Murphys Creek

History

The locality was originally known as Murphy's Waterhole and Fingal. Peter Murphy was a convict assigned as a servant to Patrick Leslie and accompanied Leslie on his 1841-42 exploration of the Darling Downs. Murphy was highly regarded by Leslie and arranged for the Governor of New South Wales to pardon Murphy. Murphys Creek developed as a railway town on the line between the regional city of Toowoomba and settlements to the east, including Helidon, Ipswich and Brisbane. A railway station in the town was opened in 1867, as a part of the Ipswich-Toowoomba segment of the Southern and Western Railway. Based at the foot of the Great Dividing Range, the station and water tank were intended to provide water and services for steam locomotives about to embark on the difficult journey up the steep slopes of the Toowoomba range. The station was named for a creek that ran through the area, that was in turn named for a shepherd who had built a hut in the area around 1864. A correspondent for the Brisbane Courier newspaper around this time described the site as a "feeding place for the engines" travelling to and from Toowoomba. Murphy's Creek Post Office opened on 18 May 1868 and closed in 1987. Residents began to lobby for a school in June 1870. Murphy's Creek Provisional School opened on 3 October 1870. In January 1871 it was announced that a state school building and teacher's residence would be erected. The new school building was opened on 1 May 1871 and the school became Murphy's Creek State School. A small town, originally named Fingal, quickly sprang up around the station. The township had grown such an extent that by 1877 tenders had been called for the construction of a booking office and passenger platform at the station. These improvements were completed by 1878.…

Geography

The locality is located at the foot of the Great Dividing Range. Murphys Creek Road passes through from west to southeast.

Most-observed species

• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  4,025
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  3,368
• Lewin's Honeyeater

  Meliphaga lewinii (Swainson, 1837) · Aves
  3,362
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,336
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  3,290
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  3,100
• Eastern Whipbird

  Psophodes olivaceus (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  2,867
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  2,860