Kingaroy
Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways, north-west of the state capital Brisbane and south west of Gympie. In the, the locality of Kingaroy had a population of 10,266 people.
Kingaroy is the seat of the South Burrnett Region. It is known as the "Peanut Capital of Australia" because Australia's largest peanut processing plant is located in the town and its peanut silo dominates the skyline. Kingaroy is also known as the hometown of former Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
Geography
Kingaroy is surrounded by extensive farmlands interspersed with low rolling hills. The Booie Range lies immediately north-east of the town and the Bunya Mountains about to the south-west.The Stuart River flows northwards on the western outskirts of the town. The locality is part of the Burnett River catchment. The productive lands of the catchment feature sedimentary floodplains. The rich fertile soils of the floodplains are the agricultural and resource backbone of the region. While there are benefits of the flooding there are also risks including the loss of vegetation in riparian zones, biosecurity issues and spread of weed species.
The locality sits in the Tarong Coal Basin.
Kingaroy varies in altitude / elevation / height above sea level from about to above sea level.
Edenvale is a neighbourhood within the locality, which takes its name from the Edenvale railway station which was named on 15 March 1911 by the Queensland Railways Department, because the land for the railway station was resumed from "Paradise Farm".
Climate
Kingaroy experiences an elevation-influenced humid subtropical climate, with very warm, relatively wet summers and mild, dry winters with cold nights. Annual precipitation averages, with a summer maximum. Record temperatures have ranged from on 12 February 2017 to on 18 July 1961.The original weather station at Kingaroy's Prince Street had been recording rainfall since 1905 and temperatures since 1947. However, it closed in 2000, in favour of the new, more advanced weather station at the town's airport SW.
Etymology
The origin of the name Kingaroy is usually claimed to be derived from the Wakka Wakka Aboriginal word for 'Red Ant'. The local Kingaroy Rugby League football team is known as "the Red Ants" and a Red Ant features on the old Kingaroy Shire coat of arms. A Wakka Wakka Word List provides the following explanation: "Derived from 'king', a small black ant, and 'dhu'roi', meaning hungry. The name was suggested by a local Aboriginal helper of the surveyor, Hector Munro, who surveyed the original grazing holding of this name, on account of these ants being a pest at the survey camp.". Munro selected Wakka Wakka words describing various species of ants when he surveyed a number of local towns, including Taabinga and Mondure.History
is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Burnett River catchment. The Wakka Wakka language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the North and South Burnett Regional Council, particularly the towns of Cherbourg, Murgon, Kingaroy, Gayndah, Eidsvold and Mundubbera.Rural settlement of the area dates back to 1843 when one of the first selections was made at Burrandowan by squatter and explorer Henry Stuart Russell. Even through Russell was reputedly the first European to realise the potential of the South Burnett, it was Simon Scott of Taromeo and the Haly brothers of Taabinga who brought the first flocks of sheep to the area in the late 1850s.
In 1878, the district where Kingaroy now stands was settled by the Markwell brothers. When the first resumptions were made from the enormous Taabinga holding, the brothers selected two adjoining areas and in 1883 these leases were converted to freehold and became known as the 'Kingaroy Paddock'. The corner of this paddock was located on what is now known as Haly Street, named after the brothers who settled at Taabinga Station about south-west of present-day Kingaroy. A small, prosperous village grew up around Taabinga in the 1890s.
The opening of the 5th stage of Nanango railway line to its terminus at Kingaroy railway station in the newly laid-out town of Kingaroy in 1904 led to a land explosion around Kingaroy and the development of Kingaroy as it now exists. Taabinga quickly declined into a ghost town by the end of World War I and today the original Taabinga Homestead and a few outbuildings are all that remain of it. The area opposite Kingaroy Airport is today known as "Taabinga Village" but is really only a suburb of Kingaroy.
Taabinga Village Provisional School opened on 10 August 1897. On 1 January 1909, it became Taabinga Village State School. On 16 July 1961, Taabinga Village State School was closed and pupils transferred to the new Taabinga State School in Kingaroy.
Malar Provisional School opened in 1901. On 1 January 1909, it became Malar State School. There were a number of temporary closures until the school closed permanently in 1955. The school was "via Kingaroy".
Mount Jones Provisional School opened on 20 January 1902. In 1905, it was renamed Kingaroy Provisional School. On 1 January 1909, it became Kingaroy State School. On 19 February 1918, a secondary department was added, which was discontinued in 1958 when Kingaroy State High School opened.
