Gin Gin, Queensland

Gin Gin is a rural town and locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Gin Gin had a population of 1,139 people.

Geography

Gin Gin is located on the Bruce Highway, approximately 51 km west of Bundaberg and 370 km north-west of Brisbane, the state capital. The town owes its existence to its strategic location about halfway between Brisbane and Rockhampton. It is often used as a stop-over point for drivers travelling between these two centres.

Bundaberg–Gin Gin Road (State Route 3) runs east from the Bruce Highway, and Gin Gin–Mount Perry–Monto Road runs west from the highway.

History

Gureng Gureng (also known as Gooreng Gooreng, Goreng Goreng, Goeng, Gurang, Goorang Goorang, Korenggoreng) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gureng Gureng people. The Gooreng Gooreng language region includes the towns of Bundaberg, Gin Gin and Miriam Vale extending south towards Childers, inland to Monto and Mt Perry.

The town name Gin Gin may have derived from a local Aboriginal word, possibly from the Kabi "kwin kwin", or "chin chin" (a scrub), or "gwin gwin" (red soil).

European settlement of the region began in 1848 when Gregory Blaxland Jnr (son of the explorer Gregory Blaxland) together with William Forster brought their flocks of sheep up from their squatting leases on the Clarence River. The pastoral run they selected extended all the way to the coast and they called it Tirroan. The modern town of Gin Gin is located close to where the original homestead was constructed. The local Aboriginal people murdered Blaxland in August 1850 and two shepherd boys the year previously. Two large massacres of Aboriginal people were conducted by local squatters and their stockmen as punitive measures to these deaths.

About 1851, Arthur and Alfred Henry Brown bought Tirroan from William Forster and renamed the run Gin Gin. The Brown Brothers previously owned a pastoral property called Gin Gin in Western Australia.

The run was later purchased by Sir Thomas McIlwraith, who was Premier of Queensland three times between 1879 and 1893.

The Gin Gin district is nicknamed Wild Scotsman Country due to the capture of one of Queensland's few bushrangers, James Alpin McPherson, in the area on 30 March 1866. McPherson, who went by the same nickname, was captured at Monduran Station, 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) north of town.

Gin Gin Post Office opened on 15 March 1875.

The town was first surveyed in 1880.

Gin Gin Provisional School opened on 26 June 1882. On 3 November 1890, it became Gin Gin State School with 8 students under teacher Arthur William Moore. In 1956, the school expanded to offer secondary schooling, until a separate Gin Gin State High School was established on 1 February 1972. Gin Gin State Pre-School opened on 25 October 1977 and closed in 2006 when it was absorbed into Gin Gin State School.

In 1887, 8,900 ha of land were resumed from the Gin Gin pastoral run. The land was offered for selection for the establishment of small farms on 17 April 1887.

The Gin Gin Library opened in 1992.

Demographics

At the 2006 census, Gin Gin had a population of 892.

In the 2011 census, Gin Gin had a population of 1,190 people.

In the 2016 census, the locality of Gin Gin had a population of 1,053 people.

In the 2021 census, the locality of Gin Gin had a population of 1,139 people.

Heritage listings

Gin Gin has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Mulgrave Street: Gin Gin railway station
Northern corner of Village Lane and Kookaburra Park Drive, Kookaburra Park Eco Village (24°59′02″S 151°59′13″E / 24.9839°S 151.9870°E / -24.9839; 151.9870 (Allen Brothers' Slab Hut)): Allen Brothers' Slab Hut

Economy

Gin Gin, like Bundaberg, is heavily dependent on the sugar industry, with sugarcane plantations dotted throughout the area. An extensive system of sugar cane tramways service the area. Cattle production also features prominently. In recent years small cropping has taken off across farms in the district, with varied success.

Education

Gin Gin State High School, 2023

Gin Gin State High School outdoor area, 2023

Gin Gin State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 13 May Street (24°59′33″S 151°57′18″E / 24.9924°S 151.9551°E / -24.9924; 151.9551 (Gin Gin State School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 290 students with 21 teachers (20 full-time equivalent) and 18 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). In 2023, the school had an enrolment of 252 students. It includes a special education program.

Gin Gin State High School is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at 30 High School Road (24°59′26″S 151°58′08″E / 24.9906°S 151.9689°E / -24.9906; 151.9689 (Gin Gin State High School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 450 students with 45 teachers (43 full-time equivalent) and 31 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent). In 2022, the school had an enrolment of 464 students with 43 teachers (41 full-time equivalent) and 28 non-teaching staff (21 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. As well as the students from Gin Gin itself, many students travel, mainly by bus, from surrounding properties and townships like Wallaville, Bullyard, Tirroan, McIlwraith, Maroondan and Mount Perry.

Amenities

The Bundaberg Regional Council operates a public library at 4 Dear Street.

The Gin Gin branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the Kenmore Library at the Gin Gin Community Activity Centre in Station Street.

