Esk

History

Jagara (also known as Jagera, Yagara, Yugarabul, Yuggera and Yuggerabul) is one of the Aboriginal languages of South-East Queensland. There is some uncertainty over the status of Jagara as a language, dialect or perhaps a group or clan within the local government boundaries of Ipswich City Council, Lockyer Regional Council and the Somerset Regional Council. Esk formed part of the southern border of the Garumga clan of the Dalla tribe. The land around Esk was first explored by Captain Patrick Logan in 1830. The town was established to service the short-lived copper mines of Eskdale and Cressbrook Creek. Settlers moved into the region during the 1840s. Mount Esk Post Office opened on 1 February 1874 (a receiving office had been open from 1873) and was renamed Esk by February 1881. Mount Esk State School was opened on 1 November 1875 and was renamed Esk State School in 1887. On Sunday 25 November 1883, the Esk Primitive Methodist Church was opened with services conducted by the Reverend Willian Little. It was a timber church, . It became the Esk Methodist Church after the amalgamation of Methodist denominations in 1902. A new church was constructed in 1907. On 30 November 1920, Dr Graham Butler laid the foundation stone of the Esk War Memorial. The finished memorial was unveiled by General Lachlan Chisholm Wilson on 27 August 1921. The memorial records the names of 462 Shire residents who enlisted during the First World War. It also contains bronze honour rolls bearing the names of 83 local men who died during the war. Four commemorative plaques have subsequently been added to the structure. The war memorial stands in Esk Memorial Park, which also contains a memorial to Captain Logan, who was murdered while exploring the Brisbane Valley in 1830. In July 1941, a…

Geography

Esk is approximately northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the River Esk in Scotland and England. It is the administrative centre of the Somerset Region. The town of Esk is contained in the Queensland electoral district of Nanango.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  700
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  682
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  553
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  536
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  499
• Whistling Kite

  Haliastur sphenurus (Vieillot, 1818) · Aves
  481
• Striated Pardalote

  Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  475
• Red-backed Fairywren

  Malurus melanocephalus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  470