Atherton is a rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the Tablelands Region,

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the , Atherton had a population of 7,331 people.

Geography

Atherton is on the

Atherton Tableland The Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. The principal river flowing across the plateau is the Barron River. It was dammed to form an irrigation reservoir named Lake Tina ...

Far North Queensland Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Co ...

. Atherton is joined by the

Gillies Highway The Gillies Highway is a road that runs from Gordonvale in the Cairns Region through the Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to Atherton in the Tablelands Region, both in Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the Gillies Rang ...

Yungaburra Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,239 people. Geography Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. The lands ...

, the Kennedy Highway north to Mareeba and south to

Ravenshoe Ravenshoe ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Ravenshoe had a population of 1,400 people. Geography Ravenshoe is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is located south ...

and

Mount Garnet Mount Garnet is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Mount Garnet had a population of 430 people. Geography Various small communities populate the area around Mount Garnet. These include Tablela ...

, the Malanda Road to

Malanda Malanda is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Malanda had a population of 1,985 people. The economy is based upon agriculture (particularly dairy) and tourism. Geography Mala ...

and the Herberton Road to

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situat ...

History

'' Yidinji'' (also known as ''Yidinj'', ''Yidiny'', and ''Idindji'') is an

Australian Aboriginal language The Indigenous languages of Australia number in the hundreds, the precise number being quite uncertain, although there is a range of estimates from a minimum of around 250 (using the technical definition of 'language' as non-mutually intellig ...

. Its traditional language region is within the local government areas of Cairns Region and Tablelands Region, in such localities as

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

Gordonvale Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,944 people. Geography Gordonvale lies approx ...

, and the

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locati ...

, and the southern part of the

including Atherton and Kairi. The town was named after John Atherton, a pioneer pastoralist who settled at Mareeba (then known as Emerald End) in 1875. The area was formerly known as Priors Pocket or Priors Creek. It was named ''Atherton'' by Falconer West Hutton, the surveyor who prepared the town layout on 11 May 1885. Atherton Provisional School opened on 2 March 1891 and closed in 1905. In 1906 it reopened as Atherton State School. The school celebrated its centenary in 1984. Atherton Pioneer Cemetery opened in 1897 and closed in 1927 when the Rockley Road Cemetery was opened. Atherton Post Office opened by 1903 (a

receiving office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

had been open since 1889). Cairns Road State School opened on 18 July 1921 and closed in 1963. St Joseph's School opened on 29 January 1923. StateLibQld 2 45731 Atherton Main Street near the war memorial statue, Queensland, 1928

StateLibQld 2 45731 Atherton Main Street near the war memorial statue, Queensland, 1928

The Atherton War Memorial commemorates local residents who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. It was dedicated on 1 May 1924 by the

Tinaroo Shire The Shire of Atherton was a local government area of Queensland. It was located on the Atherton Tableland, a plateau forming part of the Great Dividing Range west of the city of Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Atherton, covered ...

chairman, Frederick Grau. It is the only war memorial in Queensland of a digger in an animated pose, It was originally located in the middle of the street adjacent to where the ANZ bank is now located, but was later moved to the park outside the old Atherton RSL sometime after the 1950s. The Atherton Courthouse was used as a wartime hospital for officers during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and has air raid bunkers beneath the building. The Atherton Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns was established in 1949. William John Bock was an early pioneer in Atherton. He made an audio recording discussing the early town, prior to his death on 19 February 1953 (aged 95). Atherton State High School opened on 27 January 1959. The Atherton Public Library was opened in 1978. Jubilee Christian College opened on 1 July 1984. At the , Atherton had a population of 7,287. In the , Atherton had a population of 7,331 people.

Economy

Due to its moderate climate, cooler and less humid than the tropical coast, and its booming agricultural industries, Atherton has a busy and prosperous community, and a vibrant social and cultural life. Atherton is very attractive to retirees and " tree changers" due to the cool climate, fertile garden soils, housing prices significantly lower than the nearby coastal city of Cairns, and the vibrant cultural life (live music, visual arts, theatre and sport). The land around Atherton is used to grow a variety of crops, including

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small an ...

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree '' Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in Sout ...

es, maize (corn),

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

es,

avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family ( Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for ...

s, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and macadamia nuts.

Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

cattle are also reared in the area.

