Grantham

History

The area was first settled in 1841, by George Mocatta. He named his pastoral run Grantham, which became the name of the town. In January 1896 teacher, Catherine M. Ludeman was appointed to the Grantham Scrub Provisional School, suggesting it opened around that time. On 1 January 1909, it became Grantham Scrub State School. It closed circa 1950. It was located at 119 Missouri Road (corner of Grantham Scrub Road, ) within the present-day locality of neighbouring Veradilla. Grantham Provisional School opened on 23 January 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became Grantham State School. On 10 January 2011, Grantham was severely damaged in a huge flash flood. 12 people died and a large number of houses and other buildings were destroyed. Following the floods, Grantham received visits by politicians including Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on numerous occasions. Australia's Governor-General Quentin Bryce also visited the town. In May 2011, it was announced that the town would be moved to higher ground to prevent future damaging floods. A 935-acre site was purchased so that landholders could be provided a voluntary swap of equivalent-sized blocks. The new site is situated on a hill overlooking Grantham and has permission from the state government to bypass the normal development approval process. Residents of nearby Murphys Creek, Postmans Ridge, Withcott and Helidon have been included in the fast-tracked plan. As of March 2022, 110 houses are on the hill but over 50 dwellings remain in the older part of town.

Geography

The Warrego Highway passes through from east to west. The north-west corner is occupied by part of the Lockyer State Forest.

Most-observed species

• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,188
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,075
• Pacific Black Duck

  Anas superciliosa J.F.Gmelin, 1789 · Aves
  3,033
• Australasian Grebe

  Tachybaptus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  2,948
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  2,701
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  2,574
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  2,470
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  2,464