Warwick settled more than 150 years ago, and it is rich in historic Building Trails and heritage sites. If you visit this place, you will come across numerous well-preserved churches, railway stations, cottages, schools and other monuments – each one has its own historic story. So, if you are looking for a place in Queensland where you can relax and explore heritage sites, Warwick is the place to go.
Before the arrival of Europeans in Australia, the entire Warwick area was occupied by the Bundjalung. They were the Aboriginal Australians, who are considered as the original custodians of the land. The Githabal (also known as Kitabal, Gidabal) were also used to live in the area. The first people to settle down in the Warwick area were Patrick and George Leslie, popularly known as Leslie brothers. They established the Canning Downs run in the year 1840 and finally built a house in 1846. If you want to know about the history of Warwick, then you need to do a lot of research, but most importantly, you must visit the place.
A lot of tourists try to find the story behind the name Warwick. In 1847, the government gave permission to Patrick Leslie to select an area for a town on his Canning Downs station. It becomes popular as Canningtown, while the local Aborigines knew the site as Gooragooby. The specific reason how Canningtown changed into Warwick is not known. However, there are a few theories and one such theory claim that Warwick was named after Warwick the Kingmaker. It is a character from the historical novel 'The Last of the Barons', written by Edward Bulwer-Lytton. It was published in 1843.
