This page is an addendum to the page in this website about the origin of the name of Kingaroy. The name Kingaroy is no longer a mystery. An authoritative and plausible explanation was found in a letter written in 1923 by Thomas Alford who was a former owner of Taabinga Station. To recap, according to Thomas Alford, an area of Taabinga Station was leased to a Mr King to agist sheep. The leased area was then initially called Kingroy, not Kingaroy.

Here is further relevant information that has been uncovered as a result of ongoing research.

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Further information has been found about the Mr King in Thomas Alford's story about the origin of the name of Kingaroy.

Alford stated that King became the speaker of the state parliament. Henry Edward King (1832-1910) was the speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 25th July 1876 to 26th July 1883.

King was born at Mount Coote, Limerick, Ireland.

Limerick is in southwest Ireland, which is where the Haly brothers of Taabinga had ancestors. For example, the county of Limerick adjoins the county of Cork where Ballyhaly is located. The ancestor who changed his name to Haly from O'Hanly had moved to Limerick. The seat of the O'Grady sept, to which the Haly brothers of Taabinga were related, was also in Limerick. See the page in this website about the South Burnett's link with royalty for more information about the ancestry of the Haly brothers of Taabinga.

King's Irish roots may have provided a substantial link between King and the Haly brothers. This could have been a factor in facilitating the arrangement whereby King was able to lease part of Taabinga Station from the Haly brothers.



Assuming that King was not less than twenty years old when he leased part of Taabinga Station, King's birth year of 1832 means that the name Kingroy/Kingaroy cannot have been created any earlier than 1852. The first European settlers at Taabinga in 1842 or 1846 must have given names to all the local natural landmarks, including creeks. It was essential to name local places so that accurate information about the region could be communicated from one person to another. It can therefore be deduced that Kingroy/Kingaroy Creek must have had a pre-1852 name that was different.

Research will continue with the aim of finding the original name of Kingaroy Creek. If the creek can be proved to have had a different name in the 1840s, then this would be strong evidence that Alford's story about King is true.



The life of Thomas Alford of Taabinga is outlined here, mainly from a perspective that concentrates on the experiences and connections that make him one of the most authoritative sources of information about places such as Taabinga.

Much of the information contained here about the Alford family was extracted from a book about the family compiled by Robert Dudley Chisholm Alford in 1989 titled "Thomas Alford --- 1838 --- 1864. Drayton --- Toowoomba. Journals. Richard Symes Alford. Memoirs. Other Papers".



Early life (1844-1857) - Drayton; Toowoomba; Brisbane

Thomas Alford was the eldest son of Thomas (1817-1864) and Elizabeth (1817-1905) Alford. Thomas senior and Elizabeth were both born in England. Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of George Boulton of West Maitland in NSW. Thomas senior arrived in Australia in 1839 and shortly afterwards married Elizabeth. They had eight children.

Thomas Alford senior was from a Somerset family of landed gentry, with many members spanning several generations being in the clergy, some having risen to high positions.

The Alford family moved to Drayton in 1842 and set up a house, store and post office. Thomas Alford junior was born at Drayton in 1844. The family moved a few kilometres to a house and store called "Toowoomba" in 1851. They then moved to Brisbane in 1853.

The Alford family were well-to-do. For example, it is mentioned in the book about the Alford family that Elizabeth Alford "held a Ball" in 1855 at her new residence in Brisbane. Dancing commenced at 8pm and continued until 6am.

However, in 1856 Thomas Alford senior became bankrupt. Elizabeth Alford and her children left Brisbane and returned to Toowoomba. Thomas senior rejoined her there in 1859 and started an auctioneering business.

Meanwhile, in 1856 Thomas Alford senior began working as a station manager at Pikedale in charge of many thousands of sheep. In 1857, Thomas Alford senior took Thomas junior with him on a sheep-droving trip from Pikedale to beyond the Namoi River.



Adult life (1858-1883)

Jondaryan; Kolan; Mondure; Coochin; Gwambegwine; Taabinga

From here onwards in this narrative the name Thomas Alford refers to Thomas Alford junior.

In 1858, aged fourteen, Thomas Alford began work at Jondaryan Station which at that time had 45,000 sheep and 3,000 cattle.

In 1859, Thomas helped to take 500 cattle to Kolan Station near Gin Gin and remained there for the next three years. In the Alford family memoirs, one of Thomas Alford's daughters states that at Kolan "though Dad always carried firearms, he never used them against the blacks at any time. During Dad's three years there he learnt their language."

In 1862, Thomas Alford went to work on Mondure Station in the South Burnett. Mondure was part-owned by his brother-in-law, William Green. According to Alford's daughter Florence, while at Kolan Station and at Mondure Station Alford learned to speak six Aboriginal dialects.

In 1868, Thomas Alford became manager and part-owner of Coochin Coochin Station near Boonah, south of Ipswich. Coochin had 3,000 cattle.

