Esk, Queensland

Esk Queensland
Main street of Esk, the Brisbane Valley Highway
Esk
Coordinates	27°14′0″S 152°25′0″E / 27.23333°S 152.41667°E / -27.23333; 152.41667Coordinates: 27°14′0″S 152°25′0″E / 27.23333°S 152.41667°E / -27.23333; 152.41667
Population	1,755 (2011 census)
Established	1872
Postcode(s)	4312
LGA(s)	Somerset Region
County	Cavendish
Parish	Esk
State electorate(s)	Nanango
Federal Division(s)	Blair
Localities around Esk: Biarra Toogoolawah Mount Beppo Crows Nest Esk Glen Esk Gatton Mount Hallen Fernvale

Esk is a town and locality in the Somerset Region in South East Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Esk had a population of 1,755 people.

Esk is approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Ipswich on the Brisbane Valley Highway. It was named after the River Esk in Scotland and England. It is the administrative centre of the Somerset Region.

The town of Esk is contained in the Queensland electoral district of Nanango.

The land around Esk was first explored by Captain Patrick Logan in 1830. The town was established to service the short-lived copper mines of Eskdale and Cressbrook Creek. Settlers moved into the region during the 1840s.

Mount Esk Post Office opened on 1 February 1874 (a receiving office had been open from 1873) and was renamed Esk by February 1881.

Mount Esk State School was opened on 1 November 1875 and was renamed Esk State School in 1887.

In 1886, the Brisbane Valley railway line reached Esk from Lowood. Several sawmills were built and in 1904 a butter factory opened. The timber industry declined in the 1920s.

In July 1941, a Lutheran church was opened.

Dairying slowed from the 1960s onwards, which has eventually led to the decline of the town's importance as a major rural centre.

The Caboonbah Homestead was destroyed by fire on 10 May 2009.

During the 2010–2011 Queensland floods, the centre of Esk was flooded when Redbank Creek burst its banks for the first time ever.