Mulgildie, a rural village in the Upper Burnett district, is 120 km west of Bundaberg and 10 km south of Monto. First settled as a township in the mid-1920s, it was spelt Mulgeldie until an official name change in 1945.
Mulgildie was an outstation of the Dalgangal pastoral run (late 1840s), consisting mostly of open plain with patches of brigalow. First used for sheep grazing, it became better known for beef herds. The Upper Burnett district was opened up for closer-settlement in the 1920s (see entry for Monto Shire) and the Mulgildie settlement began about four years after the arrival of the first selectors in 1924. The town was surveyed and formally laid out, and by 1928 there were a school (1927), the Hotel Cecil, a hall, shops and a railway connection from Munduberra via Mulgildie to Monto. Dairying grew during the 1930s, continuing into the early postwar years. In 1948 there were two each of butchers, grocers, cafes and garage / service stations.
The decline of dairying and conversion to beef cattle has been accompanied by a general loss of population, and businesses have concentrated in Monto. Nevertheless, Mulgildie has retained the hotel, a grocer, the primary school and a sawmill. Its census populations have been:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1933 | 558 |
| 1954 | 337 |
| 1966 | 217 |
| 2006 | 114 |
| 2011 | not recorded |
Delma May, Abounding heritage: a history of the Mulgildi area, 1994
W. Ross Johnston, A new province? The closer settlement of Monto, Brisbane, Boolarong Publications for the Monto Shire Council, 1982
Mulgildie State School Jubilee Booklet Committee, The Golden Jubilee of Mulgildie State School, 1977