Logboy Provisional School opened on 22 April 1902. On 1 January 1909, it became Logboy State School. It was at 289 Weens Road. In 1911, it was moved to 215–227 Siefert Street, Crawford, and renamed Crawford State School, opening with 29 students.
The first Kingaroy Post Office opened by 1902 and was renamed Taabinga Village in 1905, when Kingaroy Railway Station office opened. This was renamed Kingaroy in 1907. The Taabinga Village office closed in 1929.
Erin Vale State School opened in 1911. In 1912 it was renamed Stuart Valley State School. It closed in 1961. It was "via Kingaroy".
Kingaroy's first general hospital opened on 19 November 1914. Prior the only hospital located in Kingaroy was St. Aubyn's private hospital, which opened in 1910. Clydebank Hospital became Kingaroy's second private hospital, which later became a hostel for children. Kingaroy's new public hospital was opened 7 October 1839.The foundation stone of the Kingaroy Soldiers' Memorial Rotunda was laid on 25 April 1922 by the RSL president Sergeant Norman Booth. It was dedicated on 29 June 1932 by Mayor-General Sir Thomas William Glasgow.
The Kingaroy Branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association was established 22 August 1922 with Florence Daphne Youngman of Taabinga Homestead as the first president. In 1926 her husband Arthur Youngman donated land at 122 Kingaroy Street and Charlie Gills built the first rooms. On 24 November 1956 a hall was built at the rear of the rooms to allow for catering of weddings and functions.
St Mary's Catholic Primary School opened in January 1929. In 1980 it merged with St Mary's Catholic Secondary School to become South Burnett Catholic College.
The town's wastewater treatment plant was established circa 1940 with the treated water being discharged into the Stuart River. A major upgrade occurred between 2014–2016 resulting greater processing capacity at greater efficiency with treated water now being recycled for use on sporting fields and the golf course.
The Royal Australian Air Force had a significant operational and training presence in the region during the World War II, the first squadrons deploying to the town's airport about mid-1942. At least eight squadrons were based at RAAF Kingaroy then, together with No. 3 Initial Training School. Aircraft operated there by the RAAF included Avro Ansons, CAC Wirraways, DAP Beauforts, DH Mosquitos, Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawks and Bristol Beaufighters. Kingaroy R.A.A.F. Post Office was open from 7 August 1942 until 28 February 1946.
The presence of the US Army in Queensland generally and more particularly in Kingaroy created a need to supply them with very large quantities of navy beans which led to widespread planting of navy beans in the Kingaroy area from 1940 with seed supplied by the US Army. Such was the military importance of navy beans that all war-time production of navy beans was done under contract to the Australian Government and subject to the National Security Act. After the war, the industry struggled with a number of issues including tariffs, marketing, processing and being controlled from Brisbane. With the vast majority of bean growers in Queensland being in the Kingaroy area and following the destruction of the processing factory in Toowoomba, local growers decided to form a co-operative based in Kingaroy to process and market the product locally on a site provided by Kingaroy Shire Council who wanted to encourage the project. Since 1993, the cooperative is known as Bean Growers Australia.
St Mary's Catholic Secondary School opened in 1946. In 1980 it merged with St Mary's Catholic Primary School to become South Burnett Catholic College.
Kingaroy State High School opened on 28 January 1958, replacing the secondary department at Kingaroy State School.
South Burnett Catholic College opened in 1980, as the merger of St Mary's Catholic Primary and Secondary Schools.
Kingaroy Christian College opened on 24 April 1984 and closed on 6 May 1999. The college had buried a time capsule on 24 April 1994. On 16 April 2013, former students dug up the time capsule with the assistance of the owners of the former school site. The time capsule contained a number of small items including a floppy disk.
St John's Lutheran Primary School opened on 23 January 1989 with 26 students and 2 teachers. The school was established by relocating the school buildings from the closed Mannuem Creek State School in Mannuem. In 2014 the school expanded to offer junior secondary schooling.
Kingaroy celebrated its centenary in 2004.
Kingaroy is also noted for being the first region in Australia to be placed on Level 7 , which occurred on 1 October 2007.
In 2017, Kingaroy Magistrates and District Court underwent a $5.3 million refurbishment. The improvements included a full internal and external refurbishment and a new secure interview room for witnesses to give evidence. The courthouse was officially opened on 6 February 2018 by Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath.