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The Leap is a coastal rural locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2016 census The Leap had a population of 642 people.[1]

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The Leap Queensland
The Leap
Coordinates	21.0638°S 149.0227°E / -21.0638; 149.0227 (The Leap (centre of locality))
Population	642 (2016 census)[1]
• Density	11.588/km2 (30.01/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4740
Area	55.4 km2 (21.4 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	20.7 km (13 mi) WNW of Mackay 402 km (250 mi) NNW of Rockhampton 1,037 km (644 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Mackay Region
State electorate(s)	Whitsunday
Federal division(s)	Dawson
Suburbs around The Leap: Mount Jukes Coral Sea Habana Kuttabul The Leap Habana Hampden Balnagowan Farleigh

Geography

The locality is bounded to the north-west by Constant Creek and to the north by its mouth (21.0000°S 149.0167°E / -21.0000; 149.0167 (Constant Creek (mouth))) into the Coral Sea.[3] Sand Bay is offshore (20.95000°S 149.0536°E / -20.95000; 149.0536 (Sand Bay)).[4][5][6]

The Bruce Highway enters the locality from the south-east (Farleigh) and exits to the south-west (Hampden). The North Coast railway line follows a similar route to the north of the highway but there are no railway stations on that line serving the locality.[6] There is a network of cane tramways in the locality to transport the harvested sugarcane to the sugar mill for processing.[7]

The locality has a number of named peaks, including:

• Sugarloaf Peak (21.1034°S 149.0310°E / -21.1034; 149.0310 (Sugarloaf Peak)) 254 metres (833 ft)[8]
• The Leap (Mount Mandurana) (21.0682°S 149.0251°E / -21.0682; 149.0251 (The Leap (Mount Mandurana))) 306 metres (1,004 ft)[8][9]
• The Sister (21.0617°S 149.0420°E / -21.0617; 149.0420 (The Sister)) 182 metres (597 ft)[8][10]

History

The area takes its location name from an historical event on top of a local mountain, Mount Mandarana in 1865. Following an incident at the Cremorne Gardens homestead just north of the Pioneer River Mackay settlement, where John Barnes had been speared and a few days later attacked James Weir at the same property. Under direction of Sub-Inspector Robert Arthur Johnstone, Native Police were dispatched from Fort Cooper to track the hunting party to Mount Mandarana. Here an Aboriginal woman with a baby wrapped in the stolen shawl jumped to her death to evade capture. Following incident, the location became known as "The Gin Leap". [2]

The Aboriginal woman's child survived by the shawl for which she was wrapped in caught in the cliff face shrubbery. Pioneering settlers James Ready and Mr Allen, who had accompanied the Native Police, climbed down to save the child. James Ready later adopted the baby and was baptised Johanna 'Judy' Hazeldene (surnamed chosen after another local location) on 22 July 1867. Judy married an English man named George Howes in 1887, by whom she had a boy Bill and two daughters Esme and May. Johanna Hazeldene died on 25 December 1897 and is buried in Mackay Cemetery. [11]

An estimate of approximately 200 Aboriginal men, women and children are believed to have resided in the Mandarana area at the beginning of the white settlement advancing on the area with pastoral leases north of the Pioneer River.[12] my-all }}</ref>

The North Coast railway line reached The Leap in 1924^{[citation needed]} with the area being served by the following now-abandoned stations (from south to north):

• Wundaru railway station (21.0869°S 149.0597°E / -21.0869; 149.0597 (Wundaru railway station))[7]
• Mapalo railway station (21.0823°S 149.0426°E / -21.0823; 149.0426 (Mapalo railway station))[7]

• The Leap railway station (21.0774°S 149.0247°E / -21.0774; 149.0247 (The Leap railway station))[7]
• Yakapari railway station (21.0690°S 149.0029°E / -21.0690; 149.0029 (Yakapari railway station))[7]

In the 2011 census, The Leap had a population of 673 people.[13]

In the 2016 census The Leap had a population of 642 people.[1]

The Leap Provisional School opened on 13 March 1893. On 1 January 1909 it became The Leap State School. In 1919 Arthur Edward Hunter (of The Leap Hotel) donated 1.1786 hectares (2.912 acres) of land for the school.[14] The school closed on 8 August 1969.[15] As the land had been donated for school purposes, the usual practice was that the land was returned to the donor or their heirs. Two people made claims to be Hunter's relatives, the Queensland Government did not find the claims to be proven and decided in 1988 to sell the land and kept the proceeds.[14] The school was at 2105 Maraju Yakapari Road (21.0700°S 149.00847°E / -21.0700; 149.00847 (The Leap State School (former))).[16][17][6]

Heritage listings

The Leap has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

• Bruce Highway (21.0854°S 149.0335°E / -21.0854; 149.0335 (The Leap cane lift)): The Leap Cane Lift[18]

Attractions

A sculpture representing Koweha, holding a shawl, was erected outside a local hotel in the area, circa 1980s.

References

Further reading

• Tareha, Nicola Jane; Foundation for Australian Literary Studies (1986), The legend of The Leap, Foundation for Australian Literary Studies, ISBN 978-0-86443-204-9
• Pym, Rob (1987), Hampden State School 1887-1987, Centenary 1987 : incorporating the Leap State School, 1893-1969, Hampden Parents and Citizens Association

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