Abergowrie

Abergowrie is a rural town in the Herbert River Valley, 35 km north-west of Ingham. It was named after a farm selection taken up in 1883 by James Atkinson, where the Gowrie Creek joins the Herbert River. 'Aber' (Gaelic) signifies the confluence of the two watercourses.

Abergowrie was on a track between Cardwell and the Valley of Lagoons, and the Herbert grazing station (1865) was west of Abergowrie. In the early 1930s land was cleared for cane farms, and in 1933 the Catholic St Teresa's agricultural college was opened at Abergowrie. After World War II, in 1952-53, there were 42 soldier-settler farm blocks surveyed for occupation, and the town was enlarged. New streets, named Tobruk, Tarakan etc signified the importance of war experiences. A state primary school was opened in 1953.

The agricultural college is a day and boarding school for boys, years 8 to 12, and had an enrolment of 230 in 2008. It is in the local St Teresa's parish. The State primary school had an enrolment of 26.

Sugar cane is transported down the Herbert River Valley for processing at the Victoria mill, east of Ingham. The Valley is enclosed by the 150,000 ha Girringun (formerly Lumholtz) National Park (1991), which includes the Abergowrie state forest. The national park also contains the Herbert River Falls gorge, the very tall Wallaman Falls and the world-heritage-listed Yamanie Falls.

Abergowrie was in the eye of category five Cyclone Yasi in 2011 and sustained extensive damage to housing and sugar cane crops.

Abergowrie's census populations have been:

*The population in 2006 included 155 Indigenous persons, nearly two-thirds of the populations being male, which reflects the number of boarders at the college.