There are a number of churches in Gin Gin:

Gin Gin Seventh Day Adventist Church, 88 Mulgrave Street
Gin Gin Community Church, 107 Rieck Street
Gin Gin Baptist Church, 6 English Street

Facilities

Gin Gin General and Lawn Cemetery is at 31 Tirroan Road (24°59′50″S 151°56′53″E / 24.9973°S 151.9480°E / -24.9973; 151.9480 (Gin Gin General and Lawn Cemetery)).

Events

The Wild Scotsman Festival used to be held in Gin Gin on the third week of March each year to commemorate the capture of the bushranger James MacPherson. The Wild Scotsman Markets are held next to the historical Grounds each Saturday morning.

In popular culture

Gin Gin is the eighteenth town mentioned in the original (Australian) version of the song "I've Been Everywhere".

References

^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Gin Gin (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ "Gin Gin – town in Bundaberg Region (entry 13801)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
^ "Gin Gin – locality in Bundaberg Region (entry 44721)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
"Gin Gin, Queensland" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
"Gureng Gureng". State Library of Queensland. 21 January 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
^ "GIN GIN STATION". The Courier-mail. No. 128. Queensland, Australia. 24 January 1934. p. 17. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
"To the Editors of the Sydney Morning Herald". The Sydney Morning Herald. Vol. XXXII, no. 4644. New South Wales, Australia. 2 April 1852. p. 3. Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
Laurie, Arthur. "Early Gin Gin and the Blaxland Tragedy" (PDF). University of Queensland Library. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
Laurie, Arthur (1 January 1952), Early Gin Gin and the Blaxland tragedy, Royal Historical Society of Queensland, archived from the original on 25 March 2021, retrieved 23 February 2020
"Capture of the Wild Scotchman". Trove.nla.gov.au. 10 April 1866. Archived from the original on 2 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
"Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 23 June 2014.
"Agency ID 5238, Gin Gin State School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
"Agency ID 4901, Gin Gin State High School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
"Agency ID 52, Gin Gin State Pre-School". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
"History". Gin Gin State School. 26 February 2020. Archived from the original on 28 February 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
"Proclamations under the New Land Acts". The Brisbane Courier. Queensland, Australia. 2 March 1877. p. 3. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2020 – via Trove.
"Public Libraries Statistical Bulletin 2016-17" (PDF). Public Libraries Connect. State Library of Queensland. November 2017. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Gin Gin (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Gin Gin (Qld) (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Gin Gin (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
"Gin Gin Railway Station and Complex (entry 601651)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
"Planning Scheme Policy for Heritage and Neighbourhood Character" (PDF). Bundaberg Regional Council. 2015. pp. 16–17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 March 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
Armstrong, J. (March 1975). "The Gin Gin Central Mill Tramway". Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin: 53–69.
^ "State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
"Gin Gin State School". Gin Gin State School. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
^ "ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
"School annual report 2022" (PDF). Gin Gin State School. p. 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
"Gin Gin State High School". Gin Gin State High School. 16 February 2022. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
"School annual report 2022" (PDF). Gin Gin State High School. pp. 2, 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
"Locations & Hours". Bundaberg Regional Council. Archived from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
"Branch Locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
"Gin Gin Seventh Day Adventist Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
"Gin Gin Community Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2021.
"Gin Gin Baptist Church". Churches Australia. Archived from the original on 18 July 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
"Cemetery Areas - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
"Cemeteries". Bundaberg Regional Council. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
"Gin Gin". Sydney Morning Herald. 8 February 2004. Archived from the original on 23 March 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2014.

External links

"Gin Gin". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland.
"Town map of Gin Gin". Queensland Government. 1983.

v t e Towns, suburbs and localities in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland
Bundaberg	Ashfield Avenell Heights Avoca Bargara Branyan Bundaberg Bundaberg Central Bundaberg East Bundaberg North Bundaberg South Bundaberg West Coral Cove Elliott Elliott Heads Gooburrum Kalkie Kensington Kepnock Millbank Mon Repos Norville Oakwood Qunaba Rubyanna Sharon Svensson Heights Thabeban Walkervale Woongarra
Other areas	Abbotsford Abington Alloway Apple Tree Creek Avondale Boolboonda Booyal Bucca Bullyard Bungadoo Burnett Heads Buxton Calavos Childers Coonarr Cordalba Dalga Dalysford Damascus Delan Doolbi Doughboy Drinan Duingal Electra Elliott Eureka Fairymead Farnsfield Gaeta Gin Gin Givelda Good Night Goodwood Gregory River Horse Camp Horton Innes Park Isis Central Isis River Kalpowar Kinkuna Kolonga Kullogum Lake Monduran Maroondan McIlwraith Meadowvale Miara Molangul Monduran Moolboolaman Moore Park Moore Park Beach Moorland Morganville Mullett Creek Nearum New Moonta Nielson Park North Gregory North Isis Pine Creek Promisedland Redhill Farms Redridge Rosedale Skyring Reserve South Bingera South Isis South Kolan St Agnes St Kilda Takilberan Tirroan Walkers Point Wallaville Watalgan Waterloo Welcome Creek Windermere Winfield Wonbah Wonbah Forest Woodgate Woodgate Beach Yandaran
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