The North Coast railway line forms part of the southern boundary of the locality with Canoona and then passes through the south-west of locality exiting to Marlborough.
The Princhester pastoral run was established in 1857 by Dan Connor. By 1860 a Native Police barracks was constructed at Princhester under Sub-Lieutenant Walter Powell. The first town lots in Princhester were sold in June 1862. There was a gold rush at Princhester in 1883. However, it did not produce very much gold. From time to time, further small finds were made prompting more "rushes", but it was not a great gold producing area particularly compared with the success of Mount Morgan.
The section of the North Coast railway lines from Yaamba to Kunwarara was opened in August 1915. The next section of the North Coast railway line from Kunwarara to Marlborough was officially opened on Saturday 31 March 1917 by Herbert Hardacre, the Queensland Minister for Public Instruction. Although Kunwarara railway station remains officially an operational station, in 1994 the station building was relocated to the Australian Workers Heritage Centre in Barcaldine.
Demographics
In the 2016 census, Kunwarara had a population of 71 people.
In the 2021 census, Kunwarara had a population of 69 people.
There are no schools in Kunwarara. The nearest primary schools are Marlborough State School in neighbouring Marlborough to the west and Milman State School in Milman to the south-east. The nearest secondary school is Glenmore State High School in Kawana in Rockhampton to the south.
^"ROCKHAMPTON". The Courier (Brisbane). Vol. XVII, no. 1374. Queensland, Australia. 4 July 1862. p. 4. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"GOLD DISCOVERY AT PRINCHESTER". Morning Bulletin. Vol. XXX, no. 4612. Queensland, Australia. 4 January 1883. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PRINCHESTER GOLD RUSH". Morning Bulletin. Vol. XXX, no. 4614. Queensland, Australia. 6 January 1883. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"PRINCHESTER GOLD RUSH". Morning Bulletin. Vol. XXX, no. 4616. Queensland, Australia. 9 January 1883. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"A NEW GOLDFIELD". The Capricornian. Vol. 15, no. 27. Queensland, Australia. 6 July 1889. p. 13. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^"STATISTICS OF THE YEAR". Morning Bulletin. Vol. XLIX, no. 9867. Queensland, Australia. 11 January 1896. p. 5. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "NORTH COAST RAILWAY". Morning Bulletin. No. 16, 411. Queensland, Australia. 3 April 1917. p. 8. Archived from the original on 14 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020 – via National Library of Australia.