Laidley

Laidley is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia.

Laidley is a rural town and locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Laidley had a population of 3,808 people.

Allan Cunningham first explored the area in 1829. Cunningham named it Laidley's Plain on 22 June 1829, after James Laidley, the Deputy Commissary General of the colony of New South Wales.The town developed around a wagon stop on the main road route between Ipswich and Toowoomba. A stop was needed after the climb over the small Little Liverpool Range west of Marburg.By the 1850s, the area was being cleared for sheep grazing. A survey for the growing village was conducted in 1858.Laidley Post Office opened on 1 February 1861. Laidley Creek West Post Office was open from 1927 until 1955 (a receiving office had been open from 1899). Laidley Rail Post Office opened in 1915 and closed in 1925.The first Presbyterian service were held in Laidley in 1864 by William Lambie Nelson.In the mid-1870s, the railway line from Grandchester stopped at a railway station 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) north of the town. Between 1911 and 1955, a branch railway line ran from Laidley along the Laidley Creek to the settlement at Mulgowie.On 28 April 1886 St Saviour's Anglican church was opened in Laidley. It was designed by architect FDG Stanley. By 1888 there were a number of additions including a parsonage, a tower and a bell. In May 1909 it was announced that a new church would be built from reinforced concrete at an estimated cost of £800 and would be designed by Messers James Marks and Co, architects in Toowoomba. A call for tenders to construct the church was made in September 1909. The foundation stone was laid on 15 November 1909 by Archdeacon Arthur Rivers. The new St Saviour's Anglican church was consecrated by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson on 21 June 1910. Thecentenary of the church was celebrated in 2010.Laidley Old Township Provisional School opened on 9 March 1908. On 1 January 1909, it became Laidley Central State School. The school closed on 12 December 1998, when it was replaced by Laidley District State School at a new location.St Mary's Catholic Primary School opened on 14 July 1912, by the Sisters of Mercy. The Sisters operated the school until 1988, when the first lay principal was appointed.Although historically Laidley had been served by the Blenheim Baptist Church, changes in population led to Laidley becoming the larger centre.In July 1949 land was purchased near the Laidley Hospital for use by the Baptist church. In June 1952 the Blenheim Baptist Church was given permission to erect a Sunday School hall in Laidley . The stump-capping ceremony for the hall was held on 5 July 1952, officitaed by the President of the Queensland Baptist Union, Reverend R. O. Lockhart. On 7 September 1952 the hall (then described as a combined church and hall) was officially opened. It was erected in 23 days during only volunteer labour. Less than two years later, in February 1954, it was decided that the hall was too small and that a separate church should be erected beside it, by demolishing the Blenheim Baptist Church and re-using the timber and relocating the church residence from Blenheim to Laidley. On 4 September 1954 the Laidley Baptist Church was officially opened by the President of the Queensand Baptist Union, Reverend Frederick Thomas Smith. The church building was at 25 Samuel Street (27.6319°S 152.4005°E? / -27.6319; 152.4005? (Laidley Baptist Church (former))) and the hall at 27 Samuel Street (27.6317°S 152.4006°E? / -27.6317; 152.4006? (Laidley Baptist Church Hall (former))), but both have been sold into private ownership in August 2015 and March 2016 respectively. As at 2021, both buildings are still extant.Laidley Pioneer Village was established in 1972 on the site of the original resting paddock used by horses of the Cobb & Co stagecoaches. by the Laidley District Historical Society. It was the first heritage village developed in Queensland.Laidley State High School opened on 29 January 1985; this effectively replaced the secondary department that operated at Laidley North State School from 1864 to 1984.The town was the centre of the Shire of Laidley until 2008, when the shire was amalgamated into the new Lockyer Valley Region local government area.In 2011 census, the township had a population of 3,518 people.In the 2016 census the locality of Laidley had a population of 3,808 people.The Laidley public library opened in 2017.

Laidley Pioneer Village and Museum is at 92 Drayton Street (27.6499°S 152.3915°E? / -27.6499; 152.3915? (Laidley Pioneer Village and Museum)).