Federation Plaques Trail
This webpage is an adaptation of the original printed booklet from the 2001 Federation Marker Project. Digitisation, web development and QR Code placement undertaken in 2026 by Killarney Specialty Services for the Killarney and District Historical Society.
Note: Temporary QR codes are currently placed on markers in the Killarney section only, as a proof of concept. We’d love your feedback to help shape the next stage of this project (Use the feedback box at the bottom of this page, or visit the Killarney Heritage Centre.)
Table of contents (plaque numbers in brackets)
Brief History of Killarney
The Leslie brothers selected Canning Downs in 1840 and it is recorded they inspected the Condamine River as far as the site of Killarney in June of the same year. On a map dated 1845 the name Killarney appears, referring to Killarney Station, an out-station of Canning Downs, located in The Lakes area. It is also recorded that another out-station was Heifer Station, near where Yangan is now, and Emu Vale was their horse paddock.
The Colony of Queensland came into being on separation from New South Wales in 1859, bringing some problems with trade across the border. Killarney was one of the inland towns near the border to have an excise office. This closed at Federation when the colonies became states and part of the Commonwealth of Australia.
The Federation Marker Project
The Killarney and District Historical Society Inc. had for some time thought about erecting plaques to mark the location of historical sites within the district but did not have the funds. In 2000 the Queensland Government established an organisation “Centenary of Federation Queensland”, the aim of which was to plan celebrations in Queensland in 2001 and distribute available funds to interested community groups via the Queensland Community Assistance Program. The two main stipulations for the grant were (a) the project had to in some way commemorate Federation, (b) the applicant had to make a monetary contribution.
Sites have been identified at Yangan, Emu Vale, Danderoo, Tannymorel, Mt. Colliery, Killarney, Spring Creek and The Head. A bronze plaque, mounted on an aluminium post set in concrete and numbered to correspond with maps and information contained in the brochure has been erected at each site.
Markers
Yangan (1-16)
1. Railway Station
The Warwick to Emu Vale section of the Warwick – Killarney railway line opened on 2nd June, 1884. The line closed on 1st May, 1964.
Post Office
A Receiving Office, with the school teacher in residence at the time acting as officer, opened in 1875 and was known as Upper Swan Creek, the first name for Yangan. On 15th July 1884 it was moved to the Railway Station, elevated to Post Office and name changed to Yangan. In 1911 it moved to the building that houses the Post Office today.
Government Savings Bank
Country Branch Office was run by the Station Master.
2. Queensland National Bank Ltd
A branch opened in an old building in 1901. At a meeting of Directors held on 16th October, 1907 plans for new premises were approved, the cost including strongroom not to exceed £750 ($1,500). The managers residence was a separate building. It closed in 1974.
3. Store
Built ca 1893. Proprieter in 1901 was E.A. Burmester who sold to Barnes and Co. soon afterwards.
4. Temperance Hotel
This boarding house, an unlicenced “hotel’, was burnt on 12th August, 1903 and replaced with another single storey building. On 3rd January, 1906 a provisional licence was granted to John Lamb to conduct a hotel, named Yangan Hotel. A second storey was added later. The Hotel burnt down on 16th May, 1924 and was not replaced.
Rigbys Boarding House
Known as Mrs Rigbys Boarding House but listed in the Town Directory under Jos Rigby Jnr.
Store
Established 1898 by Thomas Kirkland who traded here for some years.
5. Police Station
Opened 13th June, 1896. Note the detail in the woodwork of these well preserved buildings.
6. Sandstone Quarry
Site 11/2km south of town on private property. It commenced 1885 – 86 as Midson Quarry and closed in 1915. It reopened 1928 and closed 1934. Broken sandstone from the quarry was used to gravel roads through Yangan as relief work during the depression. Quarrying is again taking place in the
area.
7. Boarding House
James Brown conducted a butchers shop and a store here from 1887. He sold to Jos Rigby, who owned the boarding house opposite. Elias Thelander purchased and converted to a boarding house ca 1896. He was issued with a
hotel licence on the same day as John Lamb, Yangan Hotel – 3rd January, 1906 and named it the Commercial Hotel.
