Peak Crossing

History

The name Peak Crossing refers to a mountain and a once important road crossing of Purga Creek. The mountain Flinders Peak is to the east of the township, named in honour of the explorer Matthew Flinders. The road crossing is the intersection of the Ipswich-Boonah Road and the Old Warwick Road (which connected Ipswich to the local towns Boonah and Warwick respectively), which is adjacent to Purga Creek. It was renamed Peak Mountain State School before 1875. In the late 1920s it was renamed Peak Crossing State School. The Fassifern railway line (Queensland's first branch railway line) opened from Ipswich to Harrisville on 10 July 1882. Hillside railway station (), Rocktown railway station () and Peak Crossing railway station (), all on the Ipswich Boonah Road, serve the areas north of Purga Creek. Flinders railway station on Flinders Road () serves the area south of Purga Creek. On 12 September 1887, the line was extended from Harrisville to Dugundan. The line closed in June 1964. Peak Crossing Post Office opened on 2 January 1886 (a receiving office had been open from 1885. In October 1872, tenders were called to construct a Congregational Church near Peak Mountain. In 1929, a new church was built by local builders Walter Florence and Charlie Meier. The former church building was sold and relocated to Rosevale to replace the Lutheran church which was burned down there in 1928. In 1977, the Congregational Church amalgamated into the Uniting Church in Australia. As at 2020, it is known as Flinders Uniting Church. It was not possible to accommodate everyone within the church for the ceremony. In November 1911, St Patrick's Catholic Church was struck by a cyclone and badly damaged. While temporary repairs were carried it, it was discovered that the timber of…

Geography

Peak Crossing is located south of Ipswich. The town is surrounded by farming land, mostly small cropping. The western boundary is marked by the east branch of Warrill Creek, a tributary of the Bremer River. Just upstream from where the road joining Peak Crossing with Mutdapilly crosses Warrill Creek is the Churchbank Weir. The eastern parts of Peak Crossing are dominated by the naturally vegetated central peaks of the Flinders Peak Group. These include Mount Goolman, Ivorys Rock (Muntambin), Mount Blaine and Flinders Peak. Also located here is the Flinders Peak Conservation Park and sections of the Flinders-Goolman Conservation Estate. These parks are used for bushwalking, horse riding, mountain bike riding and camping. Ipswich – Boonah Road (State Route 93) runs through from north to south.

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  4,701
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,878
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  3,606
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  3,524
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,380
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  3,249
• Laughing Kookaburra

  Dacelo novaeguineae (Hermann, 1783) · Aves
  2,971
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  2,888