At that time, there were hundreds of wild cattle at Coochin. Because settlers were shooting the scrubbers, Alford was concerned that they might shoot the station cattle as well. He devised methods of removing the scrubbers, getting tame station cattle to mix with them which made it much easier to yard them.

The station was also "swarming with kangaroos", regarded in those days as a pest. Alford armed local Aboriginals with shotguns which soon reduced the number of kangaroos.

There were four members of the consortium that owned Coochin. The partnership bought Gwambegwine near Taroom on the Dawson River to breed bullocks, and also bought Taabinga Station in the South Burnett in 1875 from Charles Robert Haly for the same purpose. The bullocks were fattened at Coochin.

Thomas Alford's younger brother, Richard Symes Alford (1854-1920), managed Taabinga Station on behalf of the consortium from 1875 to 1883.



Marriage to Sarah Ogg (1872)

In 1872, Thomas Alford married Sarah Margaret Ogg, daughter of Edward Ogg JP of Ipswich. They had eight children. They lived at Coochin until 1883.

Thomas Alford's brother, Richard Symes Alford, married Sarah Ogg's sister Rachel Gordon Ogg in 1893. Also, a brother of the Ogg sisters later married the daughter of another of Thomas Alford's brothers, Henry King Alford, making a total of three marriages between the Alford and Ogg families.

For information about some of the famous relatives of the Ogg family, click here to see the addendum in the page in this website about the South Burnett's link with royalty.



Sole owner of Taabinga Station (1883-1888)

In 1883 the Coochin, Gwambegwine and Taabinga properties were sold after two of the partners in Thomas Alford's consortium had died. Thomas Alford bought Taabinga Station from the partnership and moved there from Coochin. At that time Taabinga had 7,000 cattle and 120 horses. Richard Symes Alford left Taabinga in 1883 when it was bought outright by Thomas Alford.

According to Alford's daughter Florence, outside Coochin Coochin Homestead and at Taabinga there were large Aboriginal camps during the residence of Thomas Alford. He did not allow peddlers onto either property, so alcohol was not available to the Aboriginal people. It is claimed that this resulted in there being no trouble at any time.

That Alford could speak six Aboriginal dialects would have made Alford at least as great an expert on Aboriginal language as the surveyor Hector Munro. Alford's ability to speak several dialects is strong evidence that if the name Kingaroy was of Aboriginal origin as was claimed by Hector Munro then, considering that Alford owned the land around Kingaroy Creek for many years, Alford would have known about it.

In 1888, Thomas Alford suffered a riding accident that resulted in one broken leg and a broken knee of the other leg. Doctors told him that he would never walk again. He sold Taabinga to Arthur Youngman and moved to Brisbane. He eventually learned to walk with the aid of sticks.

Thomas Alford's brother, Richard Symes Alford, returned to Taabinga to manage the transfer of the station to Arthur Youngman.

Richard Symes Alford then spent twenty years in Brisbane as a stock and station agent, taking over a business that Thomas Alford had started a few months previously.

The year is not certain, but it was probably around 1908 that Arthur Youngman persuaded Richard Symes Alford to sell his business and return to Taabinga as book keeper. Richard and his wife lived in a house called "The Lodge" built by Arthur Youngman for them. They lived at Taabinga for three years and then left to take up dairying at Beaudesert.

Richard Symes Alford was a close friend of Arthur Youngman who held him in such high esteem that he had Alford Street in Kingaroy named after him.



Later life (1888-1928)

Yeerongpilly; Logan Village; East Brisbane; Coorparoo

After leaving Taabinga in 1888, Thomas Alford lived for a few months at Cleveland and at Thompson Estate. He then bought a property at Yeerongpilly where he lived for sixteen years. He started a business as a stock and station agent but soon transferred this to his brother, Richard Symes Alford. Thomas Alford no longer required the business as he had been offered a position with an investment company as a pastoral inspector with responsibility for ten stations. He remained in this position for eight years, travelling extensively within Queensland.

In 1905, he sold the property at Yeerongpilly and bought 206 acres at Logan Village. He farmed there with his two youngest sons for twenty years until 1925.

In 1923, now in the twilight of his life and reflecting with great clarity on his memories, he wrote a letter to the Brisbane Courier in which he took issue with Hector Munro's version of the origin of the name of Toowoomba. He also added an outline of his knowledge of the origin of the name of Kingaroy.

In 1925, Thomas Alford's wife Sarah died. At around this time he moved to East Brisbane. Two years later he moved to Coorparoo where he died in 1928 at the age of 84 years.



Places named after Thomas Alford

Three places were named after Thomas Alford: Mount Alford near Boonah, Alford Street in New Farm and Alford Street in Waterford.




Munro's theory about the origin of the name Toowoomba

The surveyor Hector Munro frequently made himself out to be an expert on the subject of Aboriginal placenames.

The page in this website about the origin of the name of Kingaroy describes how Munro refuted Thomas Alford's highly authentic story about the origin of the name Kingaroy. Munro also poured scorn on Alford's version of how Toowoomba got its name.

