Proston

History

The town's name is taken from a pastoral run name, which in turn was a corruption of an Aboriginal word (possibly from the Waka language) meaning kurrajong tree. The surrounding rural area was settled in 1910 with a land ballot that attracted a group of settlers from England. With little access to water, early settlers struggled to maintain a living from the land. The coming of the railway in 1923 eased some of the early hardships and was the impetus for the establishment of the township. Prior to this time, Hivesville was the main service centre for the district. The construction of the South Burnett Dairy Co-operative Butter Factory in 1934 led to even more growth. Some of the original settlers in the district included John and Percy Slinger, George Perkins, W. Perkins, C. Perkins, H. Perkins, R. Potter, E. Hird, A. Taylor, George Hatchett, W.T.B. Hatchett, Reuben (John) Bull, E. Dowell, H. Olsen, S. Porter, A. Chesterton, A. Harper, C. Harper, M. Comerford, J. Walton, M. McGovern, R. Glanville, E. Cridland, H. Nairne, W. Waters, E. Murgatroyd, S. Sunderland, A. Ley, J. Kinnear, D. Morey, W. Welch, E. York, C. Rees, R. Bracken, J. Donkersley, J. Wardill, J. Grace, H. Holdsworth, H. Crick. P. Henry, T. Marriott, S. Shaw, and Harry Flynn. These first settlers, took up uncleared selections of virgin bush, with most between 300 and 350 acres in size. The price was seventeen shillings and sixpence an acre, payable to the Queensland Lands Department over thirty-three years in annual installments, at an interest rate of three percent. Initially the bush and scrub was cleared and then corn and Rhodes grass planted. Income was generated through dairying, with the cream being sent by rail to Maryborough in the earliest years and later to Murgon. Excess milk was fed to…

Geography

The town is located north-west of the state capital, Brisbane northwest of the South Burnett regions commercial centre, Kingaroy and south of Lake Boondooma. It is the closest supporting township to Lake Boondooma and has a variety of shops including post office, grocery store (SPAR), pub (Golden Spurs), chemist, medical centre, hardware, cafe, and clothing store. The area around Proston is hilly, grassland, grazing country, most of it cleared from the original brigalow scrub that once covered the immediate vicinity.

Most-observed species

• koala

  Phascolarctos cinereus (Goldfuss, 1817) · Mammalia
  276
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  37
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  34
• Noisy Miner

  Manorina melanocephala (Latham, 1801) · Aves
  29
• Willie-wagtail

  Rhipidura leucophrys (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  27
• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  26
• Apostlebird

  Struthidea cinerea Gould, 1837 · Aves
  25
• Striated Pardalote

  Pardalotus striatus (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  23

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