8. Oddfellows Hall
Built ca 1892 for Loyal Pride of Yangan Lodge No. 95. The first meeting re establishing School of Arts, was held here in 1897. Lodge members joined with Warwick Lodge in The building was then used as a Public Hall and purchased by the public in 1975. Alterations over the years include the front verandah enclosed and an addition to the rear of the building.
9. School of Arts
Established 1897 and sold to the Masonic Lodge 1912. The School of Arts was then located on the opposite side of the street. This building has since been enlarged and altered, and both buildings are registered under the Queensland Heritage Act.
10. Blacksmith
Henry Hawes arrived in Australia from Buckinghamshire aged 3 years, with his parents and 2 siblings. He eventually ceased blacksmithing and worked the family farm near Yangan. Two other blacksmiths (sites unknown) are listed as working in the town in 1901.
11. Presbyterian Church
The first service was held on 22nd March, 1874. The cemetery was closed when locals complained of a smell after buriels and Council ordered that graves must be filled with sand. They now have a block beside the Anglican
Cemetery (No. 15).
12. State School
Opened 28th May, 1887. The School was initially called Swan Creek No. 2 or Swan Creek Upper. It was changed to Yangan ca 1887.
13. Silverwood Cheese Factory
Established by Silverwood Dairy Factory Co. Ltd and opened 16th October, 1893. First dairy processing factory on the Southern Downs, starting with cheese and later converting to butter. By 1902 it was controlled by
Lowood Creamery Co., the Manager, William Smith, from Scotland where he trained, left in 1905 to become an inspector with the State Department of Agriculture then returned ca 1909 and purchased the factory. It was burnt down in 1927.
14. Butcher
William Johnson reportedly killed and butchered at this site and delivered meat to the township.
15. Church of England and Cemetery
The first Church of England was on the block to the north of the cemetery which was established 1880. The present church was erected in the town in 1905.
16. Mauch House
(Just over 1 km down Strudwicks Road.) Building commenced 1870, completed 1876. Michael Mauch quarried stone by himself on his property “Pleasant View” and built the house. He also built an underground sandstone lined water tank, and under the southern verandah a cellar. Recent renovations – a semi-detached kitchen was replaced; the area between the kitchen and house enclosed, and dormer windows added in the high-pitched roof.
Emu Vale (17-24)
Emu Vale was known as Neereeadah 1895 – 1898
17. State School
Opened 1st February,1876 as a private school run by the residents. On 27th April, 1876 the Education Department agreed to it being a Provisional School. In 1882 a new, larger building was erected.
18. Railway Station
Opened 2nd June 1884. Emu Vale was the terminus of the first section of the Warwick – Killarney line and reported celebrations included a free train from Warwick, decorated with flags and evergreens, carrying several hundred people who picnicked at the terminus. Three days later a Ministerial Banquet was held at Emu Vale.
Post Office
A Receiving Office opened 1st January, 1880 with the school teacher as officer. It was named Emu Creek 2 as there was already another Emu Creek in Queensland. It later changed to Emu Vale in 1881. On 15th July, 1884 the Receiving Office moved to the Railway Station and was elevated to the Post Office. 28th November, 1946 the Post Office moved to the general store and closed 18th January, 1978.
Government Savings Bank
Country Branch Office was run by the Station Master.
19. Blacksmith
A. McKechnie had his business on this site at the turn of the century.
20. Butcher and Saddler
George E. Pullen had his combined business in this vicinity.
21. Sawmill
Carey and Sons were owners in 1901 and many more followed before its closure in the late 1970s.
22. Presbyterian Church
It was built 1886, and then enlarged in the early 1900s. The vestry was dedicated on 21st August, 1949. The Sunday School building was sold for removal in 1975 and the church closed in the late 1970s. It is now a private residence.
23. Catholic Church
It was opened ca 1888 and was demolished after a new church was built in 1913. This closed and was demolished in 1973.
24. Neereeadah Hotel
A licence for this hotel was issued to William Horne in 1886. An advertisement in the Warwick Examiner and Times dated 19th January, 1901 lists – Neereeadah Hotel for sale. Licensee – Tom Logan. 3 acres, 18 bedrooms, dining room. 3 bedrooms, kitchen and servants rooms detached. The two-storey building was destroyed by fire 11th December, 1959.
