Leyburn

History

Leyburn was named in the 1840s by William Gray, Snr., who came to the area by bullock dray from Pitt Town on the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales. The first name for the locality was Canal Creek; the name was changed to Leyburn by Henry and Jane Kirby, Gray's son-in-law and daughter, and derives from the market town of Leyburn in the English county of Yorkshire. The post office at Leyburn opened on 1 January 1861. A police force was established in 1861. At that time the town had a permanent population 65 but many transients. Leyburn State School opened on 13 January 1862. In 1863, James Murray built The Royal Hotel at 71 MacIntyre Street (), opposite his Coffee Inn. It was later owned by rugby league player Wayne Webcke. A court house was built in 1866. It was used until 1929. On 14 November 2021, St Augustine's Anglican Church celebrated its 150th anniversary. The Rosenthal Division was established in 1889 and became the Shire of Rosenthal in 1903. Although Leyburn was the largest town within this local government area, it was not chosen as the administrative centre as Leyburn did not have a railway connection in 1889. Instead, offices were established in Warwick outside of the district. On Sunday 8 December 1901 Fathers Horan and O'Brien officially opened St Matthew's Catholic Church. Fund raising for the church had commenced in 1871. It has been suggested that the church was completed (but not officially opened) in 1897 with a wedding held there in September 1898. The Leyburn branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association was formed in 1924. They built their hall in 1928. During World War II, an airfield with a 7,000-foot runway was constructed by April 1943 for the use of the United States Army Air Force. The airfield was used by 21 Squadron, 23…

Geography

The town is in the centre of the locality. The Toowoomba–Karara Road (State Route 48) passes through the locality from north-east to south, running immediately to the east of the town. Tourist Drive 12 (the Sprint Route) follows Leyburn Cunningham Road to the outskirts of Warwick. Leyburn State Forest is a protected area in the east of the locality (). Apart from the town and the state forest, the land use is grazing on native vegetation.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  161
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  140
• Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

  Cacatua galerita (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  139
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  127
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  117
• Little Corella

  Cacatua sanguinea Gould, 1843 · Aves
  109
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  109
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  108