In 1863 Phillip Somer and Matthew Hervey were granted the license to occupy the 42 square miles (110 square kilometres) and 25 square miles (65 km2) of the Keelbottom and Watershed Pastoral Runs respectively, by the Crown Lands Office in Brisbane.[5][6] By late 1865 these men had transferred their holdings of the Emysland, Dotswood, Nursiedob, Keelbottom, Watershed, and Tala (or Tula).runs to the Bank of New South Wales. These properties lay on one or both sides of Keelbottom Creek.[7] Eventually Dotswood Station comprised the runs of Arthurs Peak, Back Plains, Hardwick, Pall Mall, Poon Boon, Redyke (or Red Dyke), Smiths Brook and Yallock Vale, as well as those already mentioned.[8][9][10]
The neighbourhood of Macrossan takes its name from the Macrossan railway station, which in turn is named after the politician John Murtagh Macrossan.[11][12]
This locality was within the Star River Mineral Field, which was discovered in 1865.[13] The following year John Macrossan passed through the area.[14] The Ravenswood Gold Field, discovered in 1868, eventually extended north into the Star River Mineral Field.[15][8] From 1881 silver-lead deposits in the Ravenswood mining district, the most promising at Argentine, were being mined in what was called a silver mania.[16][17] However this ended suddenly in 1883, after the failure of a locally capitalized smelting works and low returns.[18][19]
In late 1872 1,100 acres (450 hectares) on Keelbottom Creek, Kennedy district were reserved for the town reserve of Boolangalla.[20]
In the town of Argentine, 67 town lots, at £16 per acre, and 3 mineral selections, were offered for sale by the Crown Lands Office in October 1882. By the next year the town consisted of several public houses, one butcher's shop, a baker's shop, three stores and two gardens.[21][22][23] In December 1888 the name of the Star River Post Office was changed to Argentine Post Office.[24]
^"TELEGRAPHIC". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XX, no. 2, 424. Queensland, Australia. 4 November 1865. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"THE NEW GOLD FIELD". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXIII, no. 3, 540. Queensland, Australia. 6 February 1869. p. 5. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Telegraphic News". The Northern Miner. Vol. XVI, no. 492. Queensland, Australia. 13 September 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Townsville". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXXVI, no. 7, 396. Queensland, Australia. 24 September 1881. p. 6. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"OFFICIAL NOTIFICATIONS". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXVII, no. 4, 710. Queensland, Australia. 4 November 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Current News". The Queenslander. Vol. XXII, no. 369. Queensland, Australia. 21 October 1882. p. 533. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Classified Advertising". The Queenslander. Vol. XXII, no. 369. Queensland, Australia. 21 October 1882. p. 562. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Mining News". The Northern Miner. Vol. XVIII, no. 749. Queensland, Australia. 7 June 1883. p. 2. Retrieved 8 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Monthly Postal Guide". The Telegraph. No. 5, 045. Queensland, Australia. 12 December 1888. p. 2. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
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