Danderoo (25)
25.
Tannymorel – Mount Colliery (26-30)
26. Railway Station
It was opened 22nd August, 1885 and named Farm Creek. It later changed to Tannymorel in 1891 and then closed 1st May, 1964. A square metal tank on a high wooden stand, which provided water for the steam trains, stood on
the Killarney (south) side of the road crossing until the late 1990s. It now stands at the Railway Museum in Warwick. The branch line to the coal mine at Mt. Colliery was constructed in 1908.
Post Office
The Farm Creek Receiving Office, with school teacher as officer, opened in 1878. It was later moved to the Railway Station and the name changed to Tannymorel in 1892. It was elevated to the Post Office in 1906 and moved to a building (burnt down 28th August, 1940) in Kurrajong Street in 1912.
?
In 1901 Thomas Fox, a butcher, and George Hoffman, storeman, were listed as businesses in the township but we’re unable to locate their exact sites.
27. State School and Church of England
The Farm Creek Provisional School opened 25th May. 1877 near the creek on the north side of the bridge on the Emu Vale Road. The building relocated to this site, opening 1st January, 1892 for the convenience of the children from Lower Farm Creek (Tannymorel) and Upper Farm Creek (Mt. Colliery). It was moved again to Mt. Colliery and opened 25th September, 1915. It closed 13th December, 1967. A new school at Tannymorel opened 1st January, 1914.
A small Church of England, with shingle roof, was built just to the east of the school ca mid 1890s. It was later moved to Mt. Colliery, probably when St. Aidans, Tannymorel, was built in 1915.
28. Goggins House
Catherine and Michael Goggins, immigrants from Ireland, were granted, in 1876, 100 acres which became the Mt. Colliery town site when coal mining commenced. They built a slab and bark hut on this site and raised 11 children. Mrs Goggins ran the farm and Mr Goggins worked cutting and logging timber and later as foreman and bookkeeper at a sawmill nearby.
29. Coal Mine
Surface coal used for domestic use, was found at Hurdle Creek ca 1880. William Roach and William Lanigan established a coal mine here in 1896. This later became the Tannymorel Coal Mining Co. Horses, bullocks and traction engines hauled coal wagons to the Tannymorel rail yards. The light tramway, with horses hauling the coal trucks, built in 1908 was upgraded for steam trains, the first running on 12th June, 1910. It closed 1st May, 1964. Coal was transported by road to Warwick until the mine closed in 1967.
30. Graysons Siding
Established 1897. Records show the name changes = 1902 – 192 miles 64 chains siding. 1907 – 192 miles 59 chains siding. 1908 – Mullins Gate. August 1910 – Graysons Siding. Siding removed 1943 and only an iron waiting shed marked the site when the line closed.
Killarney (31-51)
31. Freemasons Lodge No. 108
The Masonic Hall on this site in Ailanthus Street, was dedicated on 9th November, 1900. It was one of the many historic buildings destroyed when a severe storm hit the town on the evening of 22nd November, 1968.
32. Blacksmith
David White, blacksmith and wheelwright, arrived in Killarney in 1898 and started his business on this site. He resided in the town until his death in 1930.
33. Sawmill
Mcintosh and Dumigan established a sawmill in the 1870s to the S.W. of the town. After it had burnt down the second time they rebuilt on this site in 1885. This mill was also destroyed by fire and rebuilt and closed in the late 1930s.
34. Railway Station
Opened 22nd August, 1885 when second section of line, Emu Vale to Killarney, was completed. The original plan was to terminate at South Killarney but this was dropped because of the cost of bridging the Condamine River and flood plain.
34. Post Office
Killarney North (Killarney 2). A Receiving Office opened 1887 at the Railway Station. Elevated to Killarney North Post Office on 26th June, 1889. Became the official office and the name changed to Killarney when it moved to the present Post Office in 1905. Government Savings Bank, Country Branch Office, was located at The Railway Station and run by the Station Master.
