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AUSTRALIANS were well-behaved as they celebrated the New Year in style.

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A QUEENSLAND man has been charged with murder, rape and indecent treatment of a child after a 10-year-old girl`s body was found at a house north of Brisbane.

The 39-year-old man from Bardon, in west Brisbane, will appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court today.

A police spokeswoman said the discovery was made at an address at Bongaree, on Bribie Island, about 8.30am (AEST) yesterday.

Brisbane`s Courier-Mail has reported that two other children had been left with the body of the girl in the house.

Police spent the day examining the scene, and searching for a 39-year-old man they believed could help with their inquiries.

The charged man was found at Mount Glorious, west of Brisbane yesterday afternoon, in the company of a child who was safe and well, the spokeswoman said.

A police spokeswoman said the relationship between the two could not be confirmed until a formal identification was made of the deceased.

As well as examining the home where the girl`s body was found, police also cordoned off the Bribie Island Uniting Church, directly across the road.

They seized a blue plastic bag containing several items, which was hanging from a nativity scene in the church grounds.

The handle of what appeared to be a hammer was seen protruding from the top of the bag.

“It`s extremely traumatic at any stage of the year for a young child to lose their life.”

SES crews also joined the operation yesterday, scouring parkland behind the church for clues.

It is believed the home involved may have been a holiday property that a family moved into as recently as Saturday.

Neighbours described the area on Bribie Island as quiet and the type of place where some people still did not lock doors.

Naturopath Janine Williams – who lives two doors away from where the girl`s body was found – celebrated New Year on her balcony, oblivious to what had happened.

"I feel quite sick, actually, that a little girl died and we didn`t even know," she said.

"We didn`t hear anything. It`s a very quiet neighborhood. We`re just creeped out by it all. Sleepy little Bribie Island. It`s shocking, the first day of the year. It`s gruesome."

Another neighbour, Michelle King, said she was frightened a child could be killed in her neighbourhood. "I am really scared now because I`m a single mother and walk around here all the time," she said.

One neighbour said he saw a man standing outside the house at 12.45am yesterday. Police said they were not sure when the girl died.

A spokesperson for the Department of Child Safety said the agency was "working closely with police who are investigating this incident to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the (dead) child`s siblings".

It is understood that three children have been taken into care.

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