:Cressbrook, Queensland

Cressbrook is a sparsely populated rural area with land used for crops and grazing; there is no urban centre. It is bounded by the Brisbane River to the north and east. Cressbrook Creek meanders from the west to the east of the locality where it enters the Brisbane River. The Cressbrook-Carboonbah Road traverses from the Brisbane Valley Highway in the north-west through the south-east of the locality towards Mount Beppo and beyond to Carboonbah.{{Queensland Globe|accessdate=|access-date=11 August 2021}}

The locality of Cressbrook takes its name from the Cressbrook Homestead established by David Cannon McConnel in 1841, who came from the village of Cressbrook in Derbyshire, England.

In 1877, {{Convert|15700|acres||abbr=}} were resumed from the Cressbrook pastoral run and offered for selection on 17 April 1877.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1361846|title=Proclamations under the New Land Acts.|date=2 March 1877|newspaper=The Brisbane Courier|access-date=19 February 2020|location=Queensland, Australia|page=3|via=Trove|archive-date=27 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827084837/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/1361846|url-status=live}}

Cressbrook Provisional School was operating in 1881 but closed in 1882 due to low student numbers; its opening date is unknown.{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122930458|title=EDUCATION REPORT.|date=1 September 1883|newspaper=Queensland Times, Ipswich Herald and General Advertiser|accessdate=26 November 2019|issue=3293|location=Queensland, Australia|volume=XXIII|page=3|via=National Library of Australia|archive-date=23 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223020704/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122930458|url-status=live}}{{Citation|author1=Queensland Family History Society|title=Queensland schools past and present|date=2010|edition=Version 1.01|publisher=Queensland Family History Society|isbn=978-1-921171-26-0}}

In 1898, the McConnel family established a condensed milk factory at Cressbrook; it was sold to Nestlé in 1907.{{cite web|title=Toogoolawah|url=http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/toogoolawah|work=Queensland Places|publisher=Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland|accessdate=5 July 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924121214/http://www.queenslandplaces.com.au/toogoolawah|url-status=live}}

File:Cressbrook Homestead church and cemetery, 2010.JPG

On 1 June 1901, D. C. McConnel laid the first pile for the Victoria Chapel on the Cressbrook Homestead intended for the use of the McConnel family and their employees.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Closed Churches|url=https://www.anglicanarchives.org.au/churches/|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403003329/https://www.anglicanarchives.org.au/churches/|archive-date=3 April 2019|access-date=24 February 2019|website=Anglican Church of Southern Queensland}} It was a non-denominational chapel. Regular Anglican and Presbyterian services were held there and other denominations were served by visiting ministers.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=Victoria Chapel|url=http://cressbrookstation.com.au/victoria-chapel/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200831085031/http://cressbrookstation.com.au/victoria-chapel/|archive-date=2020-08-31|access-date=2020-08-31|website=Cressbrook Station}}

Cressbrook Lower State School opened on 11 April 1916. It closed in 1953.

Fulham State School opened in 1920 and closed circa 1953.{{Citation|author1=Queensland Family History Society|title=Queensland schools past and present|publication-date=2010|edition=Version 1.01|publisher=Queensland Family History Society|isbn=978-1-921171-26-0}} It was located at 372 Cressbrook Cabonah Road (southern corner with Fulham Road, {{Coord|-27.0771|152.4209|type:edu_region:AU-QLD|display=|name=Fulham State School}}, now in Cressbrook).{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=1944|title=Cressbrook|url=https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/topo_scans/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-cressbrook-1944.jpg|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630064602/https://gisservices.information.qld.gov.au/arcgis/rest/directories/historicalscans/topo_scans/topo-map-1mile-military-line-colour-cressbrook-1944.jpg |archive-date=30 June 2020 |access-date=22 September 2020|website=|publisher=Queensland Government|type=Map}}

In the {{CensusAU|2016}} Cressbrook had a population of 117 people.{{Census 2016 AUS|id=SSC30753|name=Cressbrook (SSC)|accessdate=20 October 2018|quick=on}}

In the {{CensusAU|2021}}, Cressbrook had a population of 121 people.{{Census 2021 AUS|id=SAL30748|name=Cressbrook (SAL)|access-date=28 February 2023|quick=on}}

There are no schools in Cressbrook. The nearest government primary and secondary schools are Toogoolawah State School and Toogoolawah State High School, both in neighbouring Toogoolawah to the south-west.{{cite web |title=Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments |url=https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |access-date=13 July 2024 |website=Queensland Globe |publisher=Queensland Government |archive-date=19 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171219175447/https://qldglobe.information.qld.gov.au/ |url-status=live }}

Cressbrook has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Cressbrook Homestead, off Cressbrook-Caboombah Road{{cite QHR|15278|Cressbrook Homestead|600503|accessdate=12 July 2013}}

The Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield {{airport codes||YWSG}} is in the south-east of the locality and provides facilities for sports and recreational aviation. There are three grass runways of length {{convert|900|m}}, {{convert|820|m}} and {{convert|815|m}}. A number of aviation clubs operate from the airfield, flying vintage planes, gyroplanes, gliders, performing acrobatics and skydiving. Many recreational aviation events are held each year at the airfield.{{cite web|title=Airfield location|url=http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/location.php|website=Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield|accessdate=5 July 2015|archive-date=6 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706022624/http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/location.php|url-status=dead}}

The airfield was established in 1942 as part of Australia's defences during World War II and known as the Toogoolawah airfield. After the war, the airfield was no longer needed for defence purposes, the buildings were removed and the land was used for grazing. In the early 1980s, the desire for recreational airfield facilities resulted in a group of recreational pilots re-establishing the runways and taxiways, and reopening the airfield in 1990 as the Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield.{{cite web|title=Introduction|url=http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/introduction.php|website=Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield|accessdate=5 July 2015|archive-date=6 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706012129/http://www.wattsbridge.com.au/introduction.php|url-status=dead}} The name Watts Bridge is a reference to a nearby bridge that crossed the Brisbane River connecting Silverleigh Road in Cressbrook to Cooeeimbardi Road in Lower Cressbrook and was named after local dairyman James Robert Watts. Having survived many floods of the Brisbane River, the bridge was washed away in the 1974 Brisbane flood and not replaced.{{cite web|title=The Origins and History of Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield During WW2|url=http://www.wattsbridgehistory.com/WW2History.html|website=Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield History|accessdate=5 July 2015|archive-date=13 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413193352/http://wattsbridgehistory.com/WW2History.html|url-status=dead}}

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{{Somerset Region}}

Category:Suburbs of Somerset Region

Category:Queensland in World War II

Category:Localities in Queensland