Proston, Queensland

Infobox Australian Place | type = town
name = Proston
state = qld


caption =
lga = South Burnett Regional Council
postcode = 4613
pop = 304
pop_footnotes =
est =
elevation=
maxtemp =
mintemp =
rainfall =
stategov = Callide
fedgov = Wide Bay
dist1 = 280
dir1 = NW
location1= Brisbane
dist2 = 226
dir2 = N
location2= Toowoomba
dist3 = 41
dir3 = NW
location3= Wondai

Proston is a small town in Queensland, Australia. The town is located 280 kilometres north west of the state capital, Brisbane. The town was founded in 1910 with a land ballot that attracted a group of settlers from England. According to the 2006 Australian census, Proston had a population of 304.Census 2006 AUS
id=UCL347600
name=Proston (L) (Urban Centre/Locality)
accessdate=2007-10-28
quick=on]

With little access to water, early settlers struggled to maintain a living from the land. The coming of the railway in 1923 ["Red Soil, Wattle and Crows" Milne, Rod Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, February, 1976 pp21-39] eased some of the early hardships. The creation of the nearby Boondooma Dam by damming the Boyne River to provide a source of water for Tarong Power Station solved Proston's water problems. This also led to the development of a small tourist industry involving activities such as boating, and fishing by the lake.

The main agricultural activities in the Proston area are dairying, beef cattle and duboisia, used in the production of the drug butylscopolamine.

An unusual attraction in Proston is Sidcup Castle. The "castle" comprises seventeen rooms, five of which are hexagonal. The entire structure was built from second hand materials by Harold Douglas and designed as an exact replica of his childhood home in Sidcup, Kent.

References

External links

* [http://www.wondai.qld.gov.au/towns.htm Wondai Shire Council] - Proston page
* [http://www.smh.com.au/news/Queensland/Proston/2005/02/17/1108500203674.html SMH Travel Page]