Pilton, Queensland

Pilton Queensland
Looking north-east from Pilton State School across farmland, Pilton, 2015.jpg
Pilton
Coordinates	27°52′06″S152°02′51″E / 27.8683°S 152.0475°E / -27.8683; 152.0475 (Pilton (town centre))
Population	71 (SAL 2021) [1]
Postcode(s)	4361
Area	41.9 km2 (16.2 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	18.4 km (11 mi) ENE of Clifton 22.3 km (14 mi) NE of Allora 46.6 km (29 mi) S of Toowoomba CBD 142 km (88 mi) WSW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Toowoomba Region
State electorate(s)	Condamine
Federal division(s)	Maranoa
Localities around Pilton: Ascot Hirstglen Hirstglen Manapouri Pilton Upper Pilton Headington Hill Upper Pilton Upper Pilton

Pilton is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. ^{[2] [3]} It is south of the city of Toowoomba. In the 2021 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people. ^[4]

Geography

The terrain in the north and south of the locality is more mountainous and is predominantly used for grazing on native vegetation. The terrain from the south-east to the north-west is within a valley through which Kings Creek flows from Upper Pilton through to Manapouri/Ascot and is ultimately a tributary of the Condamine River, part of the Murray-Darling basin. The valley is used for cropping. ^[5]

The Gatton–Clifton Road (State Route 80) also passes through the locality from the south-west (Headington Hill) to the north-west (Hirstglen). ^[5]

History

Pilton is named after a pastoral run which was excised from Clifton pastoral station in the 1840s. The run was leased by Philip Pinnock, John Gammie, Joseph King and Joshua J. Whitting [from 1851-9]. It might have been named after Pilton, Somerset, England, an Old English name with Pil meaning creek and ton meaning an enclosed homestead. ^[2]

Pilton Post Office opened on 27 March 1878 (though a receiving office for some years) and closed in 1977. ^[6]

Pilton Provisional School opened in February 1884. ^[7] It closed in 1908. ^[8]

Pilton State School opened on 3 November 1913. ^{[9] [8]}

In the 2006 census, the locality recorded a population of 209, living in 74 inhabited dwellings. ^[10] The median age of the population was 41 years, and the median weekly household income was $866. ^[10]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 88 people. ^[11]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people. ^[4]

Education

Pilton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 24 Pilton Valley Road ( 27°52′04″S152°02′59″E / 27.8679°S 152.0497°E / -27.8679; 152.0497 (Pilton State School) ). ^{[12] [13]} In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 29 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent). ^[14] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 18 students with 2 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). ^[15]

There is no secondary school in Pilton; the nearest government secondary school is Clifton State High School in Clifton to the south-west. ^[5]

Attractions

The Darling Downs Zoo is in the south-west corner of the locality. ^[16]

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pilton (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Pilton – town in Toowoomba Region (entry 26746)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 8 November 2017.
3. "Pilton – locality in Toowoomba Region (entry 48038)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 8 November 2017.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pilton (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland . Retrieved 10 October 2019.
6. Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
7. "GREENMOUNT". Darling Downs Gazette . Vol. XXIII, no. 5, 603. Queensland, Australia. 4 February 1884. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023– via National Library of Australia.
8. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN   978-1-921171-26-0
9. "Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government . Retrieved 18 April 2019.
10. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Pilton (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Pilton (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
12. "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
13. "Pilton State School". Pilton State School. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
14. "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
15. "ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
16. "Home - Darling Downs Zoo". Darling Downs Zoo. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.

Further reading

• One hundred years of bush schools in and around the Pilton District : being a brief outline of education during that period, Pilton & District Citizens' Group, 1984 — includes Pilton Upper State School ; Hirstvale School ; Hirstglen School ; Manapouri School ; Headington Hill ; West Haldon ; Pilton State School