Waterford, Queensland

Geography

The suburb is on the east side of the Logan River and is 7 km south-east of Logan Central. The western side of the suburb follows the Logan River, while the southern edge draws a straight line along Dairy Creek Road. Here it connects to Gardiner Road which then joins Logan River Road. Waterford-Tamborine Road (State Route 95) starts in the north of Waterford and exits to the south.

History

The town is believed to be named by Irish settlers after Waterford in Ireland because of a ford in the Logan River. The name was recorded by surveyor William Fryar on 11 June 1866. The first town lots were offered for sale in the Town of Waterford in July 1866.

Logan Provisional School opened on 28 June 1869 in Charles Wilson's barn on the east of the Logan River with an initial enrolment of 22 students. On 3 January 1871, the school moved to a new site with a purpose-built 30 by 16 foot school building, then known as Waterford Primary School, with 25 students. It was later renamed Waterford State School.

The Beaudesert railway line from Bethania to Beaudesert opened on 21 September 1885. Waterford railway station () served the town. Due to the rising use of cars, passenger services terminated in 1961 but freight services continued until 20 May 1996.

In 1949, the Apostolic Church at Waterford was demolished and re-erected in East Ipswich.

The College of the Good Shepherd was established on 2 February 1987 by local Anglican Church families wanting a faith-based school in their community. It opened in temporary buildings with 73 students in Years 6 to 8. The school's first permanent buildings were completed in late 1987. It was later renamed Canterbury College.

Demographics

|2006| 845 |2011| 3931 |2016| 5484 |2021| 5796 In the , the suburb of Waterford had a population of 3,931 people, 52.9% female and 47.1% male. The median age of the Waterford population was 33 years, 4 years below the national median of 37. 65.6% of people living in Waterford were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 7.2%, England 4.9%, Scotland 0.9%, Philippines 0.9%, Malaysia 0.8%. 80.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.2% Cantonese, 0.7% Romanian, 0.6% Tagalog, 0.5% Hindi, 0.5% Mandarin.

In the , the suburb of Waterford had a population of 5,484 people, 52.8% female and 47.2% male. The median age of the Waterford population was 30 years, 8 years below the national median of 38. 65.7% of people living in Waterford were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 9.5%, England 4.3%, India 1.7%, South Africa 0.8% and Afghanistan 0.8%. 79.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.1% Samoan, 1.1% Hindi, 0.9% Mandarin, 0.7% Cantonese and 0.6% Hazaraghi.

In the , the suburb of Waterford had a population of 5,796 people, 53.1% female and 46.9% male. The median age of the Waterford population was 32 years, 6 years below the national median of 38. 65.8% of people living in Waterford were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 8.7%, England 3.3%, India 2.7%, Afghanistan 1.7% and the Philippines 1.0%. 77.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.6% Punjabi, 1.4% Hazaraghi, 1.2% Samoan, 1.2% Hindi, 1.1% Mandarin.

Heritage listings

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

• 40 Nerang Street, cnr Jordan Street: Waterford State School

Education

Waterford State School is a government primary (Early Childhood-6) school for boys and girls at 40 Nerang Street (). In 2023, the school had an enrolment of 519 students with 40 teachers (35 full-time equivalent) and 36 non-teaching staff (22 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program.

Canterbury College is an Anglican primary and secondary (Prep-12) school for boys and girls at Old Logan Village Road (). In 2023, the school had an enrolment of 1,417 students with 120 teachers (118 full-time equivalent) and 83 non-teaching staff (71 full-time equivalent).

There is no government secondary school in Waterford. The nearest government secondary schools are Loganlea State High School in neighbouring Loganlea to the north and Windaroo Valley State High School in neighbouring Bahrs Scrub to the south-east.

Amenities

There is a boat ramp at Albert Street on the south bank of the Logan River (). It is managed by the Logan City Council.

There are a number of parks in the area:

• Barber Court ()

• High Road Park ()

• L Storey Park ()

• Nerang Street ()

• Woodlands Boulevard Park ()

Transport

Public transport includes some local buses in parts of Waterford. The closest train station is in its neighbouring suburb to the north Bethania (a 40-60min walk or 5-10min drive).

References

References

1. {{cite QPN. 36749. Waterford. town in City of Logan
2. {{cite QPN. 48114. Waterford. suburb in City of Logan
3. "Waterford and Waterford Shire {{!}} Queensland Places". [[The University of Queensland]].
4. "Waterford, Queensland".
5. (27 July 1866). "Classified Advertising". [[The Brisbane Courier]].
6. "Queensland schools past and present". [[Queensland Family History Society]].
7. (2020-04-07). "History".
8. Kerr, John. (1990). "Triumph of narrow gauge : a history of Queensland Railways". Boolarong Publications.
9. {{Cite QPN. 36750. Waterford. railway station in Logan City
10. Schaefer, Tim. (2016-04-06). "End of the line for Beaudesert railway tracks".
11. (13 June 1949). "Big Crowd Sees New Apostolic Church Opened". [[Queensland Times]].
12. "History and Traditions".
13. {{Census 2006 AUS
17. {{cite QHR. 29688. Waterford State School (Block A and Play Shed). 602672
18. (9 July 2018). "State and non-state school details". [[Queensland Government]].
19. (2020-04-07). "Waterford State School".
20. "ACARA School Profile 2023".
21. "Home Page".
22. {{Queensland Globe
23. (12 November 2020). "Recreational Boating Facilities Queensland". [[Queensland Government]].
24. (20 November 2020). "Land for public recreation - Queensland". [[Queensland Government]].