A SHORT HISTORY OF GRANTHAM

The area was first settled in 1841, by George Mocatta.  He named his pastoral run Grantham, which became the name of the town.

In 1866 a railway siding from the main Toowoomba line was opened which assisted in the development of a small settlement. It wasn’t until the mid-1870s that the Grantham railway station was built.

In August 1895 tenders were called for the erection of a provisional school at Grantham Scrub.  In January 1896 teacher Catherine M. Ludeman was appointed to the Grantham Scrub Provisional School, suggesting it opened around that time.  On 1 January 1909 it became Grantham Scrub State School. It closed circa 1950.

Grantham Provisional School opened on 23 January 1905. On 1 January 1909 it became Grantham State School.

A butter factory was established in 1907. The building was replaced in 1926 by a brick building which operated until 1971.

Grantham Post Office opened on 1 January 1890 (a receiving office had been open from 1876).

On 10 January 2011, Grantham was severely damaged in a huge flash flood. 12 people died and a large number of houses and other buildings were destroyed. Following the floods, Grantham received visits by politicians including Queensland Premier Anna Bligh on numerous occasions. Australia’s Governor-General Quentin Bryce also visited the town.  In May 2011, it was announced that the town would be moved to higher ground to prevent future damaging floods. A 935-acre site was purchased so that landholders could be provided a voluntary swap of equivalent-sized blocks. The new site is situated on a hill overlooking Grantham and has permission from the state government to bypass the normal development approval process.  Residents of nearby Murphys Creek, Postmans Ridge, Withcott and Helidon have been included in the fast-tracked plan. As of March 2022, 110 houses are on the hill but over 50 dwellings remain in the older part of town.

In the 2016 census, the locality of Grantham had a population of 634 people.