Banana, Queensland

Banana is a small town and rural locality in the Shire of Banana, Central Queensland, Australia. In the 2011 census, Banana had a population of 377 people.GeographyBanana is located at the intersection of the Dawson and Leichhardt highways, 46km west of the shire's administrative centre, Biloela.HistoryThe town was named in the early 1860s. The name derives from an old dun-coloured working bullock, called Banana, used by local stockmen to help them when herding some of the wilder cattle into the yards.At the time of the Canoona rush, gold was found in Banana's Gully (as it was then called) and a town of at least 2,000 people sprang up there.The post office at Banana was established on 1 September 1861.Banana Provisional School opened on 18 September 1871 and was upgraded to Banana State School on 16 February 1874. The school closed in 1935, but reopened on 25 January 1960.In 1880, the local government area Banana Division (later the Shire of Banana) was established with its headquarters in Banana (taking its name from the town). However, in 1930 the shire headquarters became Rannes and the shire offices were physically relocated from Banana to Rannes. Since 1946, the shire has its headquarters in Biloela.