Early Settlers of Mizpah DistrictPrint Page

The plaque commemorates the early settlers of the Mizpah District.

In the wake of a crippling economic downturn and the record 1893 floods, the Queensland government passed legislation that enabled groups of men who were prepared to live and work communally, to settle on the land. Three such groups settled in the Chinchilla district.

The Mizpah, Monmouth and Industrial (Mulga) groups were comprised almost entirely of men from Brisbane and Ipswich. They were town folk — labourers and tradesmen mostly and many were long-term unemployed. There were very few experienced farmers amongst them. Over the groups’ brief, two year lifespan, 121 men enrolled as members. With wives and children their numbers exceeded 440. At a time when Chinchilla’s adult population stood at just 100, the potential impact on the district was huge.

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