PROSTON

The picturesque village of Proston is located 3.5 hours from Brisbane and 2.5 hours from the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba.  Proston districts include Boondooma, Durong and Hivesville.

Proston was originally part of the historic grazing station ‘Wigton’, one of Queensland’s earliest squattages.  Settlement of the area followed the 1910 Wondai Land Court ballot, primarily by English and German migrants.  Life was extremely hard for these inexperienced settlers, with lack of water a paramount handicap on the generally dry holdings.

The township of Proston commenced in 1922, when Mr G.T.M Boyton (who had selected a farm at Speedwell), built Proston’s first commercial building, a café opposite the proposed railway station, in anticipation of the arrival of the first train in February 1923.  By the late 1930s, Proston was a bustling centre with a wide array of shops and services.

The “Proston Heritage Trail” brochure, available from the library, enables you to visualise what it was like in the 1920s and 30s.

The village of Proston has all the basic necessities to make your stay in the area a pleasant one. Facilities include a hotel, caravan park,  grocery store, department store, tea room, newsagency, library, and 48 free camping grounds. tennis, golf, bowls and swimming clubs are active in town.

Annual events of note include:

• Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Comp. – February
• Proston Golden Spurs Campdraft – March
• Proston Show – March
• Boondooma Homestead Balladeers & Heritage Muster – April
• Boondooma Homestead Scots in the Bush, Scottish & Celtic Festival – August

Proston is the gateway to Lake Boondooma Camping and Recreation Area.

Just 20 kilometres from Proston, the dam was constructed in the 1980s to supply water to Tarong Power Station.

En route you will pass through the village of Hivesville, dominated by its distinctive, two-storey brick hotel, where you can drop in for a quiet ale and admire the pressed metal ceilings and extensive woodwork. Or enjoy a cuppa in the recently completed Memorial Park opposite the hotel.