Welcome to Proserpine...sugar and beef center
of the Whitsunday region
of Australia's Queensland.
Locality Information
Proserpine is a town rich in heritage and can trace its history back many
generations to the pioneer days when this area was being opened by men and women
of courage who faced incredible odds to carve out an existence in this rich and
fertile region. No wonder sugar cane has thrived so well is this area.
Today, Proserpine, the administrative center of the Whitsunday shire, cares
for needs of the greater Whitsunday region. Places like Airlie Beach,
Cannonvale, Conway, Wilson Beach, Jubilee Pocket, Shute Harbour and Australia's
fabulous tourist destination the Whitsunday Islands such as Hayman Island,
Hamilton Island, South Molle Island, Daydream Island etc., all fall under
the protective umbrella of Proserpine's service based industry.
Proserpine is situated on the Proserpine river about 15km upriver and on the Bruce Highway
125km north of Mackay and 275km south of Townsville.
The greater Whitsunday shire at the last count has over 14,300 inhabitants,
of which approximately only 4,500 live in Proserpine itself.
Proserpine Sugar Mill
(Picture by Skye Doherty, The Proserpine Guardian) |
The Proserpine
township is dominated by The Proserpine Co-operative Sugar Mill, which processes
the region 2,000,000+ tons of sugar cane each year to produce in the vicinity of
285,000 metric tons of raw sugar which is all exported.
Sugar plantations were first begun in the 1880s which was all done by manual
labour.
Italian immigrants were among the first sugarcane farmers and their story is
available in a newly published book "A Heart in Two Places". The sugarcane
was originally harvested by hand, and Kanakas (Torres Straight Islanders etc.)
were brought to do the backbreaking work, a far cry from today's mechanized and
air-conditioned harvesters which can cut more than 1 ton of cane a minute.
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Background of Name
The name Proserpine was derived from the legend of the Greek goddess
Persephone (whose Latin name is Proserpine). As the legend goes Persephone was
the daughter of Demeter, and the god of the underworld, Hades, lusted after her,
and persuaded Mercury, messenger of the gods, to capture her and bring her to
him in the underworld. When Demeter discovered that Persephone was missing, she
searched desperately for her, until she found the truth, whereupon she visited
the underworld to retrieve her daughter.
In the meantime, Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds which Hades had
given her as a token of love, and so she was not able to entirely leave the
underworld. So she had to spend part of the year (winter) in the underworld with
Hades, and then emerges as springtime brings her with the birth of new life
and the growth of plants fruits, flowers, and all life, but at the end of of the
autumn after the harvest she must return to the underworld for her sojourn there.
She accordingly is associated with growth, abundance and fertility. More on Proserpine (Persephone)
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Persephone (Proserpine)
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-1882). Oil on canvas, 1874 |
History...Original Inhabitants
The original inhabitants of the area, aborigines of the Giru Dala tribe were dispossessed, and now very few of them live in the area. In recent times, with
the establishment of the Reconciliation Group, steps have been taken to bring
together people of the whole area.
The Historical Museum of Proserpine which was established in 1995 has some
very interesting memorabilia is well worth a visit. It is open staffed by
volunteers on Tuesdays & Thursdays.
Some of the interesting stops to visit in the immediate area are: Cedar Creek
Falls, Dingo Beach, Hideaway Bay, Sinclair Bay, Conway Beach( which hosts the
annual award winning Craft Market that attracts thousands of people), the Peter
Faust Dam and Lake Proserpine, Earlando, Dittmer (old Gold Mine), Laguna Quays,
Midge Point, and the fabulous Whitsunday Islands such as Daydream Island, Long
Island, Hamilton Island, Hayman Island, South Molle Island and Whitsunday Island
with its famous Whitehaven Beach ( a pure white sand beach), not to forget the
coastal communities of Airlie Beach, Cannonvale, Jubilee Pocket and Mandalay
Point.
The Proserpine area also has a great range of wildlife including its own
unique and endangered Proserpine Rock Wallaby. Sugar gliders, possums,
bandicoots, kangaroos, sugar gliders, goannas and echidnas all inhabit the area
as well as much bird life including pelicans, spoonbills, egrets, red tailed
black cockatoos, cormorants, sunbirds, kingfishers, kookaburras, finches and
many many more. So for the environmental tourist, there are rainforest tours,
rain forest rail rides, and the famous Barefoot Bushman's Adventure Park, with
his amazing crocodile show, where he actually walks around and sits on a 6m
crocodile and puts his hand in its mouth!! that's 1000kg+ of fury just lying
there.
The Proserpine Show is an annual event, which is held in June and has all the
attractions of a country town show. Highlights include wood chopping, the
parades, displays, and exhibitions.
On the last Thursday of the month, there are country markets in the main street of town, where many of the local cottage industries display their ware in
the city center. Proserpine also contains a Cultural Hall which hosts traveling
shows and exhibitions, a new library next door, a new Hospital, Railway station
and 10km south, the Proserpine Airport which has bus services connecting it with
Proserpine and the coastal tourist area.
For the avid sportsman, Proserpine boasts an excellent golf course and a bowls
club, with the exceptional Laguna Quays Golf Club close by.
Cedar Creek Falls
(Picture by Dan Pedersen, The Proserpine Guardian) |
Peter Faust Dam - Lake
Proserpine
(Click On picture to visit)
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| A must to visit are Cedar Creek Falls, The Peter Faust Dam and Lake Proserpine,
Laguna Quays and the Historic Museum. |
Information on Airlie Beach & The
Whitsunday Islands
