Warwick, Queensland


Warwick is a town and locality in southeast Queensland, Australia, lying south-west of Brisbane. It is the administrative centre of the Southern Downs Region local government area. The surrounding Darling Downs have fostered a strong agricultural industry for which Warwick, together with the larger city of Toowoomba, serve as convenient service centres. The town had an urban population of 15,380 as at June 2018, having declined slightly at an average annual rate of -0.15% year-on-year over the preceding five years.

Geography

The Condamine River meanders from the east to the north-west of Warwick. One of its tributaries, Rosenthal Creek, enters Warwick from the south and enters the Condamine within Warwick.
The Cunningham Highway and the New England Highway jointly enter Warwick from the north, cross the Condamine River, and then turn west within the town close to the Warwick central business district. The Cunningham Highway then continues west towards Goondiwindi, while the New England Highway heads south towards Stanthorpe.
The Condamine River often floods, which can disconnect the northern and southern parts of Warwick and close the highways. Gauges that measure river height are used to provide flood alerts to residents. Low-lying land around the river is mostly used for recreation to minimise the damage caused by flooding with most developed areas at higher levels. Queens Park is a major park based around the river and the highway crossing.
The Warwick central business district is laid out on a grid pattern and lies within one or two blocks of the long main street, Palmerin Street with Grafton Street the major cross-street. The statue of former Queensland Premier Thomas Byrnes is located at their intersection.

History

The Githabal language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Southern Downs Regional Council, particularly Warwick, Killarney and Woodenbong extending into New South Wales.
The Warwick Green Belt, on the banks of the Condamine River, features a sculpture of Tiddalik the mythical frog that drank all of the fresh water in a renowned Aboriginal Dreamtime story.
Patrick Leslie and his two brothers originally settled in the area as squatters, naming their run Canning Downs. In 1847 the NSW government asked Leslie to select a site on his station for a township, which was to be called 'Cannington,' although the name 'Warwick' was eventually settled on. Land sales were held in 1850, and the first allotment was bought by Leslie.
Warwick East State School opened on 4 November 1850. It is one of the oldest state primary schools in Queensland.
In 1851 the first Presbyterian services were held in Warwick. Land was granted to build a Presbyterian church in 1857 and a slab church was built in 1858.
The telegraph to Brisbane was operating by 1861.
Warwick Central State School opened on 26 July 1865.
Miss O'Mara opened a school on 27 January 1867 in the Oddfellows Hall.
The 1870s were boom years for this new town. In 1871 the railway reached Warwick, a brewery was built in 1873, then a cooperative flour mill and brickworks were completed during 1874.
On 29 October 1874, the Sisters of Mercy took over Miss O'Mara's school at the Oddfellows Hall renaming it St Mary's School.
Warwick was the seat of a series of local government areas, the Borough of Warwick from 1861, Town of Warwick from 1903, City of Warwick from 1936, Shire of Warwick from 1994, and Southern Downs Region from 2008.
In 1877, of land was resumed from the Canning Downs pastoral run to establish smaller farms. The land was offered for selection on 19 April 1877.
In 1878 the Queensland Government raised a loan of £5,000 to build a new hospital in Warwick. However, it was not until September 1880 after considerable local agitation that the government called for tenders to build the hospital, resulting in a contract awarded to A.W. Doorey to build the hospital. However, by February 1881, tenders were being called for again, and in April 1881 the Queensland Government announced the hospital would not proceed. In June 1881, the government indicated that they would proceed if the local financial subscriptions to the hospital were increased. Tenders were called again in February 1882 resulting in a contract with Messrs Wallace and Gibson in March 1882. Finally on Thursday 19 June 1884, the patients were moved from the old hospital to the new hospital in Locke Street.
In 1893, the Sisters of Mercy relocated their convent and St Mary's School to the newly-constructed Our Lady of the Assumption Convent in Locke Street.
The T J Byrnes Monument was built on the corner of Palmerin and Grafton Streets. The monument was built from 1901 to 1902 and was officially unveiled on Saturday 13 December 1902 by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Herbert Chermside. The unveiling of the monument was an important occasion for Warwick.
Warwick State High School opened on 1 February 1912. It is one of the oldest state secondary schools in Queensland.
St Mary's School also expanded, creating a secondary school called Assumption College in 1912, and in 1914 enlarging the convent to accommodate the growing secondary school.
In 1917 the Presbyterian Girls College opened in an existing house “Glenbrae”on over five acres in Locke Street, as a boarding and day school with 53 girls under headmistress Miss Constance Mackness. The school was established by local families who did not want to have to send their daughters to Toowoomba for a Presbyterian education.
On 29 November 1917, the Warwick Incident occurred, which would lead to the formation of the Australian Commonwealth Police with the first commissioner for Commonwealth Police appointed eight days later. As Prime Minister William Morris Hughes was addressing a crowd at the Warwick railway station, a man in the crowd threw an egg dislodging the Prime Minister's hat. Hughes ordered his arrest but the Queensland State policeman present refused to carry out the orders saying that Hughes had no authority over him.
In 1918, to meet the need for Presbyterian education for boys, The Scots College opened as a Presbyterian boarding and day for boys in an existing house "Arranmore" on the banks of the Condamine River under headmaster James Logan Briggs.
The Warwick War Memorial was built in 1923 and the memorial gates were built in 1924.Although the Queensland Government had architectural plans for a Baby Clinic in Warwick from at least 1923, it was not until Friday 21 February 1930 that the Warwick Baby Clinic was officially opened by Home Secretary J.C. Peterson. The building cost about £2,000 and was built on land donated by the Warwick ambulance brigade. The purpose of baby clinics was to prevent disease in early childhood and the Warwick Baby Clinic was the 15th built in Queensland.
During World War II, the 2/12 Army General Hospital took over The Scots College buildings and grounds in Oxenham Street, with the school relocating to Kingswood and Toolburra.
Warwick West State School opened on 31 January 1956.
Glennie Heights State School opened on 25 January 1960.
The current Warwick Public Library opened in 1964 with a major refurbishment in 1999.
In 1970, the Presbyterian Girls College and The Scots College merged into a co-educational school called Scots PGC College.
On 5 February 1981, The School of Total Education was established in Warwick by Vijayadev Yogendra. Yogendra was a yoga teacher and educationalist, the son of Shri Yogendra. The school aimed to develop children through spiritual and emotional growth to additional to physical and intellectual development.
St Mary's School opened its Upper Campus in 2002.
In 2007, Warwick Christian College was established by the Christian Community Ministries.

