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Silky Oak, Queensland

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Coordinates: 17°58′29″S 145°56′58″E / 17.9747°S 145.9494°E / -17.9747; 145.9494 (Silky Oak (centre of locality))
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Silky Oak
Queensland
Cane tramway through Silky Oak, 2013
Silky Oak is located in Queensland
Silky Oak
Silky Oak
Coordinates17°58′29″S 145°56′58″E / 17.9747°S 145.9494°E / -17.9747; 145.9494 (Silky Oak (centre of locality))
Population178 (2021 census)[1]
 • Density8.44/km2 (21.85/sq mi)
Postcode(s)4854
Area21.1 km2 (8.1 sq mi)
Time zoneAEST (UTC+10:00)
Location
LGA(s)Cassowary Coast Region
State electorate(s)Hinchinbrook
Federal division(s)Kennedy
Suburbs around Silky Oak:
Tully Mount Mackay Mount Mackay
Jarra Creek Silky Oak Lower Tully
Euramo Euramo Rockingham

Silky Oak is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Silky Oak had a population of 178 people.[1]

Geography

[edit]

The locality is bounded to the south by the Tully River, while its tributary Banyan Creek bounds the locality to the west.[3]

The North Coast railway line enters the locality from the south (Euramo) by crossing the Tully River and exits to the north-west (Tully).[4] The locality was served by the now-abandoned Hewitt railway station in the north-west of the locality (17°57′44″S 145°56′07″E / 17.96222°S 145.93528°E / -17.96222; 145.93528 (Hewitt railway station (former))).[5][6]

The Bruce Highway also enters the locality from the south (Euramo) crossing the river on the Tully River Bridge about 300 metres (980 ft) east of the railway line crossing, but then runs immediately parallel and east of the railway line through the locality until both exit to the north-west (Tully).[4] This route is a 2008 deviation of the highway designed to reduce the flooding risk; it was the largest flood immunity project funded by the Australian Government.[7][8][9] The previous Bruce Highway route was further east and is now known as Jack Evans Drive (and informally as Old Bruce Highway).[10][4]

Silky Oak Creek is a small township within Silky Oak situated on the Old Bruce Highway (17°59′00″S 145°56′47″E / 17.9833°S 145.9465°E / -17.9833; 145.9465 (Silky Oak Creek (township))).[11][12]

The land use is predominantly growing sugarcane.[13] There is a network of cane tramways to transport the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mill.[4]

History

[edit]

In 1900, the Queensland Government passed The Sugar Experiment Stations Act, creating the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations was under the supervision of the Queensland Minister for Agriculture and Stock.[14] In 1968-9, a site was selected in Silky Oak as a suitable site for an experiment station to focus on the needs of the Tully sugar industry.[15]

In 1922, Silky Oak Creek was seriously considered as the site for a sugar mill in the Tully area. In its favour, the site had good access to the Tully River, but being higher was safe from floods. It had abundant timber suitable for both construction and firewood. Against the location was that it could be cut off during flooding and that the limited water supply in the local creek would probably not be sufficient for the operation of the mill and the needs of the town that would develop around it, so a pipeline would be needed.[16][17] However, the decision was made to build the mill further north (in what would then develop as the town of Tully).[18][19]

Silky Oak Creek State School opened on 1 November 1940 and closed on 31 December 1974.[20] It was at 254 Jack Evans Drive (17°58′54″S 145°56′45″E / 17.98160°S 145.94591°E / -17.98160; 145.94591 (Silky Oak Creek State School (former))).[21][22]

Demographics

[edit]

In the 2016 census, Silky Oak had a population of 139 people.[23]

In the 2021 census, Silky Oak had a population of 178 people.[1]

Education

[edit]

There are no schools in Silky Oak. The nearest government primary schools are Tully State School in neighbouring Tully to the north-west and Lower Tully State School in Lower Tully to the east. The nearest government secondary school is Tully State High School, also in Tully to the north-west.[24]

Facilities

[edit]

Sugar Research Australia (a successor organisation of the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations) has its Tully research centre on a 37.66-hectare (93.1-acre) site at 216 Dallachy Road in the south-west of the locality (17°58′39″S 145°55′27″E / 17.9775°S 145.9241°E / -17.9775; 145.9241 (Sugar Research Australia)). By working closely with farmers, mill operators, and other stakeholders, it undertakes research and provides advice on improvements in efficiency and sustainability, and explores new opportunities for sugar and other byproducts.[25] The Tully research centre seeks to increase farm productivity in the Tully area through improved pest and disease management and plant nutrition.[26]

Amenities

[edit]

Tully Motorcycle Club operates a motorcycle dirt course on Dallachy Road in the south-west of the locality for recreational use and race events (17°58′54″S 145°55′51″E / 17.9818°S 145.9307°E / -17.9818; 145.9307 (Tully Motorcycle Club)).[27][28][29]

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Silky Oak, Queensland.
  1. ^ a b c Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Silky Oak (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Silky Oak – locality in Cassowary Coast Region (entry 45752)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Layers: Locality; Mountains and ranges; Contours; Watercourses". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Layers: Locality; Road and rail; Railways; Railway stations". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Hewitt – railway station in the Cassowary Coast Region (entry 15824)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Railway stations and sidings - Queensland". Queensland Open Data. Queensland Government. 2 October 2020. Archived from the original on 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
  7. ^ Pitt, Warren (2 October 2008). "Tackling flood danger on the Bruce Highway in Tully". Media statements. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  8. ^ Pitt, Warren (16 December 2008). "Highway upgrade improves wet season access in North Queensland". Media statements. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Main Roads Local Links: Preparing for the next Big Wet" (PDF). p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  10. ^ "8062-22 Tully" (Map). Queensland Government. 1980. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  11. ^ "Silky Oak Creek – locality unbounded in Cassowary Coast Regional (entry 38873)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Silky Oak Creek (township)" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Layers: Locality; Protected areas and forests; Land use; Sugarcane areas". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Agency ID 3378, Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations". Queensland State Archives. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  15. ^ Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (1972). "Tully Experiment Station". Some notes and comments on Bureau History. Sugar Research Australia. pp. 69–71. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  16. ^ "New Mill Sites". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12, 371. Queensland, Australia. 16 October 1922. p. 4. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "RANYAN". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. XXXVIII, no. 12, 386. Queensland, Australia. 2 November 1922. p. 8. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "About | Tully Sugar". Archived from the original on 18 July 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Tully". Queensland Places. University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 15 June 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  20. ^ Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  21. ^ "Tully" (Map). Queensland Government. 1944. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  22. ^ "8062 Tully" (Map). Queensland Government. 1974. Archived from the original on 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  23. ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Silky Oak (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018. Edit this at Wikidata
  24. ^ "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  25. ^ "Strategic Plan 2021-2026 Update" (PDF). Sugar Research Australia. pp. 2–3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  26. ^ "District Productivity Plan: Tully" (PDF). Sugar Research Australia. p. 6-7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  27. ^ "Tully MCC". Motorcycling Queensland. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  28. ^ "Tully Motorcycle Club". Facebook. Archived from the original on 10 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  29. ^ "Tully Motorcycle Club circuit" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 10 October 2024.


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