What's Kingaroy (Qld) like to live in?

[Ratel10mm]

Hi all


I may be finding myself in Kingaroy on a 4 year contract soon.
At this stage, all I know of the job is that it's on a power generation site.
We've looked at the tourism & Gov't websites, real estate websites & so forth.
But what is it actually like as a town?
What are the day care facilities & primary schools like?
Any areas to be widely avoided?
If anyone knows of this power site thingy, is it a good site to work?


Cheers
Matt

[S3ute]

Hello from Brisbane.

I don't live in Kingaroy but have worked with plenty of people who have. All thought it was a good place to live and bring up kids.

Like any other country town of ~8000 people it has its strengths and some shortcomings. From my reading of it the pluses well outweigh the negatives.

Good local retail, health care facilities, schools, sports etc. Plenty of housing options in town, in the small local communities or out of town in the bush.

Close to the Bunyas and coastal ranges, and the whole Burnett region to play around in.

I guess these things are relative - especialy to where you are coming from and what you are specifically wanting from your community.

Cheers,

[loanrangie]

Its full of nuts :p.

[Redback]

And they have nut farms too:cool:

[incisor]

and wattlemere is just up the road!

[Ratel10mm]

Well that all sounds good so far - plus the vineyards! :)

[pop058]

and wattlemere is just up the road!

Wattlemere, the spiritual home ( and birthplace :D ) of the Series Land Owner club :)

[Bigbjorn]

Paint your neck red, join the National Party, turn your watch back 60 years and you will fit right in.

[bob10]

A lot less crime than the Gold Coast. Like any country town, the locals are a little bit insular, 'till they get to know you. The secret is to involve yourself in the local community, [ sport, social clubs etc] Once the locals suss you out, and you show you are willing to be part of the community, I think you will love the lifestyle. A lot quieter than the coast, for sure. Bob
[ I love the general area, so I am a little biased] check these out;
Is this the power station?
http://www.southburnett.biz/pdfs/ucgfactsheet.pdf



Kingaroy Soaring Club - Queensland Australia (http://www.kingaroysoaring.com.au/)


Kingaroy Speedway | Speedway Australia - Australian Speedway Racing (http://www.speedwayaustralia.net.au/companies/79/95/Kingaroy-Speedway/)


Modified Sedans - A-Main - Queensland Title - Kingaroy Speedway - 06.04.2013 - YouTube (http://youtu.be/42T_vFwtCQQ)


Darling Downs Hospital and Health Service - Kingaroy Hospital (http://www.health.qld.gov.au/services/darlingdowns/ddowns-kingaroy-hs.asp)


Kingaroy Cheese (http://www.kingaroycheese.com.au/)


South Burnett Tourism - Kingaroy (http://tourism.southburnett.com.au/townkingaroy.htm)


forgot the wine trail,
South Burnett Tourism - Wine and Food Trail Map (http://tourism.southburnett.com.au/mapwine.htm)

[ramblingboy42]

A nice little town , big enough to have all facilities you may want , and then Brisbane is an easy drive.

All the smaller towns within cooee have some fame or interest as well.

It has it's agricultural show which is quite a good one too.

A lot of interesting tourist rails around the area.

[Lionelgee]

Hello Matt,

In recent years the character of the town has changed a bit. This is due to its relative proximity to a couple of mining areas based around Dalby. It is within drive in drive out range. Also Kingaroy is already a decent sized town instead of living closer to the mines and living in a smaller town that has less facilities.

Only a couple of years ago an approach to Kingaroy was made up of hilly paddocks with stock grazing on it. Now the same ground is made up of housing estates.

Still a nice place though.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[UncleHo]

A nice medium size town,and as had been said has good school and sport facilities,quite cold in winter and hot in summer,a good airfield but not night rated from memory,mainly rural,peanuts,potatoes,and recently vineyards,there is a medium size Indiginious community at Murgon,there is a bus service to Caboolture and Brisbane a couple of times a week but that could be daily now,was at one time semi famous for being close to the home of Sir Joh Bjelke Peterson (Qld Premier)and his widow still lives there,it has Servos,motor and motorcycle dealers,fairly good hotels and accommodation, mainly good quality red soil and town water. and all the things that kids love,KFC,Macca's,Hungry Jacks and Pizza Parlours, I was last up there 18 months ago, and before that for an Airshow.

