Rolleston is currently a 2 star accredited Queensland Tidy Town.

You can tell us about your experience visiting Rolleston by voting in the online poll and/or leaving a comment below.

History and Geography Facts

Located in the Central Highlands region of central Queensland, Rolleston is the nearest town to the world renowned Carnarvon Gorge and National Park. Situated on the Comet River, 694 kilometres north west of Brisbane, Rolleston was built on Kanolu land.

Boasting a diverse pastoral history, the township of Rolleston was named after Christopher Rolleston, a pastoralist who was involved in leasing a number of pastoral runs in the area in the 1860s.

The area is also famous for the notorious Patrick and James Kenniff – Queensland’s last legendary bushrangers.

Today, Rolleston lies in the centre of a rich, resourceful and productive valley, bordered by the sandstone cliffs that follow the edges of the Carnarvon, Expedition and Shotover Ranges.

Local Government Information

The Central Highlands region is in Central Queensland, Australia. The region encompasses an area of around 60 000 square kilometres, making it just short of the size of Tasmania. It is home to around 30 000 people who live in the thirteen unique communities of Arcadia Valley, Bauhinia, Blackwater, Bluff, Capella, Comet, Dingo, Duaringa, Emerald, Rolleston, Sapphire Gemfields, Springsure and Tieri. Our region is rich in minerals and agriculture, thriving on irrigation sourced from water storage on the Nogoa and Comet rivers. We claim the largest sapphire-producing fields in the Southern Hemisphere, with Blackwater known as the Coal Capital of Queensland.

The traditional owners of the land surrounding Rolleston are the Karingal Aboriginal people who lived in the Arcadia Valley. A story from the dreaming of the Karingal mob tells of Lake Nuga Nuga, the home of Mundagarri, the Rainbow serpents who live under the town dominating peaks of the northern shoreline of the Lake. The story tells that if the Rainbow serpents are disturbed in their homes, they will leave, and the Lakes will dry up.