Belgian Gardens, Queensland


Belgian Gardens is an inner coastal suburb in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Geography

Belgian Gardens is located from the central business district in Townsville. It is a suburban area and has restricted zoning laws to reduce the amount of corporate buildings and apartments. It is adjacent to Rowes Bay and many kilometres of beach front parkland.

History

Before the advent of World War I, the suburb was named German Gardens after a vineyard owned in 1867 by German settler, Heinrich Fredrich Alfred Robinson. However, during the course of the war due to anti-German sentiment, the suburb was renamed to Belgian Gardens.
Townsville North State School was opened on 4 July 1887. On 20 June 1930, the school was renamed Belgian Gardens State School. During the influenza epidemic in 1919, schools were closed and Belgian Gardens school was converted into an isolation hospital with the army erecting tents in the grounds; 195 patients were hospitalised at the school with 6 deaths. In 1954, 246 students were enrolled.
In the 2011 census, Belgian Gardens had a population of 1,935 people.

Facilities

Belgian Gardens is home to the Belgian Gardens State School.
The Belgian Gardens Cemetery was once in the suburb but boundary changes means the cemetery is now in the neighbouring suburb of Rowes Bay.

Heritage listings

Belgian Gardens has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: