Wowan, Queensland


Wowan is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Banana, Queensland, Australia. The town of Deeford is also within the locality. In the, the locality of Wowan had a population of 216 people.

Geography

Both towns are located in the north-east of the locality with Wowan at and Deeford at near a crossing point of the Dee River.

History

Wowan takes its name from the Wowan railway station, which in turn was named from the Aboriginal word for Australian brush-turkey. Deeford was originally known as Dundee, but was renamed Deeford on 6 November 1913 by the Queensland Surveyor-General.
Dundee Provisional School opened on 1 June 1900. It closed in 1904 but reopened in 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became Dundee State School. It closed in 1911.
The Dawson Valley railway line was built from 1910 and by 1912 its first stage of construction had reached the area, terminating at the Wowan railway station on 16 October 1912.
In 1912 two schools opened. One was Dundee Camp Provisional School, presumably to provide education to the children of the railway workers living in the camp during the construction of the railway. The other was Dundee State School. In 1915 Dundee Camp Provisional School was renamed Wowan Provisional School and on 1 May 1916 became Wowan State School. In 1917 Dundee State School was renamed Deeford State School. Deeford State School closed in 1941.
Woman was settled in 1912. The butter factory opened on 1 April 1919; it was operated by the Dawson Valley Co-operative Company.
On 1 August 1987 the railway line from Kabra to Wowan was closed.
At the, Wowan and the surrounding area had a population of 338.

Economy

Farm produce from the area includes beef, hay, grain, pork and eggs.

Events

Wowan holds its annual agricultural show in August.

Education

Wowan State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at Don Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 33 students with 4 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff.
State Library of Queensland holds a copy of Wowan State School : student registry 1900–1991 in the John Oxley Library.