35. Railway Store
It was owned by M. E. Milward and Co and sold to Grayson and Biggs in 1905 and later Grayson and Mutch. In 1913 a group of farmers commenced trading as The Killarney Dairy Co. Ltd. and started a butter factory in the building.
36. Store
Barnes and Co. owned this store built in 1895. Their main store was in Warwick with other branches in Yangan and Allora. Mr Purvis owned it in the WWI era to 1922. Mr Mackenzie then purchased, and except for a few years when it was leased, the family ran an Emporium until closure in 1981. The building was sold to St. Vincent de Paul in the 1990s.
37. Australian Joint Stock Bank
Opened a branch here on 21st February, 1889. It later became the Bank of NSW and they vacated the building in 1969. It was rented for different purposes until 1998 when it was relocated to Pullenvale, Brisbane, and restored as a private dwelling.
38. Royal Hotel
A licence was issued to Andrew Canning in 1886 and he built a single storey hotel on this site. A second storey was added ca 1905 making it a grand building with wrought iron lace on the verandahs. It was destroyed by fire 6th June, 1965.
39. School of Arts
On 5th March, 1888, trustees, ‘All men of means’, desiring to erect a small building sought an advance of £100 from a bank. Although the School of Arts committee owned all the allotment on the corner of Willow and Ailanthus Streets they chose to build straddling Gravel Creek. The building which has been altered over the years, was transferred to the Country
Womens Association in 1953 when the School of Arts ceased to exist.
40. Butchers
Alex Dumigan and Alex Mclntosh ran a shop on this site from 1898 to 1920.
41. Blacksmith
Alex Ryan arrived in Australia from County Tipperary, Ireland, ca 1890. In 1895, at Warwick, Queensland, he married Kate McMahon from County Clare and had the blacksmith shop here until they purchased a farm close to Tannymorel, where he established a blacksmithing business.
(We haven’t been able to locate this marker during the 2026 review)
42. Sawmill
Sawmill. R. A. Howell owned this mill for many years. It then changed hands a number of times before closing in 1999.
43. Loyal Orange Lodge
Protestant Hall. Built in 1880, this building was another destroyed by the storm on 22nd November, Presbyterian Church services were held here prior to the Church being erected in 1887.
44. Presbyterian Church
Church and Manse was opened in The first services were held at the home of Allen Grayson, and then the Protestant Hall from 1880. On the 22nd November, 1968 the storm destroyed the Church and Sunday School, and damaged the almost completed present building, which opened on 1st March, 1969.
45. Post Office Killarney South (Killarney 1)
A Receiving Office opened 1st January, 1875 at the school with Mrs Gwyther, first Headmasters wife, as receiving officer. Mr Gwyther took over
when elevated to the Post Office on 1st July, 1877. It was moved across the road to the store on 1st July, 1884 and G. S. Backhouse was Post Master. From 27th June, 1885 to mid 1931, when the office closed, Mrs Backhouse (later married to R. A. Howell) was Post Mistress.
Store
It was built in 1879 and named Kirk Hill Store by George Backhouse who had a fatal accident off a horse at the back of the store in 1887. Mrs S. Backhouse managed the business until her children were able to take over. C. Madsen purchased the store in 1950. It was destroyed by the 1968 storm.
46. Church of England
Christ Church was erected in 1890 – 91 and was dedicated by Bishop Webber, Brisbane. There was an earlier church, (the date it was built is unknown), which became the Sunday School. The first services were held at the home of Allen Grayson. The first rectory was built in 1889, the present one in 1915. The Church and Sunday School were destroyed by the 1968 storm. The present building was consecrated 1972.
(We haven’t been able to locate this marker during the 2026 review)
47. State School
The first roll call was on 17th August, 1874 by Mr H. M. Gwyther, arriving direct from England. The first building was extended but succumbed to termites and a replacement, on high stumps, was completed 1915-16. A Rural School operated from 1927 to 1963 which was then incorporated into the new Secondary Department. The Pre-School opened 1973.
