Lowood

The town site of Lowood chosen in 1884 by the Railway Department as a temporary terminus for the Brisbane Valley Branch Railway. In 1885, there were only 5 buildings in the town but it grew steadily.

The dairy factory opened in 1890, three other milk companies opened in 1887-1888, and a butter factory was erected close to the railway station in 1903. The late 1890s saw the inception of several clubs, a School of Arts and opening of two banks.

An Agriculture Society was formed in 1906 and arranged for a showground reserve to be set aside. Local people donated money and land, leading to the inaugural Lowood show in 1907. Special trains were arranged from Ipswich and Boonah, and local businesses gained from the prosperous annual event.

Major floods struct the region in 1889. 1893, 1924, 1931, 1955, 1967, and 1974, affecting business and houses, many of which then relocated to be out of reach of the floodwaters. The floods also contributed to ongoing maintenance expenses of the Brisbane Valley Rail Line.

The township of Lowood was initially sited on the boundary of three shires, Walloon, Tarampa, and Esk. A Lowood Shire was formed on the 19th of January 1912 as an amalgamation of the adjoining shires and a section of the Laidley Shire. Ultimately, the Lowood Shire was not viable and was abolished after a short life and much local protest in 1916. The area was divided between Esk and Rosewood Shire.

Disastrous fires struct the town in 1925, 1931, 1933, and 1938, with only some of the business premises being rebuilt immediately. The boom times in Lowood has quietened significantly by the late 1930s, although the rail yards continued to be very busy with record tonnages carried in the 1940s.

In the late 1940s, a few returned soldiers established business in Lowood. General repair and refurbishment of businesses occurred in the 1950s, however, no other major changes took place in Lowood until the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Originally, people living in the surrounding areas referred to the Lowood district loosely as ‘The Scrub’. The first school there was the Upper Tarampa State School, which opened on June 29, 1881. Because of the confusion with the Tarampa school, the name soon changed to ‘Cairnhill State School’ at the suggestion of the teacher, P. Weehrenquist. The Railways Department later gave the name ‘Lowood’ to the new terminus and a receiving office known as ‘Lowood’ opened around the same time.

“Lowood” was coined from the words ‘low wood’ and referred to the low Brigalow scrub in the neighbourhood, which contrasted with the taller trees in the adjoining forest.

The town of Lowood was not laid out by Government surveyors but grew from the subdivision of freehold land around the new railway station, from which took its name.

The name of the state school was changed to ‘Lowood’ in October 1891.