Peak Downs is located in Queensland's Central Highlands, 320 km west of both Mackay and Rockhampton. Ludwig Leichhardt identified the Peak Range and the Peak Downs area of Queensland in 1844-45. Rapid growth of the inland sheep and cattle industries and the discovery of gold in Clermont and Copperfield saw the demand for a railroad from Rockhampton to the west. In 1884 a meeting at Capella considered the establishment of the Peak Downs region. Coal mining, farming and grazing became the economic basis for the district. These activities were supported by organisations such as the Peak Downs Pastoral and Agricultural Society, which only six or so years later issued a prize medal (NU 20746).

References:
Peak Downs Shire Council website http://www.peakdowns.qld.gov.au/index2.cfm?area=history.

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