Kinchant Dam, Queensland


Kinchant Dam is a locality in the Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Kinchant Dam had a population of 123 people.

Geography

The water storage facility named Kinchant Dam is wholly within the locality, as is the Mount Kinchant Conservation Park. The locality is south-west of Mackay via the Bruce Highway, Peak Downs Highway, North Eton Road, Marian – Eton Road and Kinchant Dam Road.

History

Francis Charlton Kinchant was killed in the Battle of Waterloo. His middle name was his grandmothers maiden surname. While it may not have been a well-used given name, his heroic death may have inspired another Kinchant to name his son “Francis Charlton”. In 1856 a man named Francis Charlton Kinchant arrived in Australia. In 1867 he was married in Mackay, supposedly the first wedding in that town. His connection to the Mackay district is unknown but it is likely that Mount Kinchant was named for him. He died in Mackay in 1913.