Drinan, Queensland

Drinan
Suburb
Drinan
Coordinates: 25°02′24″S 152°01′09″E / 25.0399°S 152.0191°E / -25.0399; 152.0191 (Drinan (centre of locality))
CountryAustralia
StateQueensland
LGA
Location
Government
 • State electorate
 • Federal division
Area
 • Total
23.7 km2 (9.2 sq mi)
Population
 • Total135 (2021 census)[2]
 • Density5.70/km2 (14.75/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+10:00 (AEST)
Postcode
4671
Suburbs around Drinan
Redhill Farms McIlwraith Delan
Skyring Reserve Drinan Delan
Wallaville Duingal Duingal

Drinan is a rural locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia.[3] It is 40 kilometres (25 mi) WSW of Bundaberg, and 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) from the north-south Bruce Highway. In the 2021 census, Drinan had a population of 135 people.[2]

History

Pastoralist M. Drinan established the European settlement of the area around Sheep Station Creek.[4][5] The area became known as Drinan's Crossing.[4][6][7] The Drinan family included one of the district's "oldest and most useful residents" and pioneers, James (d. October 1921),[8] who cultivated grapes on Electra station in the late 1870s.[9] (Bundaberg's Drinan Park was named in October 1921 for James Drinan.[10])

The Drinan railway station was named after the Drinan family by the Queensland Railways Department on 4 September 1919. The present-day bounded locality was named after the railway station in 2008.[3]

The introduction of the Wallaville railway line by 1923 saw the purchase of lands at Drinan's Crossing for sawmilling by the enterprising businessman Adolph Ferdinand Rieck (c. 1853–December 1937);[11][4] The mill was established in 1919.[12] "Grandfather"[12] Rieck becoming known as the "Father of Drinan".[13] The sawmill and railway line saw thirty houses quickly appear, then a general store (stocked with groceries, footwear, ironmongery, drapery, etc.) for mill hands and nearby farmers.[13][4] The industry saw the employment of fourteen mill staff,[5] and up to sixteen teamsters.[11] The mill timbers were supplied to sugar mills in the Mackay district, and also used in the construction of Wallaville's Catholic Church.[5]

The area at this time saw the cultivation of sugar cane, lucerne, potatoes, and small crops.[4]

Drinan Provisional School opened in February 1927 (official opening celebrations in late May 1927), after protests the Berrembea school 4 miles (6.4 km) away was too far to walk for children.[11][5] Rieck's sawmill supplied the 2 acres (0.81 ha) site, timber, and erection for free, as the government would not provide such;[11] and became the 30 by 24 feet (9.1 m × 7.3 m) Drinan Hall.[5] Initial numbers were 28 students (with Berrembea having 22).[11] The school was conducted from the hall, which was also designed to function for dances, religious purposes, and picture shows,[14] which was enlarged by September 1927.[5] On Friday, 1 February 1952 the hall was blown down in a bad storm.[15] Approval was given in March 1952 to establish an actual state school, which would need to be constructed.[16]

A bridge was surveyed for Drinan's Crossing over the Burnett River by 1929, and the same time as motor vehicles were introduced to the area.[17]

Even impacted by the 1936–1937 drought, the Drinan district was considered to have the highest pastoral and agricultural productivity of the area, with beef cattle, dairy cattle, pigs, sugar cane, lucerne, and cereal and root crops, separate to the sawmill industry.[12] Sugar cane was processed at the Wallaville mill, with over 2600 tons shopped by the rail line in 1939.[12]

In 1954, the provincial school became the Drinan State School. The school closed in 1963.[18] The site was on Berrembea Road to the south-east of the railway station (25°02′50″S 152°01′21″E / 25.04733°S 152.02251°E / -25.04733; 152.02251 (Drinan State School (former))).[19][20][21]

In December 2025, with a major farm in Drinan, a national salad grower agricultural business went into liquidation.[22] Concern was for the now-unemployed local workers, backpackers, and Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme workers.[23]

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Drinan had a population of 170 people.[24]

In the 2021 census, Drinan had a population of 135 people.[2]

Education

There are no current schools in Drinan. The nearest government primary schools are Wallaville State School in neighbouring Wallaville to the south-west, Gin Gin State School in Gin Gin to the north-west, and McIlwraith State School in neighbouring McIlwraith to the north. The nearest government secondary school is Gin Gin State High School, also in Gin Gin to the north-west.[25]

References

  1. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Drinan (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
  2. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Drinan (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Drinan – locality in Bundaberg Region (entry 44711)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "District news". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 19, no. 160. Queensland, Australia. 7 July 1926. p. 8. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Drinan has its day of gala". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 20, no. 228. Queensland, Australia. 26 September 1927. p. 7. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Kolan Shire Council". The Bundaberg Mail and Burnett Advertiser. No. 3658. Queensland, Australia. 10 December 1908. p. 4. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Mr. J. Cislowski". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 19, no. 212. Queensland, Australia. 25 August 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Obituary". The Bundaberg Mail. Vol. 51, no. 7, 384. Queensland, Australia. 3 October 1921. p. 4. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Old Memories Revived". The Bundaberg Mail and Burnett Advertiser. No. 3674. Queensland, Australia. 5 January 1909. p. 3. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "A worthy tribute". The Bundaberg Mail. Vol. 51, no. 7, 405. Queensland, Australia. 27 October 1921. p. 2. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Their new school". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 20, no. 126. Queensland, Australia. 30 May 1927. p. 10. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ a b c d "Important Kolan district". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 32, no. 10. Queensland, Australia. 12 January 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ a b "Gin Gin mourns". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 30, no. 306. Queensland, Australia. 28 December 1937. p. 4. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Views exchanged". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 20, no. 278. Queensland, Australia. 23 November 1927. p. 11. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Freak storm at Wallaville". The Cairns Post. No. 15, 570. Queensland, Australia. 2 February 1952. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "State school for Drinan". Bundaberg News-Mail. No. 12927. Queensland, Australia. 5 March 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "Views exchanged". Bundaberg Daily News and Mail. Vol. 21, no. 112. Queensland, Australia. 30 April 1929. p. 4. Retrieved 13 December 2025 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  19. ^ "Cordalba" (Map). Queensland Government. 1943. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Queensland Two Mile series sheet 2m157" (Map). Queensland Government. 1964. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Layers: Locality; Road and rail; Land parcel". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  22. ^ STUCHBERY, Madeleine (12 December 2025). "Dicky Bill salad farm's $10m debt shock as creditors try to claw back millions". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  23. ^ STUCHBERY, Madeleine; COLANTUONO, Jack (3 December 2025). "Backpackers and PALM scheme workers scrambling for jobs after Dicky Bill shutdown". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 12 December 2025.
  24. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Drinan (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  25. ^ "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
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