Widgee

For thousands of years the Widgee area was home to the Kabi Kabi aboriginals of the Wide Bay region, with one tribal group, the Kaiabara, particularly associated with Widgee.

The first European settlers arrived in Widgee in the late 1840s following William Tooth and Company’s successful tender for two runs in the area. Independent selectors began to settle in and around the Widgee district from 1870 onward. The growth in the local population resulted in calls for the establishment of a school, and Widgee Provisional School was opened in 1892 on a site near Station Creek. The opening of the school helped foster a community spirit, with dances and cricket matches organized on a regular basis.

The community continued to grow following the resumption of Widgee Estate by the government, and the throwing open of the land for selection in 1911 and 1912. Times were hard for the initial settlers. Droughts, as ever, and uncertain markets for produce, made it difficult for settlers to become established. Most new settlers opted for dairying, and a regular cream run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays took the local produce to Woolooga railway station for shipment to Brisbane.

Today Widgee has a population of about 700 people and is part of the Gympie Regional Council.

Local links:
http://www.widgee.info/index.htm

If you would like to contribute to a fair and sustainable future for Widgee please contact us directly