Maidenwell

Maidenwell, gateway to the Bunya Mountains, is home to Queensland's largest privately owned public astronomical observatory. A small pretty town set in hills 30 kilometres south west of Nanango on the road to Toowoomba, Maidenwell was originally a portion of the immense Tarong holding. One of the first selectors to take up land from Tarong Station was John King in 1881 but it was not until 1912 that he acquired the block of land on which Maidenwell stands. Timber from the Bunya Mountains and its foothills was a major industry in early days of closer settlement when the railway line was extended to Tarong early in the 20th century. Located just a few kilometres from the heart of Maidenwell, picturesque Coomba Falls provides the ideal setting for a picnic and a day of swimming and relaxing.