Kingston, Queensland

Kingston is a suburb of Logan City, Queensland, Australia. Kingston is a predominantly residential suburb, with a low mix of commercial and retail areas. It is the home of the Kingston Butter Factory. History

Dairying grew in importance in the area from the 1890s and in 1906 a meeting was held in Beenleigh to form a co-operative butter factory locally. The Southern Queensland Co-operative Dairy Company opened its factory in Kingston in June 1907. A piggery was established nearby in 1926 and pigs were fed on the buttermilk from the factory. The Butter Factory was enlarged in 1932 and operated successfully until after the war, when the dairying industry was being rationalised by the government. Peters bought the factory in 1958 and it ceased production in 1983. It now operates as a community arts centre and houses a theatre, arts and crafts stall and museum.

The other major industrial activity of the area was the Kingston gold mine at Mt Taylor. Although gold was discovered in 1885, a geological survey was not undertaken until 1913 and underground mining began. In 1932, the Kingston Gold Mining Company began an open cut operation and mining continued until 1954. The area became an unofficial waste dump. It was eventually backfilled and subdivided into a housing estate in the late 1960s. The reaction between the cyanide which remained from the goldmining days and the unidentified materials dumped in the old shafts formed toxic sludge which oozed from the ground during the 1980s. Eventually the state government resumed 46 properties and rehabilitated the area in the late 1980s, which is now open space. The predominantly low-socio-economic population of Kingston is a mix of Polynesian, New Zealander and Anglo-Saxon backgrounds. Since the South East Queensland housing boom of 2003, Kingston has been revitalised somewhat, with the rate of owner-occupied residents steadily increasing, resulting in a slight increase in socio-economic status.

External links

• Logan City map

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