Many Peaks, a former rural town and copper-mining centre, is 80 km south of Gladstone, at the southern end of the Boyne Valley. It was named after the Many Peaks Range to the town's north-east, named by Ludwig Leichhardt in 1845.
The Many Peaks copper find occurred in 1896, and a Mount Morgan syndicate acquired the mining rights in 1898. In 1906 it was decided that the ore would be most profitably processed if transported to Mount Morgan for use as a flux in the smelters there. A railway line was built in 1910, incidentally opening up much of the Boyne Valley's timber and dairy produce to vastly improved transportation.
Within a few years Many Peaks had a progress association, a hospital (1910), a courthouse, Anglican and Catholic churches, up to five hotels and a silent picture show. Pugh's Directory (1924) also recorded five drapers, an aerated waters manufacturer and a sawmill.
The Many Peaks mine was worked continuously until 1918, and during its life Many Peaks' population peaked at 1300. When mining ended in the mid-1920s, sawmilling, local dairying and grazing continued, but population rapidly declined. By 1924 all that remained of the Many Peaks township was a hotel and a row of houses. The hotel provides a welcome highway stop, while the hospital has been transferred to neighbouring Builyan.
Many Peaks' census populations were:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1911 | 1280 |
| 1933 | 115 |
| 1961 | 82 |
Calliope Shire Council, Calliope Shire Council Centenary 1879-1979, Calliope, The Council, 1979
Lorna McDonald, Gladstone: city that waited, Gladstone, Boolarong Publications, 1988
