Gumlu, Queensland


Gumlu is a town and coastal locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia.

Geography

Gumlu is located in between Home Hill and Bowen. It is away from Home Hill and away from Bowen.
The town of Gumlu is located near the eastern boundary of the suburb. The Bruce Highway and the North Coast railway line traverse the locality from east to west passing through the town. The Gumlu railway station serves the town.
The north-eastern boundary of the locality is the Coral Sea. Molongle Creek is the eastern boundary and Wangaratta Creek the western boundary. The north-eastern half of the locality is most flat land at sea level with the south-western half rising gradually with unnamed peaks of about 300 metres.

History

The town takes its name from the Gumlu railway station which was assigned by the Queensland Railways Department on 15 January 1912, and is believed to be a corruption of an Aboriginal word gunyaloo, meaning rock wallaby.
Molongle Creek Provisional School opened on 13 October 1913 and became Molongle Creek State School on 1 December 1914. In 1920 it was renamed Gumlu State School.
Houses have boomed in Gumlu lately by about 100% in a year, because of a coal mine opening up.

Amenities

Gumlu State School is a co-educational government primary school in De Salis Street. In 2016, the school had an enrolment of 14 students with 2 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff.
Gumlu does not have a big population, but does have a service station.

Economy

Gumlu is a major region for growing of winter vegetables from April/May through to November with mangoes being harvested in the summer months. To celebrate their horticultural focus, a "Big Pumpkin" and a "Big Watermelon" have been constructed in a public rest area beside the Bruce Highway in the town.