Welcome to Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi country and the wonderful town of Brooloo
In March 1908 over 41,000 acres in the Brooloo parish was set aside as state forest – something timber getters were not happy about. The portion of land that was set aside for the township of Brooloo belonged to Mr George Sutton who had taken it up in 1907. The original township map shows the name of “Dewarill”, but this was changed when the railway was established to “The Bluff”. The name was changed yet again when the railway station was opened at Brooloo.
Most settlement began in 1914 with a land sale, another one was held in 1921. The Mary Valley Rail’s terminus was at Brooloo. In 1915 the name of the school and town was changed from Bluff Plains to Brooloo when the district was renamed Brooloo. Brooloo was a thriving town supporting Timber, banana and other small crop industries. [Joy King]
View the slideshow for a snapshot, but click on the photo gallery for all photos.
Unloading pineapple bins at Brooloo – donated by Jennifer Grainger 
Brooloo School 1965- donated by Jennifer Grainger nee Cook 
Brooloo Post Office and store – donated by Jennifer Grainger 
Brooloo historical reenactment day -1967 – donated by Jennifer Grainger 
Brooloo School, c1920 – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo School – Tom Bath teacher Ron Bath to right of Tom – Gympie Regional Libraries collection
Photo Gallery of Brooloo – click on an image to view full screen
Unloading pineapple bins at Brooloo – donated by Jennifer Grainger Brooloo School 1965- donated by Jennifer Grainger nee Cook Brooloo historical reenactment day -1967 – donated by Jennifer Grainger Brooloo Post Office and store – donated by Jennifer Grainger Brooloo School, c1920 – Gympie Regional Libraries collection Brooloo School – Tom Bath teacher Ron Bath to right of Tom – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo School – Tom Bath teacher – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo School – Mervyn Bath (Back row on right) 1935 – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo School – Mervyn Bath (Back row 2nd from left) – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo Sawmill – Gympie Regional Libraries collection 
Brooloo Grand Hotel – Gympie Regional Libraries 
Rail motor RM90 on Brooloo turn table 1962 – donated by Ian Stehbens
Click on a tab to view more images
References:
King, Joy (2001) “Imbil: jewel of the Mary Valley: a historical reference” [available for loan from the library]
Wild Heart Bountiful Land
Produced by the Queensland State Archives in partnership with Cooloola Shire Council, Wild Heart Bountiful Land is an historical overview of the Mary River Valley. [free eBook]
Mary Valley Rattler
A history of the railway in the Mary Valley [Web site]
Queensland Places
Centre for the Government of Queensland, contains all the places in Queensland with or has had a population over 500. [Web site]
Queensland Government – Place Names
Queensland place names database [Web site]
Regional Profile
A statistical snapshot of our region [Web site]
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Data from the 2016 Census [Web site]
Sponsorship
Proudly funded and supported by the Queensland Government and the State Library of Queensland.
Disclaimer
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that ‘Voices of the Valley’ may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, websites, film, audio recordings or printed material.
All opinions expressed in the Voices of the Valley interviews are those of the interviewee and do not reflect the views of Gympie Regional Council.
About Us
Gympie Regional Libraries provide a free, innovative library service to the residents, ratepayers and visitors of the Gympie region, boasting six service points located at:
* Gympie
* Goomeri
* Imbil
* Kilkivan
* Rainbow Beach
* Tin Can Bay
Get In Touch
Gympie Regional Libraries
8-14 Mellor Street
Gympie QLD 4570
(07) 5481 0859
library@gympie.qld.gov.au
In the Mary Valley
Imbil Library
123-125 Yabba Creek Road
Imbil QLD 4570
(07) 5484 5488
More Local History
Gympie Regional Memories
Local History blog – many more stories of our region
Curated Photo Collection
See more photos of our region organised by themes
The Past in Print
Free local history ebooks – download them to a device
Heritage Talks
View digitised versions of our heritage talks
Gympie Region Heritage Trails
Use QR codes to follow the heritage trails
Voices of the Valley 