Minerva, Queensland

Minerva is a rural locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Minerva had a population of 55 people.

Geography
The Nogoa River forms the western boundary of the locality. The terrain is mountainous with many named peaks, including:


 * Bimbenang Peak (-24.041°N, 147.9314°W) 466 m
 * Birdcage (-24.0079°N, 148.0735°W)
 * Crystal Hill (-23.9675°N, 148.1346°W) 343 m
 * Funnel Mountain (-23.9569°N, 148.0158°W) 525 m
 * Little St Peter (-23.9651°N, 148.025°W) 510 m
 * Mount Alexander (-23.978°N, 148.024°W) 601 m
 * Mount Cullender (-23.9611°N, 147.984°W) 511 m
 * Mount Ebenezer (-24.0431°N, 147.995°W) 553 m
 * Mount Elizabeth (-23.931°N, 147.9696°W) 507 m
 * Mount Helmet (-23.9228°N, 147.9791°W) 442 m
 * Mount Horatio (-23.9601°N, 147.9397°W) 511 m
 * Mount Minerva (-23.9406°N, 148.1071°W) 311 m
 * Mount Promenade (-23.9159°N, 148.0074°W) 510 m
 * Mount Spencer (-23.9696°N, 147.959°W) 530 m
 * Mount Wallaroo (-23.9854°N, 147.8945°W) 504 m
 * Mount Wandoo (-23.9178°N, 147.786°W) 363 m
 * Mount Wills (-23.9946°N, 147.918°W) 510 m
 * Red Hill (-24.004°N, 148.1087°W) 413 m
 * Spring Hill (-23.8765°N, 147.9902°W) 353 m
 * St Peter (-24.0073°N, 148.0433°W) 494 m
 * Summer Hill (-23.8639°N, 147.9648°W) 357 m
 * Sunrise Hill (-23.8698°N, 148.026°W) 305 m

History
Minerva Provisional School opened on 8 November 1904 with Miss Elsie Hyde the first teacher. By June 1905, there were 31 students enrolled. On 1 January 1909, it became Minerva State School. It closed on 31 December 1928 due to low student numbers and no suitable accommodation for the teacher. In 1933, the school building was rented out and then in 1938 sold by auction for £39 and then relocated to Emerald. It was on a 5 acre site that was formerly part of the Minerva Creek company reserve.

The Springsure branch railway line opened on 15 August 1887, with the locality being served by two railway stations:


 * Wurba Junction railway station (-23.915°N, 148.118°W)
 * Minerva railway station (-23.9242°N, 148.1061°W)

The section beyond Wurba Junction railway station to Springsure railway station was closed on 26 June 2013.

On 17 April 2020, the Queensland Government re-drew the boundaries of localities within the Central Highlands Region by replacing the locality of The Gemfields with three new localities of Rubyvale, Sapphire Central and Anakie Siding (around the towns of Rubyvale, Sapphire, and Anakie respectively). This included adjusting the boundaries of other existing localities in the Region to accommodate these changes; Minerva gained a small area from the north-eastern edge of Lochington, reducing the area of the locality from 935.7 to 934.4 km2. As a consequence of these changes, the boundary between Lochington and Minerva/Gindie more closely follows the course of the Nogoa River.

Demographics
In the, Minerva had a population of 48 people.

In the, Minerva had a population of 55 people.