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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
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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)
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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