Preston, Queensland (Whitsunday Region)

For the locality split between the Toowoomba Region and Lockyer Valley Region, see Preston, Queensland.

Preston is a rural locality in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia.^[2] In the 2021 census, Preston had a population of 346 people.^[1]

Preston Queensland
Preston
Coordinates	20.3869°S 148.6569°E / -20.3869; 148.6569 (Preston (centre of locality))
Population	346 (2021 census)[1]
• Density	8.103/km2 (20.99/sq mi)
Postcode(s)	4800
Area	42.7 km2 (16.5 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	12.4 km (8 mi) E of Proserpine 137 km (85 mi) N of Mackay 271 km (168 mi) SE of Townsville 1,113 km (692 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Whitsunday Region
State electorate(s)	Whitsunday
Federal division(s)	Dawson
Suburbs around Preston: Mount Marlow Cape Conway Cape Conway Mount Julian Preston Palm Grove Glen Isla Goorganga Plains Conway

The town of Bonavista is within the south of the locality (20.382°S 148.651°E / -20.382; 148.651 (Bonavista, Queensland)).^[3]

Geography

The locality is bounded to the west and south by the Proserpine River.^[4]

The main road route through the locality is Conway Road which enters the locality from the north-west (Mount Julian / Mount Marlow), passes through the town of Bonavista, and then exits to the south-east (Conway / Palm Grove).^[4]

The elevation ranges from 10 to 270 metres (33 to 886 ft). The lower-lying land is mostly in the west of the locality and is used for growing sugarcane. There is a cane tramway to transport the harvested sugarcane to the local sugar mill. The higher land are mostly used for grazing on native vegetation.^[4]

History

The town of Bonavista was originally called Conway, which was derived from Cape Conway, which was named on 3 June 1770 by Lieutenant James Cook, commander of HMS Endeavour, after British Secretary of State for the Southern Department, Henry Seymour Conway. The town was renamed Bonavista from 3 January 1961.^[3] However, the road to the town is still called Conway Road.^[4]

Demographics

In the 2016 census, Preston had a population of 296 people.^[5]

In the 2021 census, Preston had a population of 346 people.^[1]

Education

There are no schools in Preston. The nearest government primary schools are Proserpine State School in Proserpine to the west and Cannonvale State School in Cannonvale to the north-east. The nearest government secondary school is Proserpine State High School, also in Proserpine.^[6]