48. Second Police Station and Court House
On 25th October, 1900 tenders were called for a new building at Kirk Hill to replace the one at Site 51. This was ready for occupation on 13th July, 1901. On 23rd October, 1967 The Commissioner advised that a new building was not proposed, as had been requested. However, on the 14th March, 1969 immediate action was taken as per the request on the new station, as the existing one was badly damaged in the November 1968 storm. The present premises in Ivy Street opened on 27th April, 1970.
(We haven’t been able to locate this marker during the 2026 review)
49. Butcher
Octavius Spreadborough, the eighth son of William and Mary Spreadborough who settled in the Warwick district in 1849, owned this shop for some years.
50. Killarney Inn
This was the first hotel built in the township. Peter and Maria Hoffman erected it ca 1868 at Wrights Hill. Members of their family still held the licence in the 1880s. The name changed to the Imperial in 1897 and in 1901 W. J. Sheppard was licensee. The original building was burnt down, as was the replacement. In the early 1900s it was rebuilt on the site of the
present day Rodeo grounds and this was burnt in the early 1920s.
(We haven’t been able to locate this marker during the 2026 review)
51. First Police Station; Court House; Excise Office
Frank Wright held the licence for the Commercial Hotel from 1883 to 1888 when on the 12th September, he sold it to the Government for £700, the building was to be used for The Police Station, Court House and Excise Office. On 2nd June, 1899, the police recommended that the offices be moved to Kirk Hill as the township developed there when it was thought that the railway would extend to South Killarney. The new building, Site 48, was ready for occupation on 13 July 1901.
(We haven’t been able to locate this marker during the 2026 review)
Spring Creek (52-54)
52. State School
Mountain View School, aptly named with its scenic backdrop of mountains, was opened in 1885 and closed in 1965.
53. Presbyterian Church
This little church was built in the 1890s. Electricity was never connected and it was lit for evening services by beautiful kerosene lamps. It is now privately owned.
54. Trout Hatchery
Down stream from this picnic area. Following an unsuccessful attempt to introduce trout into the streams in this area in 1894, a meeting was held on 13th February, 1896 to form the Southern Queensland Acclimatisation Society for the introduction of trout and feathered game. Mr Morris, a New Zealand expert, arrived August 1896, settling ponds were erected and a water supply from the creek established. Fingerlings hatched at Prospect from ova from New Zealand were introduced in October 1896. The hatchery closed in 1915.
Condamine River Road (55-58)
55. Graysons House
Allen Grayson was the first free settler to take up land in the Killarney district, east of the Canning Downs boundary, in the early 1860s. He and his wife Mary Ann (nee Mawhirt) left County Armagh, Ireland, arriving at Moreton Bay on the ‘British Empire’ in February 1859. The first services for both Church of England and Presbyterians were held in their home.
56. Brosnans House
Cornelius Brosnan, was born in 1836 in County Kerry, Ireland. He arrived in Sydney on the “Prince Alfred” in 1859 and later sailed up the coast to Brisbane. He came to Killarney in 1868 and selected this block of land and built the house that, although derelict, still stands up on the rise.
57. Rifle Club
The Killarney Rifle Club was formed in the 1890s and in 1898 had 26 members. The Club later moved to a site off Graysons Road when larger bore rifles were used.
58. Mawhirts Boarding House
George Mawhirt, County Armagh, Ireland, settled here in the early 1860s. He married Lavina Diffin, also from County Armagh, in Warwick, Queensland, in May 1879 and they ran a boarding house on this site for many years.
The Head (59-60)
59. Post Office
A Receiving Office opened 14th July, 1888. Elevated to Post Office mid 1915, reduced to Receiving Office 1918 and elevated again 1927. From 1891 to 1904 J. Hoffman, a farmer, was the officer. The office closed 1st October, 1972.
60. Sawmill
(About 6km from Spring Creek Road intersection). John Watson lived at White Swamp, just across the border in New South Wales, but built a mill here in the 1890s, possibly to avoid paying the excise duty charged on goods crossing the State Border before Federation.
Feedback
Adding QR Codes to plaques is a “proof on concept”. Please let us know about your experience navigating this webpage, finding the markers, or any other ideas you have. Your feedback will help us decide next steps on this project.
