Woodford, Queensland

Woodford is a small town in Queensland, Australia, on the D'Aguilar Highway 72 km north-west of Brisbane and 24 km west of Caboolture. Its local government area is the Moreton Bay Region. The town is noted for its folk festival that takes place over the New Year holidays. The Woodford Correctional Centre is on the outskirts of town.HistoryIn 1841 the Archer brothers established Durundur station along the Stanley River, near where Woodford now stands. After the lease of Durundur expired in October 1878, some land was thrown open for selection. Mr W. Yates was the first to take possession of his selected portion of the country and he built a hotel near a ford across the river. The hotel, and the town which developed around it, became known, unofficially, as Yatesville.The town was positioned on a hill closer to the Stanley River than the present day town. When the introduction of a regular mail service required the town to have an official name a meeting was called and 'McConnel' was decided on in honour of the senior partner of Durundur Station ‑ but the Postmaster General would not accept that name. Therefore, another meeting was called and those present called it ‘Woodford' in honour of the junior partner, Mr H.C. Wood, and in recognition of the importance to the community of the ford across the river.Timber cutting was the town's first primary industry, followed by dairying. A co-operative dairy factory opened in the town in 1904. Most of the timber sourced from the area is sent to a saw mill in Caboolture.