Howard

Howard is a rural town and locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia.

Howard is a rural town and locality in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Howard had a population of 1,359 people. It is located 284 kilometres (176 mi) north of Brisbane and 37 kilometres (23 mi) west of Hervey Bay.

The town was originally known as Steley (after Abel Steley) but was renamed after William Howard, a pioneer in coal mining in the Burrum area.Abel Steley commenced coal mining in the area in 1856. After a series of setbacks, he eventually established the successful Beauford Colliery and the Queensland Collieries Company.In 1877 George Howard and his son William established the Howard Colliery.The first Burrum Post Office opened on 22 July 1878 and was renamed Howard in 1883.Burrum Provisional School opened on 18 February 1879. On 3 October 1884, it was renamed Howard State School.St Matthew's Anglican Church was opened on 3 October 1883 by Bishop Matthew Hale. It was built on 1 acre (0.40 ha) of land donated by the Queensland Land and Coal Company. It was made of hardwood and was 40 by 23 feet (12.2 by 7.0 m) with walls 15 feet (4.6 m) high, capable of holding 200 people. A new church was dedicated on 29 October 1913 by Archbishop St Clair Donaldson and the old church became the church hall. During World War II the hall was used as a field hospital. Its closure circa 2017 was approved by Bishop Jeremy Greaves. The church and hall are at 11 William Street on the south-west corner with Diamantina Drive (25.3136°S 152.5659°E? / -25.3136; 152.5659? (St Matthew's Anglican Church)).On Sunday 30 March 1884 a Primitive Methodist Church was opened in Howard. With the amalgamation of the various Methodist denominations c 1900, it became the Howard Methodist Church and with the amalgamation of the Methodist Church into the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, it became the Howard Uniting Church.Howard was the seat of the Howard Division (1900-1903) and its successor Shire of Howard (1903-1917).

The Howard War Memorial was unveiled by Colin Rankin on 17 December 1921. Unusually for an Australian war memorial, the statue was made in Italy and depicts a soldier in Italian uniform.In May 1984, the Bruce Highway bypass was opened. Previously the highway had run through the town on Robertson Street. Neighbouring Torbanlea was also bypassed as part of same project.The Howard Library opened in 2000 and underwent a major refurbishment in 2014.In the 2011 census, Howard had a population of 1,364.In the 2016 census, Howard had a population of 1,359 people.The historic wooden foot bridge over the railway line in Steley Street near the C.W.A Hall was demolished in 2016 as it became too expensive to maintain. It was a popular spot for photographing trains traveling north or south.