Jandowae, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Jandowae is a town in southern Queensland, Australia. The town is located 259 kilometres (160.9 mi) west of the state capital, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...

, Jandowae had a population of 784.

History

The first European settlers arrived in the area in the 1860s and the first documented European birth was in 1866. The town was at first called Jindowie, from the local Aboriginal word for a waterhole. Later, a man called John or Jack Dowiae established a camp and rest area for travellers called the John Dowiae camp. This led to some early settlers using the name Jondowiae. With the coming of the railway in 1914, the name was changed again to Jandowae, to avoid confusion with nearby Jondaryan. The Jandowae school was established in 1877 with thirteen students enrolled for the first year. The fertile soil allowed the development of agriculture and combined with a flourishing timber industry saw the expansion of industry and commerce and the establishment of churches, halls and banks.

Current status

Jandowae, which was the largest town in the Wambo Shire
Shire of Wambo
The Shire of Wambo was a Local Government Area located in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The shire completely surrounded but did not include the town of Dalby — which had its own municipal government...

 prior to its amalgamation, is surrounded by rich alluvial soil and is one of Queensland's largest wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

 growing areas. The area also produces other crops such as barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...

, sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...

, oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...

, millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...

, panicum
Panicum
Panicum is a large genus of about 450 species of grasses native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone...

, sunflower
Sunflower
Sunflower is an annual plant native to the Americas. It possesses a large inflorescence . The sunflower got its name from its huge, fiery blooms, whose shape and image is often used to depict the sun. The sunflower has a rough, hairy stem, broad, coarsely toothed, rough leaves and circular heads...

, safflower
Safflower
Safflower is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds. Plants are 30 to 150 cm tall with globular flower heads having yellow, orange or red flowers. Each branch will usually have from one to five flower heads...

 and linseed. Beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

 and dairy
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

 cattle are raised in the area and Jandowae is home to two large sawmill
Sawmill
A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s. Recently, a native flowers industry, exporting to Asia, has been developed in the area.

Facilities in the town include a P–10 school, a post office, Queensland Government Agent and a bank. There are three hotels
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 in Jandowae known locally as the Top pub (Club Hotel), the Middle pub (The Exchange Hotel) and the Bottom pub (Jandowae Hotel), all providing meals and accommodation. Sporting facilities include bowls
Bowls
Bowls is a sport in which the objective is to roll slightly asymmetric balls so that they stop close to a smaller "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a pitch which may be flat or convex or uneven...

, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, swimming, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

 and a new skate park facility.

The dollar block promotion

In 2001, in order to stem a decline in population and economic activity and encourage new residents and industry to Jandowae, Wambo Shire Council ran a "dollar block" promotion. The promotion involved the sale of 38 parcels of land, both residential and industrial, for one dollar
Aud
Aud might refer to*Australian dollar *Ambedkar University, Delhi *American University in Dubai *Doctor of Audiology *Auðr, the son of Nótt and Naglfari in Norse mythology...

 each. The promotion made news throughout Australia and overseas including New Zealand, Hong Kong, England and the United States. The promotion proved popular with over 1,000 applications received. To maintain fairness, a ballot
Ballot
A ballot is a device used to record choices made by voters. Each voter uses one ballot, and ballots are not shared. In the simplest elections, a ballot may be a simple scrap of paper on which each voter writes in the name of a candidate, but governmental elections use pre-printed to protect the...

 system was implemented along with a condition requiring the establishment of a house on the block within 12 months or the land would return to the ballot. As a result of the promotion, the decline in population was halted and new industry was attracted to town including a manufacturer of RFID cattle ear tag readers.

Activities

The major festival in Jandowae is the Jandowae Timbertown festival. The festival, held biennially, recognises and celebrates the contribution that the timber industry has made to Jandowae and attracts 3,000 to 4,000 people to the town. Other events in the town include a senior pro-am golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

 tournament and the Jandowae Cup race meeting
Horseracing in Australia
Thoroughbred horseracing is an important spectator sport in Australia, and gambling on horseraces is a popular pastime with A$14.3 billion wagered in 2009/10 with bookmakers and the Totalisator Agency Board . The two forms of Thoroughbred horseracing in Australia are flat racing, and races over...

.

External links

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