South Burnett Tourism > Towns > Kingaroy

Kingaroy Accommodation · Dining Out In Kingaroy · Kingaroy's Attractions · Clubs & Venues · All Kingaroy Listings

Where is Kingaroy? Kingaroy is located at the junction of the D'Aguilar and Bunya Highways approximately 209 kilometres north-west of Brisbane. It's a terminus of the D'Aguilar Highway and can be reached by following: the D'Aguilar Highway from Caboolture the Brisbane Valley Highway through Esk the New England Highway via Yarraman the Bunya Highway via Dalby or the Burnett Highway via Gympie Kingaroy also has a commercial aerodrome a few kilometres from the centre of town and is regularly served by major bus lines.   How big is Kingaroy? Kingaroy Shire has a population of 12,500 residents and takes in an area of 2,422 square kilometres. 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; supermarkets and convenience stores; and a range of restaurants, fast food outlets and petrol stations (including a 24-hour petrol station). The township has a population of around 8,000 people. Kumbia - located about 25km east of Kingaroy in the foothills of the Bunya Mountains - has its own hotel, caravan parking area, golf club, convenience store and petrol station as well as several B&B's and farmstays in the immediate vicinity. Kumbia is one of the two principal gateways to the Bunya Mountains (the other being Maidenwell in adjoining Nanango Shire) and has a population of around 600 residents. Wooroolin - the other major town in the Shire, located 15km north of Kingaroy on the Bunya Highway- has its own hotel, convenience store and petrol outlet and a population of around 150 residents.   What is Kingaroy like? Kingaroy derives its name from a Wakka Wakka aboriginal word for 'Red Ant' (Kingaroori) because of a unique species of ants found in the area which have adapted to the natural colour of Kingaroy's distinctive rich red soils. Kingaroy has the most cosmopolitan feel of any South Burnett township but it's still a relaxed, friendly and informal country town at heart. It has the typical low-humidity semi-alpine climate of all South Burnett townships and is surrounded by extensive (and very picturesque) farmlands interspersed with low rolling hills. The Booie Range lies immediately north-east of the town and the Bunya Mountains about 55km to the south-west. The CBD area of the township is dominated by the Peanut Company of Australia's twin peanut silos (a local landmark). The Kingaroy Visitor Information Centre and Kingaroy Heritage Museum are both located directly opposite the peanut silos in the town's Heritage Precinct, which is made up of a collection 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. Traditionally, Kingaroy has always been the centre of Australia's peanut and navy bean industries. But since the early 1990s it's also developed into one of the twin hubs of the South Burnett's rapidly-expanding wine industry (the other hub is at Murgon, Redgate and Moffatdale, 55km to the north). Several wineries are located either in or very close to the town, along with the Booie Range Distillery which opened in 2001 - only the third distillery in Queensland. Kingaroy has a vibrant sporting, cultural and social life and is home to an art gallery and several local craft outlets as well as a range of well-maintained and attractive parklands. The town has two lookouts (at nearby Mt Wooroolin and Apex Park in Fisher Street) which provide striking panoramic views across the area. Kingaroy also has its own golf club, bowling club and RSL and regularly hosts live entertainment at these; at the Kingaroy Town Hall; and at several CBD hotels. A half-dozen wineries are located either in town of very close to it. Major annual events include the Wine and Food In The Park Festival (held each March); the Kingaroy Show (held each May); the Burrandowan Picnic Races (held at Burrandowan on the outskirts of the Shire, also each May); the Kingaroy Peanut Festival (held each September); the two-day Taabinga Spring Music Festival (each October); and the Christmas Carnival (each December)   When was Kingaroy established? 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 12km east 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. Kingaroy celebrates its Centenary in 2004.   Useful Kingaroy information links Kingaroy Accommodation Eating Out In Kingaroy Kingaroy's Attractions Clubs & Venues in Kingaroy Kingaroy Shire Council Wine & Food In The Park Festival Kingaroy Peanut Festival Above: Kingaroy hosts several major festivals each year, including the hugely popular Wine & Food In The Park Festival held each March (photo courtesy of Clive Lowe)   Above: Kingaroy is surrounded by picturesque red soil farmlands interspersed with low rolling hills. The town expanded into vineyards and winemaking in the 1990s (photo courtesy of Clive Lowe)   Above: Wonderful farmstays and B&B's can be found in and around Kingaroy. They draw visitors looking for a genuine Australian experience from all over the world (photo courtesy of Passchendaele Farm)

Kingaroy Accommodation · Dining Out In Kingaroy · Kingaroy's Attractions · Clubs & Venues · All Kingaroy Listings

Blackbutt-Benarkin · Yarraman · Nanango · Bunya Mountains · Kingaroy · Wondai · Proston & Lake Boondooma Murgon & The Bjelke-Petersen Dam · Cherbourg · Goomeri · Kilkivan

You can also find out more about the South Burnett through South Burnett Online and South Burnett Cuisine

Get more information from any of our South Burnett Visitor Information Centres:

NANANGO (07) 4171-0100  ·  KINGAROY (07) 4162-6272  ·  WONDAI (07) 4168-5652  ·  MURGON (07) 4168-3864

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