The town is named after the Abergowrie property, selected by James Atkinson in 1883. He coined the name from the Celtic word aber (confluence) and gowrie for Gowrie Creek, reflecting the location.
On Sunday 22 October 1933, BishopMcGuire laid the foundation stone for a Catholic agricultural farm school. The site was 690 acres (280 ha) with a frontage to the Herbert River with 12 acres (4.9 ha) of the total to be used for the college buildings. Boys would be able to take a 2-year course that would prepare them to be farmers. In January 1934, Reverend Brother William Benedict Doran was appointed principal of the college; he had trained in agriculture at the Gatton Agricultural College, the Hawkesbury Agricultural College, and the Lismore Agricultural College. The college opened to students on 1 March 1934. St Teresa's Agricultural College was officially opened the Apostolic Delegate, Filippo Bernardini. It was operated by the Christian Brothers. It is now known as St Theresa's College.
In 1946, a Royal Commission was established to investigate soldier settlement schemes for soldiers returning from World War II. Abergowrie was chosen as a site where 300 farms could be established with sugarcane being the likely crop. It was also proposed that a sugar mill be established, but instead a cane tramway was built to transport the harvested sugarcane from Abergowrie to the Victoria sugar mill near Ingham.
Abergowrie Post Office opened on 1 May 1953 and closed in 1974.
Abergowrie State School opened on 23 February 1953.
Demographics
In the 2016 census, the locality of Abergowrie had a population of 438 people.
In the 2021 census, the locality of Abergowrie had a population of 305 people.
Education
Abergowrie State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 5 Venables Road (18°28′29″S145°53′01″E / 18.4746°S 145.8835°E / -18.4746; 145.8835 (Abergowrie State School)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 4 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 8 students with 2 teachers (1 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).
St Teresa's College is a Catholic secondary (7-12) school for boys at 3819 Abergowrie Road (18°28′49″S145°53′58″E / 18.4803°S 145.8995°E / -18.4803; 145.8995 (St Teresa's College)). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 201 students with 36 teachers (34 full-time equivalent) and 31 non-teaching staff (25 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 190 students with 35 teachers (34 full-time equivalent) and 34 non-teaching staff (30 full-time equivalent).
There is no government secondary school in Abergowrie. The nearest government secondary school is Ingham State High School in Ingham to the south-east.
^ "Abergowrie". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
^ "A GOOD MOVE". Cairns Post. No. 9898. Queensland, Australia. 24 October 1933. p. 6. Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PERSONAL". The Courier-mail. No. 130. Queensland, Australia. 26 January 1934. p. 12. Archived from the original on 11 May 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
^"ABERGOWRIE AREA". Cairns Post. No. 13, 761. Queensland, Australia. 10 April 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.