Killarney, Queensland

Killarney is a small town located 35km south-east of Warwick, on the Condamine River in Queensland, Australia. The town forms part of the Southern Downs local government area. Killarney is located about 8km from the Queensland/New South Wales border. It is close to Queen Mary Falls, in the Main Range National Park, where Spring Creek plunges 40 m into the valley. At the 2011 census, Killarney had a population of 773.The name of the town is said to be a result of the area's strong visual resemblance to that of Killarney in County Kerry, a region of south-western Ireland.HistoryOriginally part of Canning Downs, established by the Leslie brothers in 1840, the development of the town was largely based on primary production and forestry.The South Killarney town site was first surveyed in 1878, but the town already boasted several shops and services by this time. Many early settlers to Queensland selected land in the Killarney area with the first of these arriving in 1863. During the 1880s Killarney was described as "one of the most flourishing towns in Southern Queensland".A branch railway was built from Warwick in 1885. The line closed in 1964.The first Killarney Post Office opened on 1 July 1877 (a receiving office had been open from 1875). Killarney North Post Office opened on 26 June 1889 (replacing Killarney North Railway Station receiving office open from 1887) and was renamed North Killarney in 1897. In 1905 the Killarney office was renamed Killarney South, and the North Killarney office became the second Killarney office, due to the town having moved to near the railway station.