Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Blackbutt QLD

Blackbutt

Postcode: 4306

Blackbutt is a town in the South Burnett region of Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the D’Aguilar Highway, in the Nanango Shire Local Government Area, 166 kilometres north west of the state capital, Brisbane. At the 2001 census, Blackbutt had a population of 558.

European settlement in the Blackbutt area began in 1842, when the Scott family established Taromeo station. In 1887, the Scott family ceded land to found both Blackbutt and its neighbouring town of Benarkin. Blackbutt is named for the Blackbutt trees (Eucalyptus pilularis) native to the area. Farms were established in the area and the discovery of gold in the area in the late 1800s lead to population growth in the town. Blackbutt was connected to the Brisbane Valley rail line in 1905. The line was closed in the 1980s and is now a popular rail trail.

Situated at the top of the Blackbutt range, you will find an almost perfect low-humidity climate of crisp winters and cool summers. As you ascend the range you immediately smell the pine and a tingle in the wind. The air is clearer and you breathe easier, you have left the pollution below and are now 474 metres above sea level.

Blackbutt is a popular spot for campers, bush-walkers, backpackers, astronomers, 4WD enthusiasts and artists, families who want a day trip that is different.