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Proserpine () is a rural town and locality in the
Whitsunday Region The Whitsunday Region is a local government area located in North Queensland, Australia. Established in 2008, it was preceded by two previous local government areas with a history extending back to the establishment of regional local governmen ...
,
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...
, Australia. In the , the locality of Proserpine had a population of 3,562 people.


Geography

Proserpine is situated on the
Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Nat ...
. Proserpine is located on the North Coast line with Proserpine railway station located in Hinschen Street in the town centre. The town is located along the banks of the Proserpine River and is immediately surrounded by floodplains used for sugarcane and cattle farming.
Clarke Range The Clarke Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, is a rainforest-covered mountain range located in North Queensland, Australia. The range is located approximately from the Coral Sea and west of the coastal city of Mackay. The highest poi ...
is located to the west, Dryander National Park is to the north, and to the east is Conway National Park. The Clarke Range to the west of the town contains the small former gold mining town of Dittmer. Proserpine is locally governed by Whitsunday Regional Council, a product of amalgamation of the former Shire of Whitsunday with the former Shire of Bowen. Proserpine is situated within the Queensland electorate of
Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian High Holy Day of Pentecost. It is the seventh Sunday after Easter, which commemorates the descent of the H ...
, and the federal electorate of
Dawson Dawson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Dawson (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Dawson (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places Antarctica ...
.


History

The
Gia people The Gia people, also known as Giya, Kia, Bumbarra, and variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the state of Queensland. Little is known of them. Language The Gia spoke Giya/Bumbarra, a dialect of the Biri language, belongs to the Pr ...
are the traditional custodians of the Proserpine area. Giya (also known as Kia) is a language of North Queensland. The Giya language region includes the landscape within the local government boundaries of the Whitsunday Regional Council, particularly the towns of
Bowen Bowen may refer to: Places Australia * Bowen, Queensland, a town * Bowen Hills, Queensland, a suburb ** Bowen Hills railway station, a railway station in Bowen Hills ** Bowen Park, Brisbane, a park in Bowen Hills * Bowen Bridge, crossing the Derw ...
and Proserpine.
George Elphinstone Dalrymple George Augustus Frederick Elphinstone Dalrymple (6 May 1826 – 22 January 1876) was a colonist, explorer, public servant and politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. He founded the towns of Bowen and Cardwell, and pioneere ...
named the Proserpine River on an expedition in 1859. ''Proserpine'' derives from the legend of the Greek goddess
Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld afte ...
(whose Latin name is Proserpine), named as such due to Dalrymple's perception that the area was exceptionally fertile, and Persephone being the goddess of spring. The first British colonists arrived in the early 1860s with Daniel Emmerson forming the Proserpine pastoral station. Frederick Bode and William Dangar took up land at Bromby Park and Goorganga Creek, while Charles Bradley and James Colling established properties along the Gregory River. In 1866, Inspectors
John Marlow John By Durnford Marlow (182927 February 1903) was an officer in the paramilitary Native Police force in the British colony of Queensland. He served in this corps for fourteen years and was stationed at frontier sites such as the Maranoa Region, P ...
and John Isley of the
Native Police Australian native police units, consisting of Aboriginal troopers under the command (usually) of at least one white officer, existed in various forms in all Australian mainland colonies during the nineteenth and, in some cases, into the twentiet ...
, a government funded paramilitary organisation,Richards, Jonathan (2008). The Secret War: A True History of Queensland's Native Police. University of Queensland Press conducted patrols through the Proserpine area. They and their troopers "dispersed" around six "large mobs" of Aboriginal people during this mission. Marlow used Daniel Emmerson's property for his stock-yard and bought horses from him. The Crystal Brook Sugar Company was formed in 1882 and established a sugar industry in the region a year later. A sugar mill was built and the labouring on the plantation was performed by imported
South Sea Islanders South Sea Islanders are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands and New Irelandwho were kidnappe ...
. In 1893 the plantation, which was located at
Glen Isla The River Isla ( gd, Abhainn Ìle) is a tributary of the River Tay in Angus and Perthshire, Scotland. It runs for 46 miles (74 km) through the Kirkton of Glenisla (Clachan Ghlinn Ìle) and Strathmore (An Srath Mòr). Gallery File:Foot ...
close to the present Proserpine township, was closed and smaller sugar farms run by white owner-operators were established. Proserpine Lower Provisional School opened on 16 August 1897. In 1904, it was renamed Proserpine Provisional School, becoming Proserpine State School on 15 March 1906. St Catherine's Catholic School was established in 1925 by the
Sisters of Mercy The Sisters of Mercy is a religious institute of Catholic women founded in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley. As of 2019, the institute had about 6200 sisters worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations. They ...
. It is named in honour of St Catherine of Alexandria..In 1944, the Australian Field Experimental Station was constructed at Gunyarra just south of the town. It was constructed to test and research the effectiveness of
Mustard Gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
in tropical conditions. Proserpine Airport (now Whitsunday Coast Airport) opened in 1951. Proserpine State High School opened on 29 January 1963. Initially the school operated from single building but a second building was constructed during 1963. In 1986, construction commenced on the
Peter Faust Dam Lake Proserpine, which is also known as Peter Faust Dam is situated 26 kilometres inland from Proserpine, in North Queensland, Australia. Free 72hr camping is now available from October 4th, 2019. History Thiess was the contractor company chos ...
north-west of the town to be used for flood mitigation during the wet season and irrigation. The dam was completed in 1990. In the , the locality of Proserpine had a population of 3,562 people. In March 2017, Proserpine suffered extensive damage from Cyclone Debbie.


Heritage listings

Heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many i ...
sites include: * Herbert Street: Proserpine Hospital * Main Street: St Paul's Anglican Church


Demographics


Economy

One of the town's main industries is sugar production. A sugar mill was established in 1897 and is now recognised as one of the most modern sugar mills in the world.


Education

Proserpine State School is a public primary school for boys and girls. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 565 students with 45 teachers, St Catherine's Catholic College is a Catholic primary and secondary school. It has two campuses. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 623 students with 59 teachers. Proserpine State High School is a government secondary school. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 1,062 students.


Facilities

The Proserpine Hospital in Taylor St is the primary health service for the Whitsunday Region .


Amenities

The Proserpine Entertainment Centre is at 14 Main Street. In March 2022, it reopened after being rebuilt following damage caused by Tropical Cyclone Debbie in March 2017. The Proserpine Library opened in 1998.


Climate

The town has a dry-winter humid subtropical climate (
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
: Cwa), similar to nearby
Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...
.


Notable people

*
Sam Faust Sam Faust (24 September 1984 – 23 May 2011) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League competition. Playing career Faust spent time at the St. George Illaw ...
, Australian professional rugby league player. * Andrew Fraser, Queensland State Politician. * Max Grosskreutz, Australian speedway rider. * Billy Sing, Australian sniper during the Gallipoli Cammpaign of World War I * Travis Waddell, Australian professional rugby league footballer, plays for
Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...


See also

*
List of tramways in Queensland List of tramways in Queensland provides three separate lists, each in alphabetical order of the key identifier. They are: * Non sugar cane tramways, ordered by Tramway Name as contained in Wikipedia articles. * Sugar cane tramways, ordered by Sug ...


References


Further reading

* — full text available


External links

*
Whitsunday Regional Council

Proserpine Museum

Town map, 1972
{{authority control Towns in Queensland Whitsunday Region Localities in Queensland