A turnpike gate known as a toll bar used to be located at the range crossing near Toowoomba on the road between Ipswich and Drayton.

In a letter to the Brisbane Courier of 18th July 1923, Munro stated that "Toll Bar" would have too hard a sound for Aboriginal pronunciation, and that it would have been called "Too-wool-ba" or "Toom-bar". In a letter to the Brisbane Courier of 18th August 1923, Munro stated that he favoured "Toowoolbar" or "Toowoomba" as an Aboriginal pronunciation of "toll bar". Munro may not have been the first person to link the name of Toowoomba with the toll bar. What Munro seemed to be saying was that the toll bar really was the origin of the name Toowoomba.

Below is conclusive evidence that the toll bar version of how Toowoomba got its name is incorrect, which suggests that Munro 's story about Kingaroy and red ants is also incorrect.



Actual origin of the name Toowoomba

In 1851, Thomas Alford senior built a house and store at a swamp that later became the centre of Toowoomba.

The Alford family moved to the swamp from Drayton, a few kilometres away. Drayton is nowadays a suburb of Toowoomba. The Alford's house and store at Drayton had been called "St Audries", after St Audries Rectory near Drayton in Somerset where Thomas Alford senior had been born.

Thomas Alford's wife, Elizabeth, gave the name "Toowoomba" to the new house and store at the swamp, because this was the name by which Aboriginal people called the locality. This story has been attested by several independent people, including Elizabeth herself.

At that time there was only one other house at the swamp. This was the dwelling of Joseph Dent who was a timber cutter and charcoal maker. There was also a shepherd from Gowrie Station living in a hut.

The name "Toowoomba" is recorded on two official documents issued in 1852. One is the birth certificate of Henry King Alford who was born on 22nd July 1852, and the other is the birth certificate of Pamela Dent who was born on 4th August 1852.

As seems to have also happened in the case of Kingaroy, later settlers in the Toowoomba area invented many diverse theories and interpretations about what the name Toowoomba meant. The most likely meanings are "reedy swamp" or "water close to surface". It was the plentiful water at the swamp that had attracted the Alfords to the place. The groundwater at the Alfords' previous home at Drayton had become exhausted.



Conclusive proof

that Munro's version of the meaning of Toowoomba is wrong

In 1842, an eight foot wide dray track was cut in a pass through the range on the road from Ipswich to Drayton. The track helped to open up the Darling Downs region west of the range to European settlement, but the track through the pass was so steep and difficult to navigate that it could only be used by bullock teams driven to the limits of their abilities. It was so steep that It took two to three weeks for a bullock team to make the seventy mile journey from Ipswich to Drayton.

In 1848, another pass was discovered three miles northeast of the original pass. It was realised that the new pass would be a much better route for the road. One report indicates that construction of a road through the new pass began in 1852, although another report states that work commenced in April 1853. Perhaps some bullock teams may have been using the new pass in 1852. In any case, the road was not completed until 1854. The new road dramatically improved access to the region west of the range.

The state of Queensland did not exist until 1859 when it separated from NSW. At the time of writing, the NSW Government Gazette for the year 1854 is not available on the internet. However, some old newspapers can be viewed online.


This is evidence that the toll bar was not established until 1st January 1855.

Official birth certificates from 1852 prove that the name Toowoomba was in existence in 1852, when Toowoomba was the name of a house and store owned by the Alfords.

Therefore, the assertion that the word Toowoomba is an Aboriginal pronunciation of toll bar is conclusively proven to be nonsense because the name Toowoomba was in existence more than two years before the toll bar was created.



Munro was either a foolish fantasiser or a linguistic charlatan

Another peculiar aspect of Munro's logic is that he could not accept that a swamp could be called "reedy". He thought that the name "Reedy Swamp" would effectively be meaningless because many swamps had reeds. Yet, in his letter of 18th August 1923 in which he dismisses Alford's story about Kingaroy, Munro appears to have been perfectly happy that one of the creeks on Taabinga Station was called Reedy Creek.

If Munro was as knowledgeable as he made himself out to be then he ought to have known the correct history of the toll bar. Nomatter what he knew about the history of the toll bar, Munro must have known that the toll bar version of the origin of the name of Toowoomba was nothing more than a guess based on opinions rather than a substantiated story based on facts.

The toll bar story was a fantasy. Munro may have thought that the toll bar fantasy was true. The only other possibilities are either that he knew that the story might be false or that he definitely knew that it was false. In other words, Munro was either a foolish fantasiser or a linguistic charlatan.

Considering that Munro's support for the story about Toowoomba and the toll bar was either a fantasy or a deception, it seems likely that there was also no substance to Munro's story about Kingaroy and red ants. In any case, Munro modified his red ant story twice. There is zero evidence of the existence of the Kingaroy red ant story until Munro started to write about it.



Sergio Bello has kindly contributed a theory about how the name Kingroy might have become Kingaroy.

kingaroar.com main page

How Kingaroy Got its Name

Taabinga's Link with Royalty