Samsonvale, Queensland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Samsonvale Queensland
Samsonvale Location in Queensland
Population	590 (2016 census)
• Density	17.46/km2 (45.2/sq mi)
Established	1845
Postcode(s)	4520
Area	33.8 km2 (13.1 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
LGA(s)	Moreton Bay Region
State electorate(s)	Pine Rivers
Federal Division(s)	Dickson
Suburbs around Samsonvale: Armstrong Creek Dayboro Rush Creek Kobble Creek Samsonvale Whiteside Mount Glorious Mount Samson Cashmere

Samsonvale is a rural locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Samsonvale had a population of 590 people.

Demographics

In the 2011 census, Samsonvale recorded a population of 555 people, 49.2% female and 50.8% male. The median age of the Samsonvale population was 38 years, 1 year above the national median of 37. 83.8% of people living in Samsonvale were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 6.1%, New Zealand 1.8%, Germany 0.9%, Papua New Guinea 0.9%, South Africa 0.7%. 94.2% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.4% German, 0.7% Arabic, 0.7% Spanish, 0.5% French.

History

View of Mount Samson from Golds Scrub Lane

Samsonvale was occupied by the indigenous people, who named the area Tukuwompa.

Samsonvale began as a pastoral run in 1845 predominately of the Joyner family, after whom a nearby suburb is named.

The history of Samsonvale is, it seems, one of forced resumptions with three quarters of the Joyner's original pastoral run in the 1860s being taken from them.

A little over one hundred years later, the district's farming families were once again be forced from their farms, this time to allow for the construction of the North Pine Dam.

For the first half of the last Century Samsonvale was predominantly a dairy farming community centered on a station on the Dayboro railway line.

The construction of the North Pine Dam and the flooding of Lake Samsonvale in the 1970s caused a series of forced resumptions of family farms. The flooding of the Lake also closed the Presbyterian Church, community hall, and post office.

All that remains today at the site of the old village is a cemetery with much of the former district underwater, along with the original Samsonvale pastoral run and much of the district's best farming land.

The current Samsonvale Rural Fire Brigade facility sits above what was once the center of the Kobble Creek community.

In 2006, during a drought seeing water levels of Lake Samsonvale falling to unprecedented lows, archeological works were considered by the local council to preserve historic artifacts from flooded homesteads dating back to the 19th Century. In 2010 Lake Samsonvale is once again filled to capacity, covering the historical sites and much of the district's best farming land.

The area around the cemetery has a natural beauty and a large biodiversity, with over 250 species of bird recorded.