Silky Oak, Queensland
Silky Oak is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Silky Oak had a population of 178 people.
Geography
The locality is bounded to the south by the Tully River, while its tributary Banyan Creek bounds the locality to the west.The North Coast railway line enters the locality from the south by crossing the Tully River and exits to the north-west. The locality was served by the now-abandoned Hewitt railway station in the north-west of the locality.
The Bruce Highway also enters the locality from the south crossing the river on the Tully River Bridge about east of the railway line crossing, but then runs immediately parallel and east of the railway line through the locality until both exit to the north-west. This route is a 2008 deviation of the highway designed to reduce the flooding risk; it was the largest flood immunity project funded by the Australian Government. The previous Bruce Highway route was further east and is now known as Jack Evans Drive.
Silky Oak Creek is a small township within Silky Oak situated on the Old Bruce Highway.
The land use is predominantly growing sugarcane. There is a network of cane tramways to transport the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mill.
History
In 1900, the Queensland Government passed The Sugar Experiment Stations Act, creating the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations was under the supervision of the Queensland Minister for Agriculture and Stock. In 1968-9, a site was selected in Silky Oak as a suitable site for an experiment station to focus on the needs of the Tully sugar industry.In 1922, Silky Oak Creek was seriously considered as the site for a sugar mill in the Tully area. In its favour, the site had good access to the Tully River, but being higher was safe from floods. It had abundant timber suitable for both construction and firewood. Against the location was that it could be cut off during flooding and that the limited water supply in the local creek would probably not be sufficient for the operation of the mill and the needs of the town that would develop around it, so a pipeline would be needed. However, the decision was made to build the mill further north.
Silky Oak Creek State School opened on 1 November 1940 and closed on 31 December 1974. It was at 254 Jack Evans Drive.
Demographics
In the, Silky Oak had a population of 139 people.In the, Silky Oak had a population of 178 people.