Nanango (including Blackbutt, Yarraman and Maidenwell)
Sleepy country town servicing the surrounding agricultural district.
Located 345 m above sea-level and 210 km north-west of Brisbane via the Bruce and D'Aguilar Highways, Nanango is a sleepy little country town which is a typical service and administrative centre for the surrounding shire.
The area around Nanango was settled within months of the opening of Queensland to free settlement in 1842. Almost immediately land was taken up and the three famous properties of the region - Taromeo, Nanango and Tarong - were established. Each was huge. Taromeo, for example, was 200 square miles of land which was taken up by Simon Scott who used it to raise sheep. In 1850 he built a red cedar dwelling, later adding a stone store, stables and blacksmith's shop. Today it is still possible to visit the store which has been turned into a museum and the nearby private cemetery which is enclosed by stone walls. Unfortunately the original homestead is no longer standing. Taromeo is listed by the National Trust as one of the oldest properties in Queensland. Contact (07) 4163 0431 for details. It is located off the D'Aguilar Highway between Moore and Blackbutt.
After Scott came John James Malcolm Borthwick and William Elliott Oliver who moved north of Taromeo and established the properties of Nanango (Oliver) and Tarong (Borthwick). Covering 260 sq. miles, Tarong was even larger than Taromeo. At its early peak it was stocked with 30 000 sheep and the products - wool, tallow, hides - were taken by bullock dray to Ipswich for sale.
Of all of the properties Nanango, at 195 sq.miles, was the smallest. It covered the area which now surrounds the present townsite.
The township started as early as 1848 when Jacob Goode established a traveller's rest house at 'Nooganida' on the banks of Barker's Creek on the Nanango run. By 1851 he had a licence to sell alcohol. Thus it was that Nanango, described as Queensland's fourth-oldest town, came into existence around Goode's Inn. It grew slowly as a stopping point for people passing through the area and as a recreation point for the shepherds and rural labourers who worked on the large holdings.
A brief flurry of interest in the area occurred in the 1860s when gold prospectors, brought to the area by the wealth of Gympie, found small deposits in the streams and gullies around the town. At one time the area's population included 700 miners, many of whom were Chinese. In the 1880s there was some reef mining but the goldfields were short-lived.
The major change in the area came in the first years of this century when a lot of the land held by the early pastoralists was resumed and subdivided for more intensive agriculture.
Today the town is a typical rural centre in rich poll hereford country. The local industries include beef and pork production, dairying and milk processing, timber, small crops, grapes and olives.
Things to see:
Buildings
None of the really early town buildings are left. The single greatest problem was that in 1940 all shops on the southern side of Drayton Street from Fitzroy to Henry Street were destroyed by fire. The solitary survivor, and one of the town's most interesting historic structures, is 'Nobby's Corner'. Located on the corner of Drayton and Henry Streets it was originally built in 1914. It is still a wonderful example of a solid, old-fashioned, country-town corner store.
The Fitzroy Hotel, which is in Fitzroy Street, one block off the main street, has remained absolutely unchanged since it was first built in 1913. It is a fine example of a pre-World War I Queensland country hotel.
Ringsfield Historic House is a superb turn-of-the-century Queenslander designed by the architect Robin Dods in 1908. It has been restored and is now the home of the Nanango Shire Historical Society. It is open from 9.00 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. Monday to Friday. Devonshire teas are served on the verandah.
Nanango Visitor Information Centre
Visitors wishing to explore the town in greater detail should visit the Nanango Visitor Information Centre beside the shire council offices in Henry St and obtain information about the historic walks around the town, (07) 4171 0100
Berlin's Gem and Historical Museum
11 km south of Nanango (off the D'Aguilar Highway but clearly signposted) is Berlin's Gem and Historical Museum. It is typical of all privately-owned folk museums in that it has as much dross as it has genuinely interesting material. There are old telephone booths, antiquated petrol bowsers, strange tops of houses as well as an excellent gem collection. Visits are by appointment only, (07) 4163 7145
The Power Station and Meandu Mine
The road out to the museum passes through some very rich red soil which sustains cattle grazing. From the road it is possible to see the Tarong Power Station which appears to be located in the middle of a lot of paddocks. It is actually located next to Meandu Mine, which has two lookouts.
