Childers (Qld)

About Childers (Qld)

Childers is a rural town in the Bundaberg Region of Queensland, located on the Bruce Highway 51.2 kilometres south-southwest of Bundaberg. The traditional inhabitants were the Dundabarra group of the Kabi Kabi nations. Europeans arrived in the 1850s and pastoralists established cattle properties. The town was established in 1885 and named after Hugh Childers, a British statesman who was Auditor-General of Victoria. The Isis railway line opened in 1887 and was pivotal to early development. Churchill Street features an extraordinarily dense collection of more than 26 heritage-listed buildings including the Post Office, Court House, Queensland National Bank, multiple hotels and the Paragon Theatre, all listed on the Queensland Heritage Register. In June 2000, an arsonist set fire to the Palace Backpackers Hostel killing 15 tourists. The Palace Building reopened in 2002 with a memorial, Regional Art Gallery and Information Centre. Sugar is the key crop of the Isis region.