Childers

History

The Childers area is traditionally inhabited by the Dundabarra/burra group (red soil tribe) who are large collective group of the Kabi Kabi nations in the northernmost area of the Wide Bay Burnett. Their descendants still live in the region.Europeans first arrived in the area in the 1850s. Pastoralists established properties soon after to raise cattle on the fertile lands. Back then, sugar was (as it is now) the key crop grown in the Isis. The town was established in 1885. The Isis railway line to Childers opened in 1887 and was pivotal in the early development of the area. Childers Post Office opened on 14 November 1887. The town is reportedly named after Hugh Childers, British statesman, who was the Auditor-General of Victoria in the 1850s. Circa 1888–1889, an Anglican church was erected in Childers. The present Christ Church Anglican was opened and dedicated on 9 May 1901. The Childers Uniting Church was originally constructed as the Methodist Church in Horton in 1886. Due to the decline of the Horton township the church was subsequently moved to Childers. It became the Childers Uniting Church in June 1977 following the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977. Childers Provisional School opened on 28 January 1889. In 1891, it became Childers State School. A secondary department was added in January 1913 and operated as Childers State High School, until Isis District State High School was established in 1961. A pre-school was added in 1976. Isis Central Mill Provisional School opened on 23 January 1899. On 1 January 1909, it became Isis Central Mill State School. It closed on 11 December 1987. St Joseph's Catholic School was established on 24 January 1926 by the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. On 28 September…

Geography

Childers is in the Wide Bay–Burnett region of Queensland, Australia, situated on the Bruce Highway and lies north of the state capital Brisbane and south-west of Bundaberg. The Isis Highway runs south from the Bruce Highway in Childers.

Most-observed species

• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  202
• Peaceful Dove

  Geopelia placida Gould, 1844 · Aves
  158
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  156
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  156
• Rufous Whistler

  Pachycephala rufiventris (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  154
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  148
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  145
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  140

Most recent

• M 4.9 — 2015-02-15
  42 km N of Mundubbera, Australia