Yarraman
21 km south of Nanango is the small centre of Yarraman. It is 427 m above sea-level and calls itself 'The Hoop Pine Centre of Queensland'. It is a small timber town which originally came into existence as a place where stockmen met. Yarraman blossomed before World War I when the huge Cooyar Station was resumed for more intensive settlement. At the same time a sawmill, the railway and a police station were all established in the area.
The Palms National Park
To the west of Yarraman is the Palms National Park, a small 12-ha park with a large and luxurious grove of Piccabeen palms surrounded by a belt of rainforest with a number of Moreton Bay figtrees, for more information check out: http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/parks/palms/index.html
Blackbutt and Tarameo
36 km south of Nanango is the tiny and attractive settlement of Blackbutt with an impressive war memorial and an fine timber Uniting Church. The town itself is of no particular interest but nearby is the historic property of 'Taromeo'.
One of the original land grants in the area, and one of the oldest properties in Queensland, Taromeo, established in the early 1840s, covered 200 sq. miles. Owned by Simon Scott, who used it to raise sheep, built a red cedar dwelling in 1850, later adding a stone store, stables and blacksmith's shop. Today it is still possible to visit the store which has been turned into a museum and the nearby private cemetery which is enclosed by stone walls. Unfortunately the original homestead is no longer standing. Contact (07) 4163 0142 for details. It is located off the D'Aguilar Highway between Moore and Blackbutt.
On Taromeo road there is a forest fire tower which, for the brave who are prepared to climb the 198 steps, has views which, on a clear day, extend as far as the Glasshouse Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
Maidenwell
Maidenwell is located 28km from Nanango on the Tarong Road. This small township provides basic facilities. The Coomba Falls, located 2km from Maidenwell, have both a picnic area and excellent swimming.
Tourist Information
Nanango Visitor Information Centre
Henry St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4171 6871
Facsimile: (07) 4171 6872
Email: tourism@nanango.qld.gov.au
Motels
Antler Motel
23 Henry St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1444
Rating: ***
Blackbutt Motel Complex
69 Coulson St Blackbutt
Nanango QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 4163 0500
Copper Country Motor Inn
Kingaroy Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1011
Facsimile: (07) 4163 1122
Rating: ****
Fitzroy Motor Inn
57 Fitzroy St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1100
Rating: ***1/2
Nanango Star
43 Drayton St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1666
Rating: **1/2
Yarraman Motel
Cnr Toomey & Davies Sts Yarraman
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 8144
Rating: ***
Hotels
Commercial Hotel
69 Drayton St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1208
Fitzroy Hotel
57 Fitzroy St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1506
Rating: ***1/2
King's Hotel
Main St Maidenwell
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 6164 6133
Palace Hotel
77 Drayton St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1287
Radnor Hotel
Coulson St Blackbutt
Nanango QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 6163 0203
Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
Bunyip Springs Farm Stay
Bunya Mountains Rd Maindenwell
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 6175
Email: bsprings@bigpond.com.au
Cherry Creek Retreat
Cherry Creek Rd Blackbutt
Nanango QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 4163 0590
Email: timm@growzone.com.au
The Basha at Blackbutt
James St Blackbutt
Nanango QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 4170 0558
Email: bookings@basha.com.au
The Little Manor House
78 Old Esk North Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4171 0486
The Rest House
190 Old Esk North Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 2185
Uncle Bob's Cottage
Mount Stanley Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 3403
Caravan Parks
Blackbutt Caravan Park
D'Aguilar Hwy Blackbutt
Nanango QLD 4306
Telephone: (07) 4163 0500
Tarong Village Caravan Park
D¹Aguilar Hwy
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 2322
Rating: **
Twin Gums Caravan Park
Scott St
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1376
Rating: ***
Yarraman Caravan Park
D'Aguilar Hwy Yarraman
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 8185
Rating: ***1/2
Restaurants
Copper Country Restaurant
Kingaroy Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1011
Fanny O'Reilly's Bar & Grill
69 Drayton St
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 1208
Lucky Golden Dragon Restaurant
90 Drayton Rd
Nanango QLD 4615
Telephone: (07) 4163 1331
Nanango RSL Bistro
26 Henry St
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 1375
Rosella's Bunya Mountains
Bunya Ave
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4668 3131
Yarraman Motel
Toomey St Yarraman
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 8144
Cafés
Nanango Country Bakehouse
Fitzroy St
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4171 0600
Temptations of Blackbutt
60 Coulson St
Nanango QLD 4614
Telephone: (07) 4163 0377
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