Facilities

The Southern Downs Regional Council operates a public library in Warwick at 49 Albion Street.
The Condamine Valley branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms at 76 Grafton Street.

Education

Warwick East State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at Fitzroy Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 217 students with 20 teachers and 17 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
Warwick Central State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at the corner of Guy and Percy Streets. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 281 students with 22 teachers and 16 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
Warwick West State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at 17 George Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 507 students with 47 teachers and 33 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
Glennie Heights State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at 5-Dec Gillam Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 177 students with 19 teachers and 10 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
Warwick State High School is a government secondary school for boys and girls at Palmerin Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 884 students with 88 teachers and 53 non-teaching staff. It includes a special education program.
St Mary's School is a Catholic primary school for boys and girls with two campuses, one at 163 Palmerin Street for the younger children and the other for older children at 175 Palmerin Street. In 2017, the school had a total enrolment of 324 students with 29 teachers and 17 non-teaching staff.
Assumption College is a Catholic secondary school for boys and girls at 6 Locke Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 441 students with 36 teachers and 20 non-teaching staff.
The Scots PGC College is a private primary and secondary school for boys and girls at 60 Oxenham Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 359 students with 37 teachers and 35 non-teaching staff.
Warwick Christian College is a private primary and secondary school for boys and girls at 70 Horsman Road. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 134 students with 13 teachers and 16 non-teaching staff. The school has a special assistance campus at 62 Canningvale Road.
The School of Total Education is a private primary and secondary school for boys and girls at 2 Freestone Road. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 109 students with 25 teachers and 11 non-teaching staff.

Communications

Newspapers in Warwick include the Warwick Daily News, the Warwick and Southern Downs Weekly and the Southern Free Times. Former newspapers include the Warwick Argus which was published from 1879 to 1919, the Warwick Argus and Tenterfield Chronicle and the Warwick Examiner and Times. Radio station 4WK was established in May 1935. Its coverage was gradually extended to Toowoomba, Pittsworth, Millmerran, Clifton, Allora, Stanthorpe, Crows Nest, Highfields, Dalby, Oakey, Tara, Goondiwindi, Boonah, and Esk. It now broadcasts from Toowoomba.
Warwick's Community Radio Station started transmissions in 1995 as 'Rainbow FM' and had the callsign 4CCC. The callsign was later changed to 4SDB by the ACMA and the name of the station was changed on the 1st January 2019 to 'Rose City FM' to reflect its Warwick roots. It operates as a continuous service by a team of local volunteers. The operating body is incorporated as the "Warwick Community FM Radio Inc." It transmits on 89.3 MHz with an Effective Radiated power of 2000W from its studios in the building that had previously housed the Rosenthal Shire Council in Willi Street, Warwick. The station has the support of the Southern Downs Regional Council and the Warwick community as well as many listeners online that listen through its Internet stream from its website.

Sport

Warwick has a rugby union team which compete in the Darling Downs Rugby Union competition, against such teams as the University of Southern Queensland Rugby Union Club, Toowoomba Rangers Rugby Union Club, Toowoomba City Rugby Club, Roma Echidnas, the Condamine Cods, the Dalby Wheatmen, the Goondiwindi Emus, the Warwick Water Rats and the University of Queensland Rugby Union Club.
The Warwick Cowboys, coached by one-time champion NRL coach Phil Economidis, play in the Toowoomba Rugby League.

Attractions

Warwick has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and mild winters. It is slightly cooler and less humid than the proximate southeast Queensland coast due to its inland, elevated location. Frost is present in winter.
The climate bears similarities with Richmond, an inland suburb of Sydney, in Central-Eastern New South Wales.

Notable people

Notable people with a connection to Warwick include