Culture

Each year towards the end of August, Atherton celebrates the Maize festival, which features a parade with decorated floats, the Maize Queen pageant, children's amusement rides and activities including tug of war and wood chopping. There are also shop window displays and artwork competitions, as well as a prize given to the best float. The annual Atherton Agricultural Show is held in the second week of July at Atherton Show grounds including Heritage Listed Merriland Hall. The Atherton Roosters field teams in the

Cairns District Rugby League The Cairns District Rugby League was formed on 5 August 1918 and is the administrative body for the game of rugby league football in Cairns, Queensland. The CDRL runs senior, junior and women's club competitions and has its headquarters at Barlow ...

Education

Atherton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at Armstrong Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 473 students with 45 teachers (37 full-time equivalent) and 35 non-teaching staff (22 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

program. St Joseph's School is a Catholic primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at the corner of Jack & Alice Streets (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 252 students with 19 teachers (16 full-time equivalent) and 14 non-teaching staff (8 full-time equivalent). Jubilee Christian College is a private primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at 49-57 Loder Street (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 908 students with 47 teachers (37 full-time equivalent) and 45 non-teaching staff (26 full-time equivalent).

Atherton State High School , motto_translation = On Eagles' Wings , established = 1959 , principal = Leanne Knight-Smith (2023-) , type = Public , city = Atherton , state = Queensland , country = Australia , cam ...

is a government secondary (7-12) school for boys and girls at Maunds Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 780 students with 82 teachers (78 full-time equivalent) and 42 non-teaching staff (34 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. It also has a virtual campus called the School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. Atherton has a

technical and further education Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational co ...

(TAFE) campus, the Tropical North Institute of TAFE. There are also two day care centres in the town.

Amenities

The

Tablelands Regional Council The Tablelands Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas which dated back more than a century. On 1 January ...

operates the Atherton Library on 16 Robert Street, Atherton. The library facility opened in 1978, with a major refurbishment in 2012. The Atherton branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at the CWA Hall on the corner of Jack Street and Arnott Lane () St Joseph's Catholic Church is at 28 Mabel Street. It is within the Atherton Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns. Atherton Uniting Church is on the corner of Jack Street and Victoria Street ().

Health

Atherton Hospital is in the Tablelands Health District. The hospital provides obstetric, medical, surgical, operating theatre, accident and emergency services.

Transport

Trans North offers a number of return bus services during a seven-day week between Atherton, Tolga, Walkamin, Mareeba, Kuranda, and Cairns including drop-offs to airport, railway station, hospitals and bus depots. There are connections available between Ravenshoe and Herberton and along the Wheelbarrow Way to Chillagoe. There is an Atherton

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

service.

Heritage listings

Atherton has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...

sites, including: * Herberton Road:

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

* Herberton Road: Atherton Chinese Temple * Kennedy Highway: Atherton War Memorial * corner of Kennedy Highway and Rockley Road: Atherton War Cemetery * 42 Mable Street:

Atherton State School Head Teacher's Residence Atherton State School Head Teacher's Residence is a heritage-listed school residence at 42 Mable Street, Atherton, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed and built by the Queensland Department of Public Works in 1913. It is ...

* 53 Main Street: Barron Valley Hotel * Mazlin Street: Merriland Hall * 6 Silo Street: Atherton Performing Arts Theatre (World War II igloo)

Notable residents

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party ...

, who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland from 1998 to 2007 * Ron Grainer, composer, best known for composing the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...

'' theme music * Rod Jensen, former North Queensland Cowboys and Huddersfield Giants player *

Dallas Johnson Dallas Johnson (born 23 November 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football in t ...

, North Queensland Cowboys lock forward and former Melbourne Storm player and

Queensland State of Origin The Queensland rugby league team represents the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football. Nicknamed the "Maroons" after the colour of their jersey, they play three times a year against arch-rivals New South Wales in the State o ...

representative * Elizabeth O'Conner, author * Ren Pedersen, children's brain cancer research advocate *

Alexander Prokhorov Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov (born Alexander Michael Prochoroff, russian: Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Про́хоров; 11 July 1916 – 8 January 2002) was an Australian-born Soviet-Russian physicist known ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

n physicist and

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner * Roberto Venturato, football coach and former player

Climate

Atherton has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

that differs from the surrounding tropical savannah climate due to the town's elevation, high on the Atherton Plateau. above sea level. Temperature extremes have ranged from . The average annual

rainfall Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

is . The town is amongst the most northerly locations in Australia to record frost.

References

External links

Historical weather of Atherton
* * {{authority control Towns in Queensland Populated places in Far North Queensland Tablelands Region Queensland in World War II Localities in Queensland