The most impressive and interesting sites include:. Anzac Memorial Park This charming and cool park was the first officially gazetted in the town. It has memorial gates built from clay in for those who fought and died in World War I and a pleasant space which is ideal for picnics. Masonic Temple This impressive brick building was built around and dominates the streetscape with its high ceiings and its impressive columns.
National Bank The impressive and rather ostentatious National Bank was opened in It is characterised by its large Doric columns which are out of proportion to the rest of the building. It is no longer a bank. Delta Cinemas The Delta Cinemas, reputedly the first country picture theatre in Queensland, was opened in It closed in but was redeveloped and reopened in It is owned by international golfing champion Karrie Webb who is a local.
Her parents run it. Clock Tower Queen Street is dominated by a clock tower which was unveiled in in honour of John Drysdale, an important local citizen who helped to provide the town and surrounding area with a reliable fresh water supply it was vital for sugar cane production and was a pioneer of the local sugar industry. The sculpture pays tribute to native flora and fauna, while recognising the importance of water to the Burdekin community. Look carefully and you will note that the red brick building has an arched entrance marked with a decorative parapet.
Ayr Cemetery and its Mausoleums Located off the Bruce Highway to the north of Ayr, the Ayr Cemetery is interesting because of the impressive collection of mausoleums where families mostly Italian and dating from the time when Italians arrived in the area as sugar cane cutters have been buried in building that are substantial and impressive. Plantation Park Located at the southern end of town, Plantation Park is the pleasant place to stop for a picnic or break from the long drive north.
It is the totem of the local Jura people. Home Hill Located on the southern side of the Burdekin River, 12 km from Ayr, is the small town of Home Hill which is notable for its large and rather gracious "Comfort Stop" which was opened in and is designed to persuade travellers to take a short stop in the town. The building has toilets, hot showers, barbecue facilities and a parent's room.
The small town is really little more than some interesting historic buildings along the Bruce Highway. Of particular interest are the:. Among these was the Airdmillan plantation, which in established the first of several crushing mills in the area. A camping reserve had been laid out next to Plantation Creek one of many creeks in the delta in , and the rush of land selections for sugar persuaded the Bowen land commissioner to sell off town lots at the reserve named Ayr, in It was a timely decision, with the opening of the Airdmillan mill and the discovery of bore water for irrigation.
A court house and police station were established, and in the Kalamia mill, 7 km north of Ayr, and the Pioneer mill, about the same distance east, were opened. In , John Drysdale arrived at the Pioneer mill. Drysdale's brothers had extensive Burdekin sugar interests, but John brought engineering expertise. He adapted the recently developed Naughton tube or 'Abyssinian spear' to tap underground water reservoirs, drawing a continuous supply while keeping the tube unblocked by gravel or fine sand.
In a State school opened and in the Ayr local government division was formed, extending from Baratta Creek in the north to near Wangaratta Creek. Bowen's demands for an inland rail route initially locked Ayr out of a rail connection, but a private railway called a tramway because it was authorised by the Tramways Act was jointly financed by Ayr, Thuringowa and Townsville divisional boards and opened in During the s Church of England and Catholic churches opened their doors, the Ayr Chronicle began publication and the first of several entertainment venues, the Federal Hall, opened.
The Lower Burdekin Pastoral, Agricultural and Industrial Association held its first show at the Ayr showground in , coinciding with the establishment of a small dairy factory. In Ayr was described in the Australian handbook :. In the year the Australian handbook was published, most of Ayr's buildings had lost their roofs or been blown down when Cyclone Leonta struck on 9 March Unlike most new towns with a population over , Ayr had to wait some time for a school of arts.
The Federal Hall served instead, and in the Delta Hotel's proprietor opened the Delta Theatre, considered then to be the district's finest venue. Four years later the Delta's electricity generator was upgraded to supply the whole town, maintaining this role until the late s. The Delta Theatre was also upgraded in for talkies. Ayr was finally connected by railway to Bowen in , and the private line to Townsville was taken over by the Government in the same year. Rail travellers crossed the Burdekin River on the journey from Bowen by the low-level Inkerman Bridge, a hazardous undertaking when the Burdekin was in flood.
Every ten years or so the bridge needed major repairs. The sugar industry expanded in the s and s, and civic improvements followed; the town's heritage-listed council headquarters were constructed in Here are some examples:. Not the 'Ayr' you were after? Try the other Ayr the regional area in Queensland. Create a custom map : Click here to create a custom map including ' Ayr '.
Set Ayr as my home location. Map of Ayr in Queensland showing Townsville highlighted in purple. Click on the name of a place to go to the Bonzle page for that place. For other clicks on the map, select what click action you want below, then click on the map where you want that action performed. Sign In Not a member? Join now! Click here to search picture captions and descriptions.
Position within Australia. Your location. Places last visited.
0コメント