Canungra is a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia.
Canungrais a rural town and locality in the Scenic Rim Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of Canungra had a population of 1,229 people.
History
Nicknamed the "Valley of the Owls", one of the origins of the town's name comes from the Aboriginal word for small owls, "Caningera". The most notable owl found in the area is the Australian boobook owl, which appears in various logos and symbols associated with Canungra. However the word Cunungra comes from the Yugambeh word gungunga meaning "a long flat or clearing".Canungera Upper Provisional School opened on 21 January 1889. On 1 January 1909 it became Canungera Upper State School. In 1912 the name was changed to Canungra State School.Canungra Post Office was opened by May 1907 (a receiving office had been open from 1888 under the ownership of Mrs. John Duncan, known at first as Canningera Creek).Canungra owes its existence to the timber industry and once boasted one of the largest stands of timber in the colony. David Lahey, the father of Romeo Lahey, owned one of Queensland's largest sawmills at Canungra (Lahey's Canungra Sawmill).From 2 July 1915 until 1 July 1955 the Canungra railway line ran from the Beaudesert line at Logan Village to Canungra railway station (28.0179°S 153.1625°E? / -28.0179; 153.1625? (Canungra railway station (former))).In 1916 the Lahey family built the Bellissima guest house. In 1927 it was sold and extended to become the Canungra Hotel. In 1937 the hotel burned down and rebuilt as the current Canungra Hotel.On 1 May 1916 at the Canungra School of Arts auctioneers Isles, Love & Co offered for sale 107 town lots (30 of them with a cottage) in the Cunungra Township Estate in Pine Street, Duncan Street, Appel Street, Kidston Street, Franklin Street, Tamborine Street, Strachan Street and King Street (approx 28.0197°S 153.166161°E? / -28.0197; 153.166161? (Canungra township estate)) to the immediate south-east of the Canungra railway station. On the following day 2 May 1916, 30 farm lots were offered. Some of these lots were located to the west of Canungra Creek from the immediate south-west of the town through to the north almost to Benobble railway station. The bulk of the farm lots were to the west of Canungra Creek extending south of the town but bounded to the east by Coomera River. Many of the blocks were sold.On Sunday 12 November 1933Archbishop James Duhig laid the foundation stone for St Mary Margaret's Catholic Church, following a fund-raising campaign that commenced in 1929. On 24 June 1934 Duhig returned to officially open the church in the presence of over 800 people. The church building was designed by J. P. (Jack) Donaghue and erected by B. Robertson.On 18 October 1936 St Luke's Church of England was officially opened and dedicated by Archbishop William Wand. The building was designed by architect Raymond Clare Nowland and the contractor was Gordon Rhodes, supervised by architect Thomas Percy. It was built in the Old English Gothic style using rose cedar.
The Honour Board at the School of Arts Hall was unveiled by the Queensland Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan, on 17 June 1922. The School of Arts burned down on 3 March 1946.
On 25 April 1938, the Canungra War Memorial was unveiled by Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Fassifern, Adolph Gustav Muller.By the 1940s most of the timber had been cut and sawmills were closing. The historic Laheys Tramway Tunnel is the only remnant of the past sawmilling activities in the area. Following this logging era came beef cattle and dairying.
On Saturday 5 June 1954 the Canungra Methodist Memorial Church was officially opened by the Reverend George Edwin Holland, the President of the Methodist Conference of Queensland. The church cost £1500 to build. Following the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church inAustralia in 1977, the church became known as Canungra Uniting Church.In 2005, the local Post Office released a special limited-release frank featuring Canungra and the boobook owl.In the 2016 census the locality of Canungra had a population of 1,229 people.
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