Esk is a town and locality in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland, Australia.
Esk is a town and locality in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Esk had a population of 1,698 people.
History
Jagara (also known as Jagera, Yagara, Yugarabul, Yuggera and Yuggerabul) is one of the Aboriginal languages of South-East Queensland. There is some uncertainty over the status of Jagara as a language, dialect or perhaps a group or clan within the local government boundaries of Ipswich City Council, Lockyer Regional Council and the Somerset Regional Council.Esk formed part of the southern border of the Garumga clan of the Dalla tribe.
The land around Esk was first explored by Captain Patrick Logan in 1830. The town was established to service the short-lived copper mines of Eskdale and Cressbrook Creek. Settlers moved into the region during the 1840s.
Mount Esk Post Office opened on 1 February 1874 (a receiving office had been open from 1873) and was renamed Esk by February 1881.Mount Esk State School was opened on 1 November 1875 and was renamed Esk State School in 1887.On Sunday 25 November 1883, the Esk Primitive Methodist Church was opened with services conducted by the Reverend Willian Little. It was a timber church, 18 by 30 feet (5.5 by 9.1 m). It became the Esk Methodist Church after the amalgamation of Methodist denominations in 1902. A new church was constructed in 1907.In 1886, the Brisbane Valley railway line reached Esk from Lowood. Several sawmills were built and in 1904 a butter factory opened. The timber industry declined in the 1920s.
St Agnes' Anglican Church was dedicated on Monday 28 October 1889 by Bishop William Webber.On 30 November 1920, Dr Graham Butler laid the foundation stone of the Esk War Memorial. The finished memorial was unveiled by General Lachlan Chisholm Wilson on 27 August 1921. The memorial records the names of 462 Shire residents who enlisted during the First World War. It also contains bronze honour rolls bearing the names of 83 local men who died during the war. Four commemorative plaques have subsequently been added to the structure. The war memorial stands in Esk Memorial Park, which also contains a memorial to Captain Logan, who was murdered while exploring the Brisbane Valley in 1830.In July 1941, a Lutheran church was opened.Dairying slowed from the 1960s onwards, which has eventually led to the decline of the town's importance as a major rural centre.At the 2006 census, Esk had a population of 1,166.The Esk Library opened in 2009.The Caboonbah Homestead was destroyed by fire on 10 May 2009.During the 2010–11 Queensland floods, the centre of Esk was flooded when Redbank Creek burst its banks for the first time in recorded history.In the 2011 census, Esk had a population of 1,755 people.
Weather
Things to do
Nearby attractions include Lake Somerset and Lake Wivenhoe, both lakes created by dams which provide a number of camping areas with facilities and opportunities for water-based recreational activities including boating, canoeing, fishing and skiing and Ravensbourne and Crows Nest National Parks.
The historic Bellevue Homestead is located in the area.Also close by are the peaks Glen Rock and Mount Esk.