Geham


Geham is a rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Geham had a population of 470 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the north and north-west by Cooby Creek and to the west by the Cooby Creek Reservoir which impounds the creek.
The Great Dividing Range passes through the south-east of the locality from Mount Luke to Cabarlah, but there are no named peaks of the range within the locality. Cooby Mountain is in the west of the locality and rises to above sea level; it is not part of the range.
The New England Highway enters the locality from the north-west and exits to the south.
Despite the names, the Geham National Park is in neighbouring Mount Luke, while the Geham State Forest is in neighbouring Mount Luke and Merritts Creek.
The land use is predominantly agricultural, a mixture of grazing on native vegetation, production forestry, and crop growing.

Climate

The locality is in two climate zones with the humid subtropical climate in the north of the locality and the oceanic climate in the south of the locality. Gehem has the most northerly oceanic climate at altitude in Australia.

History

Highfields Post Office opened on 1 January 1868 and was renamed Geham in 1876.
Highfields No. 2 State School opened on 4 April 1871 without any ceremony. It had an initial enrolment of 47 students with first headmaster John O'Beirne. It was renamed Geham State School in 1876. The school celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2021.
Geham Presbyterian Church was opened on Sunday 8 September 1878. It was built from timber on a site donated by Mrs Black. It was re-erected in 1926.
Holy Trinity Anglican Church opened on Sunday 16 October 1887. It was dedicated on 29 October 1891 by the Very Reverend St Clair Donaldson. Its closure circa 2018 was approved by Bishop Cameron Venables. It was sold in September 2019 for $153,000. It was at 9 Pioneer Road, but the entrance to the church was on Connolly Road through a lychgate. As at August 2023, the church building is still extant.

Demographics

In the, Geham had a population of 489 people.
In the, Geham had a population of 470 people.

Heritage listings

Geham has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
Geham State School is a government primary school for boys and girls at 9625 New England Highway. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 140 students with 11 teachers and 9 non-teaching staff.
There are no secondary schools in Geham. The nearest government secondary schools are Highfields State Secondary College in Highfields to the south-west and Crows Nest State School in Crows Nest to the north-east.

Amenities

Geham Presbyterian Church is at 9621 New England Highway, immediately north of the school.