Sarina is a rural town and coastal locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.
Sarinais a rural town and coastal locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Sarina had a population of 5,522 people.
History
Yuwibara(also known as Yuibera, Yuri, Juipera, Yuwiburra) is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken on Yuwibara country. It is closely related to the Biri languages/dialects. The Yuwibara language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Mackay Region.
Sarina was originally known as Plane Creek, but took its present name from the Sarina Inlet which was in turn named after Sarina, the Greek mythological enchantress, by William Charles Borlase Wilson, a surveyor, some time before 1882.Plane Creek Provisional School opened on 5 August 1897. In 1907 it became Plane Creek State School. In 1912 it was renamed Sarina State School. On 31 January 1956 a secondary department was added to the school, which operated until January 1964, when Sarina State High School opened.Plane Creek Upper Provisional School opened on 1900 and closed on 1969. On 1 January 1909 it became Plane Creek Upper State School. In 1928 it was renamed Plane Creek West State School. It closed in 1969.Hillside State School opened in 1909 and closed on circa 1926.Middle Creek Provisional School opened in 1915. In 1916 it was renamed Laburnum Grove Provisional School. It closed circa 1941.St Anne's Catholic Primary School was officially opened on 23 May 1925 by the Sisters of Mercy.Mount Chelona State School opened on 4 September 1933 and closed circa 1941.Swayneville State School opened on 26 August 1935.Sarina State High School opened on 28 January 1964. In 2014, the school celebrated its 50th anniversary.At the 2006 census, Sarina had a population of 3,285.In the 2011 census, Sarina had a population of 5,730 people.On 24 October 2014 the former Mount Pelion State School building was moved to Sarina from the Northview State School in Mount Pleasant (where it was relocated in 1987) to be restored as part of the Sarina Art and Craft Centre in Railway Square.In the 2016 census, Sarina had a population of 5,522 people.
Weather
Things to do
A large cane toad statue, called Buffy, is situated in the town centre on the Bruce Highway (21.4226°S 149.2173°E? / -21.4226; 149.2173? (Buffy the Cane Toad)) in honour of Sarina's cane farming history. Buffy was made from fibreglass in the early 1980s for a parade float for the Apex Sugar Festival. The name Buffy comes from the species name bufo marinus. Buffy has been painted for the "state of origin" football game multiple times and has even been stolen. To try and deter further theft, buffy has been chained to the concrete slab on broad street where he resides, though this hasn't stopped people from decorating Buffy with "Queenslander" flags and state of origin banners.
The Sarina Arts & Craft Centre is at 1 Railway Square (21.4263°S 149.2175°E? / -21.4263; 149.2175? (Sarina Arts & Craft Centre)) adjacent to the Mackay Region Visitor Information Centre. It occupies three historic buildings: the old court house built in 1906, the old jail built circa 1906, and the former Mount Pelion State School building built 1926.Sarina Museum is also in Railway Square (21.4267°S 149.2176°E? / -21.4267; 149.2176? (Sarina Museum)) in the former Catholic presbytery relocated to this site in 2001.Also in Railway Square is the Sarina Sugar Shed (21.4275°S 149.2177°E? / -21.4275; 149.2177? (Sarina Sugar Shed)), an information centre about the sugar industry. It shows how sugar is grown and processed using a working miniature sugar mill into an array of products.