Meringandan West

History

The name Meringandan is taken from the former railway station, which in turn is a Gooneburra word meaning red soil or broken clay. It was built during 1875 by Jack Maag. Isaac John Thomas was appointed the first head teacher of the school. The enrolment for that year was 80 pupils. It is now within the suburb boundaries of Meringandan West. The Meringandan Cemetery was surveyed on 13 October 1876. It was operated by local trustees until 2004, when control was passed to the Rosalie Shire Council 2005, and then to the Toowoomba Regional Council in 2008 following local government amalgamations.

Geography

Meringandan West is on the Darling Downs in southern Queensland. The majority of the eastern boundary is aligned with Meringandan Creek, separating the locality from Meringandan. The creek also formed the boundary between the Shire of Crows Nest and the Shire of Rosalie) with Meringandan West falling under the jurisdiction of the Shire of Rosalie. In 2008, both Meringandan and Meringandan West both came under the jurisdiction of the newly created Toowoomba Region. Mount Muniganeen is in the north-west of the locality () rising to above sea level. Central parts of the area have been developed into a residential estate. Meringandan West was part of a local planning scheme developed and adopted by the Toowoomba Region Council in August 2013.

Most-observed species

• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,006
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  2,902
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  2,804
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  2,507
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  2,437
• Superb Fairywren

  Malurus cyaneus (Ellis, 1782) · Aves
  2,249
• Crested Pigeon

  Ocyphaps lophotes (Temminck, 1822) · Aves
  2,198
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  2,161