Proston is a rural town and locality in the South Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the, Proston had a population of 379 people. Proston is the historic Lake Boondooma township with a business district, residences and farms
Geography
The town is located north-west of the state capital, Brisbane northwest of the South Burnett regions commercial centre, Kingaroy and South of Lake Boondooma. It is the closest supporting township to Lake Boondooma and has a variety of shops including post office, grocery store, pub, chemist, medical centre, hardware, cafe, and clothing store. The area around Proston is hilly, grassland, grazing country, most of it cleared from the original brigalow scrub that once covered the immediate vicinity.
History
The town's name is taken from a pastoral run name, which in turn was a corruption of an Aboriginal word meaning kurrajong tree. The town was founded in 1910 with a land ballot that attracted a group of settlers from England. With little access to water, early settlers struggled to maintain a living from the land. The coming of the railway in 1923 eased some of the early hardships. The construction of the South Burnett Dairy Co-operative Butter Factory in 1934 led to even more growth. Proston Provisional School opened on 9 July 1917 to provide schooling for the children of the workers constructing the Proston railway line. It closed on 31 July 1918. Although named Proston, the school name reflects the name of the railway line than its actual location. It is believed the school may have been closer to present day Hivesville than present day Proston. The current Proston State School opened on 24 July 1924 as a primary school. In 1965 it expanded to include secondary education to Year 10. In 1977 it expanded to include a preschool. Shepherd Memorial Anglican Church of St Peter was dedicated on 3 March 1939 by the Most Reverend John William Charles Wand. Its closure in circa 2015 was approved by Bishop Cameron Venables. The closure of the railway line and Butter Factory in the 1970s threw the area into a long period of slow decline. The creation of the nearby Boondooma Dam in the 1970s by damming the Boyne River provided a source of water for Tarong Power Station and solved Proston's water problems. The Proston public library opened in 1994. At the, Proston had a population of 304.
The main agricultural activities in the Proston area are dairying, beef cattle and duboisia, a shrub used in the production of the drug butylscopolamine.
Sport and recreation
The area is well catered for with sports facilities and clubs. There is the nine-hole Proston Golf Club on the western edge of town. Proston's Lawn Bowls Club and the Over 50's group are also popular amongst the locals. Social tennis is held every Thursday night at the tennis grounds, Wondai Road. The locals have dances every week at the Public Hall. For fishing, the nearby Boondooma Dam is stocked with Australian bass, golden perch, silver perch and saratoga. There is also a naturally occurring population of eel-tailed catfish and spangled perch. Visitors to the dam can also waterski, sail and swim. For quieter fishing and canoeing, Proston Weir is located just south of the town. The weir doesn't provide toilet facilities or picnic tables. The Proston Car Rally club holds a rally every three months on their track, west of Proston on private property. The family weekends include time trials, various classes. Free camping is provided. Manar Park is an off-road park for 4x4s, dirt bikes, quads and buggies, situated on a large cattle station north-east of Boondooma Homestead. Accessible along Manar Road the park does have camping facilities.
Tourism
The hilliness of the terrain provides striking panoramic views of the area at several points along the main road. Boondooma Dam is located northwest of the township. In February each year, anglers compete for more than $4,500 in prizes in the Boondooma Yellowbelly Fishing Competition. A Stocked Impoundment Permit is needed to fish Boondooma Dam. The dam offers caravan, camping, bunkhouse and cabin accommodation on the Lake's foreshores along with tennis courts, modern amenities blocks, a central kiosk and extensive landscaped picnic and BBQ areas. Another annual event is the Proston Show and Campdraft. Held every March at the Showgrounds just on the western outskirts of town. Nearby Boondooma Homestead was built in 1850 for the settlers, the Lawson Brothers. The Building was built by a Flemish stonemason and recently during restoration, it was discovered to have been built to metric specifications, possibly a first in Queensland. The homestead can be found on the Durong to Mundubbera Road west of Proston. 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.
Facilities
Proston has a hotel, convenience store, café, post office, hardware, police station, ambulance and voluntary fire brigade service. It also has tennis, golf and bowling clubs, a swimming pool and library. Other facilities include a medical centre and ambulance service, the Proston Rural Fire Brigade, and the Proston Transfer Station. The South Burnett Regional Council operates a library in Proston at 34 Blake Street.
Proston State School is a government primary and secondary school for boys and girls at 94 Rodney Street. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 114 students with 14 teachers and 16 non-teaching staff. The nearest secondary school for Years 11 and 12 is in Murgon.
