Pilton, Queensland

Pilton
Pilton
Town
	Looking north-east from Pilton State School across farmland, Pilton, 2015.jpg
	Pilton
	Coordinates: 27°52′06″S152°02′51″E / 27.8683°S 152.0475°E / -27.8683; 152.0475 (Pilton (town centre))
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
LGA	Toowoomba Region;
Location	18.4 km (11.4 mi) ENE of Clifton; 22.3 km (13.9 mi) NE of Allora; 46.6 km (29.0 mi) S of Toowoomba CBD; 142 km (88 mi) WSW of Brisbane;
Government
• State electorate	Condamine;
• Federal division	Maranoa;
Area
• Total	41.9 km2 (16.2 sq mi)
Population
• Total	71 (2021 census)
• Density	1.695/km2 (4.39/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+10:00 (AEST)
Postcode	4361
	Localities around Pilton

Pilton is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.^[3]^[4] It is south of the city of Toowoomba. In the 2021 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people.^[2]

Geography

The terrain in the north and south of the locality is more mountainous and is predominantly used for grazing on native vegetation. The terrain from the south-east to the north-west is within a valley through which Kings Creek flows from Upper Pilton through to Manapouri/Ascot and is ultimately a tributary of the Condamine River, part of the Murray-Darling basin. The valley is used for cropping.^[5]

The Gatton–Clifton Road (State Route 80) also passes through the locality from the south-west (Headington Hill) to the north-west (Hirstglen).^[5]

History

Pilton is named after a pastoral run which was excised from Clifton pastoral station in the 1840s. The run was leased by Philip Pinnock, John Gammie, Joseph King and Joshua J. Whitting [from 1851-9]. It might have been named after Pilton, Somerset, England, an Old English name with Pil meaning creek and ton meaning an enclosed homestead.^[3]

Pilton Post Office opened on 27 March 1878 (though a receiving office for some years) and closed in 1977.^[6]

Pilton Provisional School opened in February 1884.^[7] It closed in 1908.^[8]

Pilton State School opened on 3 November 1913.^[9]^[8]

Demographics

In the 2006 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 209 people, living in 74 inhabited dwellings. The median age of the population was 41 years, and the median weekly household income was $866.^[10]

In the 2016 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 88 people.^[11]

In the 2021 census, the locality of Pilton had a population of 71 people.^[2]

Education

Pilton State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 24 Pilton Valley Road (27°52′04″S152°02′59″E / 27.8679°S 152.0497°E / -27.8679; 152.0497 (Pilton State School)).^[12]^[13] In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 29 students with 3 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).^[14] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 18 students with 2 teachers and 4 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).^[15]

There is no secondary school in Pilton; the nearest government secondary school is Clifton State High School in Clifton to the south-west.^[5]

Attractions

The Darling Downs Zoo is in the south-west corner of the locality.^[16]

References

^Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pilton (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^cAustralian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Pilton (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
^ ^a ^b"Pilton – town in Toowoomba Region (entry 26746)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
^"Pilton – locality in Toowoomba Region (entry 48038)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c"Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
^Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
^"GREENMOUNT". Darling Downs Gazette. Vol. XXIII, no. 5, 603. Queensland, Australia. 4 February 1884. p. 3. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^ ^a ^bQueensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
^"Opening and closing dates of Queensland Schools". Queensland Government. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
^Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Pilton (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
^Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Pilton (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
^"State and non-state school details". Queensland Government. 9 July 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2018. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
^"Pilton State School". Pilton State School. 29 November 2020. Archived from the original on 1 April 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
^"ACARA School Profile 2017". Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2018.
^"ACARA School Profile 2018". Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Archived from the original on 27 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
^"Home - Darling Downs Zoo". Darling Downs Zoo. Archived from the original on 15 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.