The district was originally called Bundamba Creek but this caused confusion with nearby Bundamba, so the postmistress Mrs Orr proposed the name Blackstone, believed to be a place in Ireland.[2] The area is renowned for its mining history and in 1866 Welshman Lewis Thomas established one of the first mines in the area[3]. Blackstone has a rich Welsh history with Lewis Thomas having populated the community with Welsh miners and their families, who in turn established their own Cambrian choir and church in 1886, a School of Arts in 1891, a Soccer club in 1890, and public school in 1887[3].
Blackstone State School opened on 17 January 1887 and closed on 31 December 2009.[4][5] The school was at 14 Hill Street.[6][7]
At the 2011 census the suburb recorded a population of 1,017.[1]
Heritage listings
Blackstone has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
16 Hill Street: Blackstone State School, Blackstone[9]
Transport
After switching to mining at Dinmore in 1870, Thomas returned to open his first Aberdare Mine in 1876 and prospered thereafter. In 1881 the government granted him permission to build a private railway which developed by 1903 into a loop line connecting the mines from
Bundamba to Redbank:
Blackheath,
Box Flat,
Fairbank
,Aberdare,
Bogside
No 2, Mafeking
Denham,
Swanbank
Bonnie Dundee
Rhondda
WhitwoodSwanbank Extension 20 October 2015and New Chum.[10]
