Laidley, Queensland

Laidley is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Laidley had a population of 3,808 people.

Geography

Laidley is situated within the Lockyer Valley of South East Queensland east of the Great Dividing Range and close to the northern foothills of the Main Range. The town is located west of Brisbane, the state capital, and east of Toowoomba. The Warrego Highway (A2) is around 10 km to the north, and the town sits on the Brisbane–Charleville railway line.

Laidley lies within the Lockyer Creek catchment, with the creek rising at the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range and flowing east. The catchment has an area of approximately 3,000 km² and elevations range from 1,100m AHD on the Great Dividing Range to 24m AHD at the confluence with the Brisbane River.

The relatively flat topography of the valley, its rich alluvial soils and warm climate are the basis for the Lockyer Valley to have become a major supplier of vegetables, horticulture and grains. The local industry has been dominated by agriculture since the end of the 19th century, producing 35% of Queensland’s vegetable supply, and Laidley has long regarded itself as "Queensland's Country Garden". Fruit and vegetable production features prominently, the most commonly grown vegetable crops being carrots, potatoes, the brassica vegetables (e.g. cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower), pumpkins, corns and beans. Much of the beetroot grown in Australia comes from the Laidley district.

History

The Laidley region was once home to the "Kitabul People" before the arrival of Europeans in the early 19th century. Today, the Ugarapul People are the traditional owners of the Lockyer Valley region.

In 1829, Allan Cunningham explored the area and named it Laidley Plains on 22 June 1829, after James Laidley, the Deputy Commissary General of the colony of New South Wales.

The town developed around a wagon stop on the main road route between Ipswich and Toowoomba. A stop was needed after the climb over the small Little Liverpool Range west of Marburg.

By the 1850s, the area was being cleared for sheep grazing. A survey for the growing village was conducted in 1858.

Laidley Post Office opened on 1 February 1861. Laidley Creek West Receiving Office operated from 1899 to 1927, Laidley Creek West Post Office was open from 1927 to 1953, and a telephone office from 1953 to 1956. Laidley Rail Post Office opened in 1915 and closed in 1925. A Travelling Post Office service ran on the Main Line between Brisbane and Toowoomba between 1877 and 1932.

Since 1863, police officers have been stationed in Laidley. The first two police officers who served at Laidley are believed to have been Acting Sergeant William Gunn from 1863 to 1868 and Constable Thomas Raleigh from 1863 to 1865. Since 2015, the Police Station is housed in a refurbished building on Spicer Street. The building was originally the Laidley Courthouse and Public Offices, opened in 1964, housing the Courthouse, State Government offices and the Police.

The first Presbyterian service were held in Laidley in 1864 by William Lambie Nelson