Kilkivan

History

Kilkivan was first inhabited by the Wakka Wakka tribe of the Australian Aboriginal peoples. The town was first settled by Europeans in the 1840s. Queensland’s first gold discovery was at Kilkivan in 1852 and subsequent findings escalated into a gold rush in the 1860s. The town was named for a pastoral run owned by pastoralist John Daniel MacTaggart (1823–1871) after his father's farm name near Drumlemble, Kintyre, Scotland. The nearby Australian 'Glenbarr' property owned by MacTaggart was also named for a nearby Scottish farm. Kilkivan Post Office opened on 8 June 1868. It was known as Neureum between 1876 and 1881. Kilkivan State School opened in March 1876. In 1883, a court house, police quarters and lock-up was built at a total cost of £748 10s. It was a wooden building with an iron roof and consisted of the court house, two bedrooms, sitting room, kitchen, verandahs, and two cells. The Nanango railway line opened in December 1886 as far as Kilkivan. The locality was served by three railway stations: * Bular railway station () * Mouingba railway station () The line was officially closed in early 2010. In 1887, two parcels of land were resumed from the Kilkivan pastoral run: one of (described as "Murray's debatable land") and the other . The land was offered for selection for the establishment of small farms on 17 April 1887. St Matthew's Anglican Church was dedicated in 1888 by Reverend E. C. Osbourne of Gympie. Its closure circa 2013 was approved by Bishop Rob Nolan. Fairfield State School opened circa 1915. In 1916 it was renamed Rossmore State School. It was closed circa 1943. The Kilkivan Library opened in 1967. The Kilkivan War Memorial commemorates those of the district who served in the wars. It was dedicated on 28 March 1996. On 16 August…

Geography

The town is situated on the Wide Bay Highway, north of the state capital, Brisbane and west of Gympie. One Mile Creek () meanders through the town, east of the Wide Bay Highway. The town lies in the Mary River drainage basin. Rossmore is a neighbourhood within the locality to the south-west of the town of Kilkivan ().

Most-observed species

• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  177
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  138
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  134
• Rainbow Lorikeet

  Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus, 1771) · Aves
  116
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  107
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  92
• Black-faced Cuckooshrike

  Coracina novaehollandiae (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  87
• Pied Currawong

  Strepera graculina (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  84

Most recent

• M 4.9 — 2025-08-15
  12 km ESE of Cherbourg, Australia
• M 3.9 — 2007-08-25
  40 km W of Kingaroy, Australia
• M 3.6 — 2005-03-07
  36 km WNW of Kingaroy, Australia
• M 3.7 — 2004-02-21
  47 km WNW of Kingaroy, Australia