NSWFarming
Queanbeyan
A pastoral service town older than its capital-city neighbour.
1838Township proclaimed
WHAT STARTED IT
Pastoral stations in the surrounding district needed services. A post office and resident magistrate preceded the town’s proclamation in 1838, when it had only about fifty people.
WHAT SUSTAINED IT
Brief mining ventures added activity, but primary production was its early economic foundation. Municipal status followed in 1885. The later development of nearby Canberra gave Queanbeyan a new relationship with a growing national capital.
TURNING POINTS
1836A post office opens.
1838Queanbeyan is proclaimed a township.
1885The town becomes a municipality.
WHAT IT DOES NOW
A substantial city beside Canberra, with a busy commercial centre and a surviving collection of buildings from its earlier rural-town life.