Nebo area is the key link to the 1800s and early life in the Mackay region (being the closest rural and gold mining historical town to Mackay). Nebo Shire has a diverse array of offerings, with significant coal deposits, prime gazing land and crop cultivation.
Nebo Shire is rich in historical adventure with connections to gold mining at Mount Britton, sheep farming, the cattle industry, as well as the Bicentennial National Trail and the explorer William Landsborough.
Historical sites in the region include Lake Elphinstone, the Mount Britton Gold Mining site, and the intrepid traveller can find the site where Leichhardt camped as he explored the region in 1845.
In the early 1980's, to celebrate the Shire's Centenary in the 1983, a group of locals began the process of gathering the many relics of the past and putting them together in a museum collection originally situated in the old Nebo Police Station. Today's relocated museum is a tribute to that effort and to the pioneers of the past and well worth a visit.
Opened in the early 1980s is the Nebo Shire Museum. This museum is the result of many locals coming together to gather relics and information on the Shire's past. Nebo Shire has a diverse and interesting history and this can be viewed by visiting the museum.
The Pioneer Tracks of Queensland Gallery is housed in the Marley Accommodation Centre complex just outside Nebo on the highway. The Gallery houses a photographic collection of the early years of the settlement of the State.
Payable gold was discovered in 1881 at Mount Britton, and within a few weeks a bustling township blossomed. Many enterprising people moved to the area and played a large part in the development of the region. Their interesting tales and experiences are well worth discovering.