[rangietragic]

Daughter lived there for about 8 years,we visited her quite regularly.Seems a nice place generally.Although the town itself only has 8 or 9 thousand people,because of the power station and many smaller towns close by,it has the shopping and other facilities of a town of about 20,000.Not far from the bunyas,they are a must see.[bunyas had very light snowfall about 5 or 6 years ago]

[Ratel10mm]

Thais a lot everyone. Got the job interview tomorrow. Oddest one I've had yet.
The job is via a labour hire agency. They want to meet swmbo at well as me, and want me to wear work clothes to the interview!
Bob, I saw that PDF while googling power stations. I don't know yet which one it is. As always the agents are reluctant to provide any real detail.
The money sounds good, although a bit less so when you factor in that I'd normally have the use of a company vehicle, however it may allow me to upgrade from a SIII diesel! Lol
Anyway, there's a six month probation (6 months?????!!!) and I figure that it's close enough to home that I can rent a room or small unit & we can take turns visiting at weekends until it either becomes permanent or falls over.

[bob10]

Thais a lot everyone. Got the job interview tomorrow. Oddest one I've had yet.

Anyway, there's a six month probation (6 months?????!!!) and I figure that it's close enough to home that I can rent a room or small unit & we can take turns visiting at weekends until it either becomes permanent or falls over.


Let us know how you go. Our daughter is in her first year of teaching at Gayndah, never been out of Brisbane before, Loving the job. Seems like they are after keepers, in your job. If you get the job, I suggest, rent the house on the coast, take the family with you. That is what the interviewer will be looking for. Bob.
;)

[Bigbjorn]

quite aside from any of the forgoing posts, the region has been known to generations of sales reps as "the hungry valley". You went hungry working it. The locals were once well known for their tight-fistedness. Don't know if this is still the case. The population used to be principally of German and Danish descent. Henry Lawson wrote of a Victorian country district of similar ethnicity that the local farmers "asked for nothing and gave away less."

[Ratel10mm]

Ok, so had the interview with the agency this afternoon.
Basically it appears that the reason for the rush is someone was lined up to start Tuesday, until his wife refused to relocate a couple of days ago.
It's at Tarong Power Station.
Contract is 6 months 'probation' as a casual employee with the agency, moving to permanence with the sub contractor at the end of that time. So presumably the advertised high wages are only for the duration of the casual contract - the maths works out that way.
No relocation assistance available, hey ho.
No vehicle of course, being a static site. That's a large part of a service tech's package, so makes the offered rate lower again. But on the other hand I like industrial sites and there's an obvious possibility of getting dual traded.
I've said that assuming they wish to proceed with me, I want to meet the blokes I'd be working with / for & see the site before I commit. I figure if that goes ahead, at the very least I'll get to see another bit of Oz. :)

Bob, that's exactly the idea re. housing. I'd sort something out locally for the 6 months, and if it went permanent we'd look to move there & rent out this house.
Swmbo works part time, so during the probation she & our son can visit for long weekends, and I can drop down for weekends.

[worane]

Good luck . Hope it goes well for you both.

[Bigbjorn]

Tarong Power Station was regarded as being at Nanango which is certainly closer than Kingaroy. I was involved in supplying mobile plant to Pacific Coal, the supplying mine, in the construction and start up phases in the 1980's. They always used Nanango as their location. Maybe you should look at living there. Nice town as country towns go and closer to Brisbane.

[bob10]

With you there Brian. Nanango is good. Not as much infrastructure as Kingaroy [ hospital?] but a good little town. My uncle had a dairy farm just out of Nanango, years ago. Used to visit a bit, loved the fresh cream & milk, had to work for it though, Bob :p


South Burnett Tourism - Nanango (http://tourism.southburnett.com.au/townnanango.htm)

[3toes]

Had a house in Nanango in the early nineties. At that time it was being transformed by the power station with plenty of new houses being built. Is big enough to have most amenties while still being small enough to be personal without being too small.

[Ratel10mm]

Thanks a lot everyone. :)


Unfortunately it looks like it wont be going ahead. Oh well, the job hunt continues.

[bob10]

That's bad luck, mate. Don't give up, there is always a reward for persistence. You'll get there ;) Bob

[Ratel10mm]

Cheers Bob. :)

Winter is always a rubbish time to be job hunting in the climate control field, but I know something will come along eventually.