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325 KM N of Brisbane
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Bundaberg City Council with the Burnett, Kolan and Isis Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Henry Russell was the first European to explore the Bundaberg region in 1842. He was followed five years later by government survey JamesC.Burnett, after whom the river is named. However, he gave an unfavourable account of the agricultural potential of the land and it wasn’t until 1866 when timber cutters John and Gavin Steuart came to the area to settle. This was followed by Thomas Watson, the first farmer in the region. By 1868 a number of industries had been established and Surveyor J C Thompson and his assistant A. D Edwards laid out and named the area Bundaberg after the local aboriginal tribe. Settlement increased after that, with a large intake of migrants from Denmark, Germany and the Polynesian Islands.
Indigenous People – Taribelang - Bunda, Kabi Kabi, Goeng and Korenggoreng people
Industries – sugar production, rum distilling, horticulture (including tomatoes, avocado, citrus fruits, olives), tourism, seafood, livestock, and manufacturing, timber, and wine production.
- Childers – well known for the large number of heritage listed buildings it has, as well as the number of fires which have led to a loss of lives over the last 100 years.
- Gin Gin - The name Gin Gin was taken from the name of the original station which was also, at one time, owned by the former Queensland Premier Sir Thomas McIllwraith. It is also home to what is considered to be Queensland’s only authentic bushranger – the wild Scotchman James McPherson.
- Includes Lady Elliot and Lady Musgrave Islands – coral cays situated on that is the beginning of the Great Barrier Reef.
339 KM N of Brisbane
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Biggenden, Eidsvold, Gayndah, Monto, Mundubbera and Perry Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – The Biggenden area was first settled in 1847 after the former Assistant Government Surveyor James Burnett reported that it was a good area for sheep grazing. Much of the area already had a number of pathways constructed by the local indigenous people which were used by Europeans and widened. However, it wasn’t until the Biggenden area was linked to Maryborough by railway in 1891 that it began to grow. Many of the settlers took up land for sheep and dairy, followed by miners when gold was discovered in the Paradise and Mt Shamrock areas. Gradually, dairy farming was replaced by beef cattle and crops.
Indigenous Tribes – Wakka Wakka, Kangulu, Darielbelum, Korenggoreng, Dundubara, Wulili and Jiman people.
Industries – beef, pig production, dairy, agriculture (peanuts, sorghum, maize, and wheat) fruit production, vineyards and olives, timber, small crops, forestry, and siltstone mining
- Biggenden – this town was originally a coach stopover point for people travelling west from Maryborough – it also serviced the short-lived gold rush towns of Paradise and Mt Shamrock.
- Coalstoun Lakes – preserves a natural formation of twin volcanic cinder cones lined with a dense vine forest and fills with water when it rains.
- Monto – Established in 1924, it was the first town in Queensland to be designed under town planning techniques. The project was considered successful as it led to an improvement in the provision of services to the area. A dairy festival is held in May every year to recognise the importance of the milking industry to the prosperity of the town.
- Mundubbera – means ‘meeting place of the waters’, and boasts that it has the largest citrus orchard in the southern hemisphere with a large mandarin at the entrance of the town.
- Eidsvold - The town was first settled in 1848 by the Scottish Archer brothers (Thomas and Charles) who had migrated with their parents from Norway. They named their cattle station Eidsvold after the Eidsvoll- a small town in Norway where the country’s constitution had been signed in 1825.Eidsvold is well known as the home for R.M Williams who had established Rockybar Station and established a country clothing chain.
- Gayndah - Is the oldest town in Queensland when it was settled in 1848. It was also once in the running for the position of State Capital, alongside Brisbane and Ipswich.
- Mount Perry - Most known for its copper, which was discovered in 1869 by Henry Dingle. A mining town was established at Mount Perry and in the late 1800s it had a population of 3000 people and was bigger than Bundaberg. However, the settlement reduced in 1914 due to some mistakes made by the miners. Timber began the next major industry for the area, followed by a diversification into wine making.
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