The Severn River marks part of the northern boundary. Kelvin Grove Creek, Washpool Creek, Accommodation Creek and Smiths Creek all flow through Ballandean into the Severn River.[5]
The New England Highway passes through Ballandean from north to south in the north-east of Ballandean in close parallel to the Southern railway line. The Ballandean railway station is in this area and the urban development surrounds the railway station. The station is now closed as there are no passenger services on this line. The rest of the locality is predominantly farmland.[5]
The town was surveyed and officially named in 1872.[4]
Thomas Henry Fletcher built the Britannia Inn in the same year which attracted other businesses to the area.[7][8] Fletcher went on to establish the first commercial orchard on the Granite Belt.[9][10][11]
General store at Ballandean, ca. 1920
Ballandean Post Office opened on 1 January 1873.[12]
Land in Ballandean was open for selection on 17 April 1877; 98 square miles (250 km2) were available.[13]
Ballandean State School opened on 18 January 1909 under head teacher Frances Emily Wallace.[14][15]
Apple Vale State School opened on 19 February 1914. Somme State School opened circa 1917. In 1924 the two schools became half-time schools in conjunction with Somme State School in Somme (meaning the two schools shared a single teacher). Both schools closed in August 1927.[16] Apple Vale State School was on the south-west corner of Sundown Road and Mcmeniman Road (28°48′58″S151°48′27″E / 28.8162°S 151.8074°E / -28.8162; 151.8074 (Apple Vale State School (former))).[17][5]
The man-made Ballandean Pyramid was constructed by Ken Stubberfield as a way to dispose of excess granite on his farm and is an unusual sight in Queensland.[26]
The Balladean railway station is a well-known landmark on the New England Highway due to the big dinosaur in front of it, nicknamed the Fruitisforus (Fruit-is-for-us). The dinosaur was originally constructed for a float in the 1998 Apple and Grape Festival. After the festival, the community placed it in front of the railway station to get passing traffic to stop and buy fruit for a community fundraiser. It proved so popular that it was reinforced with fibregrass and painted and made a permanent roadside feature. It is 6.7 metres (22 ft) long and 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) high.[27]
^"Advertising". Warwick Examiner And Times. Vol. VI, no. 291. Queensland, Australia. 5 October 1872. p. 4. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Stanthorpe". The Queenslander. Vol. VII, no. 349. Queensland, Australia. 12 October 1872. p. 10. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Our Illustrations". The Queenslander. Queensland, Australia. 27 February 1892. p. 394. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"JUBILEE OF STANTHORPE". The Telegraph. No. 15, 346. Queensland, Australia. 2 February 1922. p. 3 (SECOND EDITION). Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^Phoenix History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
Media related to Ballandean, Queensland at Wikimedia Commonsad
