Stannary Hills was a tin-mining town in the Herberton minerals area, 30 km west of Atherton and 12 km north of Irvinebank.

In 1884 tin deposits were found at Eureka Creek, and a mining town named Eureka was formed by 1888. It was later named Stannary Hills (Stannum is the Latin word for tin). In 1902 a two feet gauge tramway was built from Stannary Hills to the Cairns-Chillagoe railway, following the Eureka Creek valley and joining the railway at Boonmoo. The tramway lowered the costs of transporting tin out of Stannary Hills (the mines had not been worked for about eight years), and the ore was processed at a nearby battery.

Five years later the tramway was extended south to Irvinebank's tin mines, making Stannary Hills and Irvinebank a major base-metal region. The post office directory for 1911 recorded eight hotels at Stannary Hills, along with a Jack and Newell and other stores, a hospital, two butchers, two bakers and a teacher.

By 1920 there were four hotels, and Jack and Newell's branch store had closed. Ten years later one hotel was left. The Stannary Hills teacher was last mentioned in the 1933 directory. The tramway was closed in 1936 and the rails were taken for scrap during World War II. Some of the timber bridge supports remain. In 1948 the last hotel closed and in 1955 the post office closed.

Stannary Hills census populations were:

Census Date Population
1906 1724
1910 1466
1911 533
1933 55
1Inter-censal count.

Herberton Minerals Area and Irvinebank entries

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