Kingaroy

Kingaroy is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia.

Kingaroyis a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 210 kilometres (130 mi) or about 2½ hours drive north-west of the state capital Brisbane. The town is situated on the junction of the D'Aguilar and the Bunya Highways. As at June 2018, Kingaroy had a population of 10,398 with the 2016 census showing a median age of 37.It is known as the "Peanut Capital of Australia" because Australia's largest peanut processing plant is located in the town and peanut silos dominate the skyline. Kingaroy is also well known as the home town of former Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

Wakka Wakka (Waka Waka, Wocca Wocca, Wakawaka) 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 (west of Kingaroy) 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 (now Blackbutt) 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 12 kilometres (7 mi) south-west of present-day Kingaroy.

A small, prosperous village grew up around Taabinga in the 1890s but the arrival of the railway 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.Malar Provisional School opened on 1901. On 1 January 1909 it became Malar State School. There were a number of temporary closures until the school closed permantly 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.The first Kingaroy Post Office opened by 1902 (a receiving office had been open from 1895) 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 on 1911. In 1912 it was renamed Stuart Valley High School. It closed on 1961. It was "via Kingaroy".The foundation stone of the Kingaroy Soldiers' Memorial Rotunda was laid on 25 April 1922 (ANZAC Day) 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 (viz. Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, 15, 75, 92 and 93 Squadrons), 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 create a need to supply them with very large quantities of navy beans (known as baked beans in Australia) 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.The Kingaroy Public Library opened in 1945 and had a major refurbishment in 2011.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.St John's Lutheran Primary School opened on 23 January 1989 with 26 students and 2 teachers. In 2014 the school expanded to offer junior secondary schooling (Years 7 to 9).Kingaroy celebrated its Centenary in 2004.Kingaroy is also noted for being the first region in Australia to be placed on Level 7 Water Restrictions, which occurred on 1 October 2007.

Kingaroy has experienced growth in population peaking in 2013 at 10,588 and then having decreased since at an annual average rate of -0.36% year-on-year for the five years to 2018.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.

Kingaroy has a humid subtropical climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Daily maximum temperatures range from 30 °C (86 °F) in January to 18 °C (64 °F) in July. On 12 February 2017, Kingaroy reached a new record high temperature, recording 41.6 °C (106.8 °F), while the coldest on record was -6.7 °C (19.9 °F) in July 1961. Due to its elevation, the town often records some of the coldest temperatures in Queensland during winter, dropping below freezing an average of 14.3 times per year.The annual average rainfall in Kingaroy is 779.1 mm (30.7 in), with the majority of it falling during the summer months. Frost is common from June to August, whilst sleet occurs occasionally, and light snow fell in July 1959.Winters are generally sunny with occasional periods of rain during the passage of frontal systems, whilst summers feature sunny days with frequent evening thunderstorms. Heavy rain events can occasionally occur at any time of year although are most frequent in late summer and can last from a few hours to as long as a week. On 27 January 2013, 230 mm (9.2 in) of rain fell in a single night due to the remnants of Tropical Cyclone Oswald, causing significant flooding in the town.The original weather station at Kingaroy's Prince Street has been recording rainfall since 1905 and temperatures since 1947. However it closed in 2000 to make way for a new, more advanced weather station at the town's airport.

Kingaroy itself is the largest town in the South Burnett and the region's commercial centre, offering all the services, shopping facilities and many of the industries generally expected in much larger centres. The town has its own hotels, motels, caravan parks, bed and breakfasts and cabins; and a range of restaurants, fast food outlets and petrol stations (including 24-hour petrol stations). Unlike many towns of its size, Kingaroy has its own shopping mall that includes Woolworths, Big W, and other retailers. Kingaroy also has an aerodrome a few kilometres from the centre of town and is regularly served by major bus lines.It has the typical low-humidity climate of all South Burnett townships and is surrounded by extensive (and very picturesque) farmlands interspersed with low rolling hills. The Booie Range, home to several wineries and cellar doors, lies immediately north-east of the town and the Bunya Mountains about 55 kilometres (34 mi) to the south-west. The township is situated in the middle of some spectacular scenery, and is popular for bushwalking.The Central Business District of the township is dominated by the Peanut Company of Australia's peanut silos (a local landmark). The Information, Art, and Heritage Precinct is located directly opposite the peanut silos. The complex includes the Kingaroy Regional Art Gallery, Visitor Information Centre, Heritage Museum, and an interpretative arena which highlights local industries. The Heritage Precinct also includes a number of historic buildings ranging from Carroll's Cottage (the first building constructed in Kingaroy) through to the Carrollee Hotel and the Shire's earliest Council Chambers (built in 1913).Kingaroy is also the new home for the Kingaroy Observatory (formerly Maidenwell Observatory) which was moved to its new site in Geoff Raph Drive, at the airport in early March 2015 and opened for business on 29 June. Kingaroy Observatory is now a major tourist attraction for those wanting to eyeball the Universe up close, in large powerful telescopes, under a canopy of stars not affected by light pollution.