 School Street ( 23°17′54″S150°38′27″E / 23.29844°S 150.64081°E ). It is operated by the Baptist Union of Queensland and provides education for children who are not succeeding in a mainstream school by providing individualised support in a Christian setting. [25] Students will then transfer to the school's Glenlee campus for later years of schooling. In 2023, the Mount Chalmers campus had 40 students. [26] [27]
There are no government schools in Mount Chalmers. The nearest povernment primary school is Cawarral State School in neighbouring Cawaral to the north-east. The nearest government secondary schools are North Rockhampton State High School in Frenchville, Rockhampton, to the south-west and Yeppoon State High School in Yeppoon to the north-east. [5]
The Mount Chalmers Community History Centre operates from the old school site. [28] The old school also has a library run by volunteers and supported by the Livingstone Shire Council. [29] [30]