|
Where is Nanango?
Nanango is located on the D'Aguilar Highway approximately 175 kilometres north-west of
Brisbane.
It's a terminus of the Burnett 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 D'Aguilar Highway from Kingaroy or
- the Burnett Highway via Gympie and Goomeri
|
Above: Nanango hosts several major festivals each year including the Nanango
Arts Festival, Pioneer Festival, Nanango Country Music Muster and the Nanango Show (photo courtesy
of Clive
Lowe)
|
|
How big is Nanango?
Nanango is the second-largest town in the South Burnett (as well as the 4th oldest town in
Queensland) and has a population of around 4,500 residents.
The town has a wide range of accommodation including hotels, motels, caravan park, bed and
breakfasts and host farms. The CBD area has convenience and food stores, a supermarket,
restaurants and petrol outlets. Two cellar doors are also located within a few blocks of the
centre of town.
The charming village of Maidenwell - located on the Nanango-Cooyar Road about 30km to the
west of Nanango - has a general store, a petrol outlet, a hotel, a designated main road rest area
and a population of around 250 residents. Maidenwell is one of the principal gateways to the
Bunya Mountains; a fast-growing eco-tourism centre; and from August 2004 will be home to the
Maidenwell Observatory.
|
|
What is Nanango like?
Nanango is a moderately large country town and has a very friendly and informal atmosphere.
The CBD features impressive chainsaw sculptures and murals which reflect the
town's historical connections with timber-felling, farming and mining. Nanango has a
low-humidity climate (cool summers and brisk winters) and is surrounded by vine scrublands and
eucalypt forests. The massive Tarong Power Station and Meandu Coal Mine are
located 16km to the south of the town and the Bunya Mountains are located about 53km to
the south-west.
Nanango has a very long history and a great deal of it is preserved in its buildings -
especially Ringsfield House, a wonderfully restored circa 1908 Queenslander developed by
architect Robin Dods and now the headquarters of the Nanango Historical Society (Ringsfield
is open to visitors most days of the week).
Nanango also has a vigorous cultural and sporting life and is host to an art gallery, several
potteries and many craft outlets. The town also has many clubs and a range of sporting facilities
including an RSL, bike, darts, golf, bowling and archery clubs. The are 13 well-maintained
parklands in the Shire which naturalists believe are home to 250 different bird species.
Nanango also has several museums and a number of live entertainment venues which
regularly host performances by local theatre and musical groups. The Lee Park race track -
not far south of the CBD - hosts around 8 meetings each year; and in recent years several vineyards
and cellar doors have been developed close to Nanango as well.
Major annual events include the international Criterium Bike Race (held in Nanango's CBD
in February); the Nanango Show (held at the Nanango Showgrounds in April); the Nanango
Arts Festival (held over a week in June); the Nanango Country Music Muster (held at the
Showgrounds in September); the week-long Pioneer Festival (in October) and the Christmas
Carnival (in December).
|
Above: Historic Ringsfield House is a magnificently restored colonial
Queenslander located not far from Nanango's CBD (photo courtesy of Clive
Lowe)
Above: Coomba Falls near Maidenwell is a popular place for picnics and swimming. The
Bunya Mountains are only a short drive away (photo courtesy of Clive
Lowe)
Go Cart Track
The Go Cart track is just 2 klm's towards the town centre from the park and caters for all
ages. We have race competitions there ourselves every now and again and it is great fun. If
anyone wants to have a race with us we
are throwing out a challenge to allcomers and we even have a weight ajustment program for all
those thar are a bit heavier than they used to be. So there is no excuses for anyone. See you
up here.
|
|
When was Nanango established?
The area around Nanango was first settled by Europeans in 1847 when John Borthwick and
William Oliver from Ipswich took up several very large grazing selections to the west of Taromeo
Station (near present-day Blackbutt).
Prospector Jacob Goode built Goode's Inn - the first commercial building in the town -
beside a waterhole on Oliver's selection in 1848 and Nanango began to grow around it soon
afterwards (the name Nanango has evolved from "Nunangi". The original settlement near the big
waterhole was called Noogoonida by the aborigines. It means place where the waters gather
together - a large lagoon or lake).
The discovery of gold at the Seven Mile Diggings in the late 1800s precipitated a
population boom, and this accelerated again when Yarraman became the terminus railhead for the
Brisbane Valley Line in 1913. After World War I, however, growth leveled off until the early
1970s when the development of the Tarong Power Station led to a third population
explosion.
Today Nanango's principal industries are power generating and coal mining, agriculture, beef and
pork production, dairying and milk processing, timber growing and milling, small crops, natural
medicine, art and craftwork and tourism.
|
