Nebo

Nebo has a diverse array of offerings, with significant coal deposits, prime grazing land and crop cultivation. Historical sites in the region include Lake Elphinstone, the Mount Britton Gold Mining site, and the intrepid traveller can find the site where Leichardt camped as he explored the region in 1845.

To celebrate the Shire’s Centenary in 1983, a group of locals began the process of gathering many relics of the past and putting them together in a museum collection originally situated in the old Nebo Police Station. Today’s relocated museum is a tribute to that effort and to the pioneers of the past and well worth a visit.

The Pioneer Tracks of Queensland Gallery is housed in the Marley Accommodation Centre just outside Nebo on the highway. The Gallery houses a photographic collection of the early years of the settlement of the State. The Nebo murals stretch for more than 260 metres, depicting significant people and events in Australian history. Murals in the collection include: Lieutenant James Cook, Buried Alive: The First Five Years of White Settlement, The Thrill of Bringing in the herd: A tribute to Sir Sydney Kidman, Australians at War, Images of Mt Britton – a gold rush town, and many more.

Nebo’s heritage listed hotel still retains great character and hasn’t changed much since it was built overlooking Nebo Creek in 1862. The current structure replaced the original slab hut hotel some years later, still under its original name, the Fort Cooper Hotel. It was renamed the Nebo Hotel in 1948. The dance hall is gone and has been replaced with a state-of-the-art Rodeo Arena that annually hosts one of the largest North Queensland Rodeo’s. On the wall of the Hotel is a brand board that lists some of the longest standing cattle brands of local families in the area. The current publicans are the same family that have owned the hotel since 2000 and are always happy to chat about the history of the Hotel. Located in Reynolds Street it is well worth a visit just to soak up some history and enjoy a cool ale.