Atherton, Queensland

Atherton Queensland
The main street of Atherton
Atherton
Coordinates	17°15′45″S 145°28′37″E / 17.26250°S 145.47694°E / -17.26250; 145.47694Coordinates: 17°15′45″S 145°28′37″E / 17.26250°S 145.47694°E / -17.26250; 145.47694
Population	7,287 (2011 census)
Postcode(s)	4883
Elevation	752 m (2,467 ft)
LGA(s)	Tablelands Regional Council
State electorate(s)	Dalrymple
Federal Division(s)	Kennedy
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 25.6 °C 78 °F 15.3 °C 60 °F 1,387 mm 54.6 in
Localities around Atherton: Watsonville Tolga Kairi Watsonville Atherton East Barron Carrington Wongabel East Barron

Atherton is a town and locality on the Atherton Tablelands within the Tablelands Region, Far North Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Atherton had a population of 7,287.

The town was named after John Atherton, a pioneer pastoralist who settled at Mareeba (then known as Emerald End) in 1875. The area was formerly known as Priors Pocket or Priors Creek.

Atherton Post Office opened by 1903 (a receiving office had been open since 1889).

The Atherton War Memorial commemorates local residents who died in World War I. It was dedicated on 1 May 1924 by the Tinaroo Shire chairman, Frederick Grau. It is the only war memorial in Queensland of a digger in an animated pose.

The Atherton Courthouse was used as a wartime hospital for officers during World War II and has air raid bunkers beneath the building.

Atherton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

Atherton has a humid subtropical climate that differs from the surrounding tropical savannah climate due to the town's elevation high on the Atherton Plateau. Temperature extremes have ranged from 36.7 °C (98.1 °F) to –0.6 °C (30.9 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,379.8 mm (54.3 in)

Atherton is joined by the Gillies Highway to Yungaburra, the Kennedy Highway north to Mareeba and south to Ravenshoe and Mount Garnet, the Malanda Road to Malanda and the Herberton Road to Herberton.