Silkwood, Queensland

Silkwood is a town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.[1][2]

Silkwood
Queensland
Silkwood, circa 1930
Silkwood
Coordinates17°44′44″S 146°01′14″E
Postcode(s)4856
Location
  • 30.6 km (19 mi) S of Innsifail
  • 118 km (73 mi) S of Cairns
  • 1,569 km (975 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)Cassowary Coast Region
State electorate(s)Hill
Federal Division(s)Kennedy
Localities around Silkwood:
No 5 Branch Goolboo McCutcheon
Walter Lever Estate Silkwood Kurrimine Beach
No 4 Branch Jaffa Daveson

Geography

Silkwood is situated on the Bruce Highway roughly halfway between Tully and Innisfail.[3]

The locality is flat land about 10 metres above sea level and is predominantly freehold land used for farming, particularly the cultivation of sugarcane. The north-western border of the locality is Liverpool Creek, which flows eastward to the Coral Sea. The town is roughly central in the locality with the Bruce Highway passing from south to north just east of the town, while the North Coast railway line also passes from south to north through the town, which is serviced by the Silkwood railway station.[4][5]

History

The town takes its name from the name of the house of A. J. Daveson, and refers to a local timber.[1]

Silkwood State School opened on 28 August 1916.[6]

Silkwood was the site of significant Italian immigration in the 1940s.[7]

On Sunday 15 December 1940, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cairns, John Heavey, laid the foundation stone for a church to be dedicated to St John the Evangelist.[8] He returned on Sunday 3 August 1941 to perform the blessing and opening of the Gothic-style church.[9]

St John's Catholic School was founded by the parish priest Father Alfred Natali and the Missionary Franciscan Sisters. It opened on 2 February 1948 with students mostly from Italian families who worked in the local sugarcane industry. The Sisters left the school in 1987, being replaced by lay teachers.[6][10]

Education

Silkwood State School is a government co-educational primary (P-6) school. In 2015 the school had an enrolment of 60 students with 7 teachers (4 full-time equivalent) and 6 non-teaching staff (4 full-time equivalent). The students are divided into 3 classes, years P-2, 3-4, and 5-6.[11]

St John's School is operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns and is a co-educational primary (P-6) school.[12] In 2016, the school had 64 students with 8 teachers (7 full-time equivalent) and 8 non-teaching staff (3 full-time equivalent).[13]

The nearest secondary schools are in Innisfail and Tully.[4]

Community groups

The Silkwood branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association meets at 9 Silkwood Jappon Road.[14]

Events

On the first Sunday of May, Silkwood celebrates the annual Feast of the Three Saints: St Alfio, St Filadelfo and St Cerino. In 1939, Silkwood resident Alfia Tornabene (née Patti) had just given birth to a daughter in Innisfail Hospital, becoming seriously ill. Her husband Rosario dreamt of the three saints who reassured him his wife would recover, leading Rosario to vow that he would bring statues of the saints from Sicily to Silkwood if his wife recovered. His wife recovered and in 1947-1948 he organised for an old artisan in Giarre, Sicily, to carve the statues from cherry trees near his family's farm in Sicily as recreations of the statues in the main church of Sant'Alfio. The first celebration of the feast in Silkwood was in 1950. The festival typically consists of a Mass, a procession of the statues through the streets accompanied by bands, feasting, music, dancing and fireworks.[15][16][17]

References
  1. "Silkwood - town (entry 30819)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  2. "Silkwood - locality (entry 45751)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. "Place names search, Geoscience Australia, Place Name Search: Silkwood". Government of Australia. Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  4. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
  5. "Silkwood - railway station (entry 30820)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  6. Queensland Family History Society (2010), Queensland schools past and present (Version 1.01 ed.), Queensland Family History Society, ISBN 978-1-921171-26-0
  7. Paganoni, Anthony (2007). The Pastoral Care of Italians in Australia. Ballarat, Victoria: Connor Court Publishing. p. 60.
  8. "New Catholic Church At Silkwood". Johnstone River Advocate And Innisfail News (9). Queensland, Australia. 18 December 1940. p. 2. Retrieved 7 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "NEW CATHOLIC CHURCH BLESSED AND OPENED AT SILKWOOD". The Evening Advocate (166). Queensland, Australia. 8 August 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Our History". St John's School, Silkwood. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  11. "2015 School Annual Report" (PDF). Silkwood State School. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  12. "St John's School, Silkwood". Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  13. "St John's School, Silkwood". Catholic Education Diocese of Cairns. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  14. "Branch Locations". Queensland Country Women's Association. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  15. "History of the Feast of the Three Saints". Feast of the Three Saints. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  16. "In pictures: The Feast of the Three Saints". ABC Far North Qld. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  17. "Feast of the Three Saints - ABC Far North Qld - Australian Broadcasting Corporation". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 May 2015.

Further reading
  • Girola, Stefano; Giorgi, Piero P (2001). The Three Saints : faith history tradition from Sicily to Queensland /cStefano Girola ; translated by Piero P. Giorgi. Minerva E & S. ISBN 978-0-9586291-2-6.
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