A BRIEF HISTORY OF HATTON VALE

Hatton Vale, originally known as “Tarampa Woolshed” was settled by German migrants in the 1870s as part of a closer settlement arrangement. The migrants established a Lutheran church in 1881 and an Apostolic church in 1889. The evangelist Heinrich Friedrich Niemeyer established Hatton Vale as the centre of the Apostolic Church of Queensland.

Hatton Vale Provisional School opened in 1881. On 18 October 1886, it became Hatton Vale State School.

Hatton Vale Post Office opened by 1903 (a receiving office had been open from 1881, known as Woolshed Creek until 1889) and closed in 1974.

The locality remained overwhelmingly German in character. A survey in 1902 identified 90% of the farmers in the area had German surnames and this was still the case in 1949.

In 1939 the Apostolic Church of Queensland decided to build a cathedral, but its construction was delayed by World War II and then by a shortage of building materials. The foundation stone was finally laid on 4 September 1948. The Hatton Vale Apostolic Cathedral was dedicated on Saturday 2 December 1950 by the Australian leader of the church, Apostle E. Zielke of Bundaberg. The ceremony was attended by nearly 2,000 people. The church has a 91-foot (28 m) spire, making it a landmark in the district.

Since 1990, Hatton Vale has seen significant residential development and become a dormitory suburb for nearby urban centres.

Hatton Vale Community Uniting Church was established in 1994.

In the 2016 census, Hatton Vale had a population of 1,521 people.