Kingaroy, town, southeastern Queensland, Australia, in the South Burnett area. It originated in 1886 as Kingaroy Paddock, deriving its name from the Aboriginal term kingerroy, meaning “red ant,” and was proclaimed a shire in 1912. The area’s rich, red soils yield an important peanut (groundnut) crop, and the state peanut-marketing board is in Kingaroy. Other local products are grains, soybeans, dairy foods, and beef cattle. Agricultural machinery is made in Kingaroy, which is linked to Brisbane (100 miles [160 km] southeast) by rail and air and by the Bunya Highway. The nearby Bunya Mountains, which rise to 3,727 feet (1,136 metres) at Mount Kiangarow, were important to Aboriginal people as a source of bunya pine nuts and have now been included within Bunya Mountains National Park. Pop. (2006) local government area, 12,222; (2011) urban centre, 9,587.