The terrain varies from 50 to 190 metres (160 to 620 ft) above sea level with the higher elevations in the east of the locality, the foothills of Mount Elliot.[3]
The land use is predominantly grazing on native vegetation with a small amount of crop growing.[3]
Toonpan Provisional School opened circa 1895,[7] becoming Toonpan State School on 1 January 1909. Between 1920 and 1923, it operated as a half-time school with Manton Provisional School (meaning the two schools shared a single teacher). It resumed as a full-time state school in 1923. It closed in circa 1940.[8] It was located immediately south-west of the railway station.[9][10]
In the 1980s, the second stage of the Ross River Dam necessitated a deviation of the Flinders Highway and Mount Isa railway line (which otherwise ran straight north–south) further east. This was completed by 1986 and resulted in the closure of Toonpan and Barringha railway stations on the removed route; they were not re-established on new route.[13][6][14][3]
The locality was officially named and bounded on 27 July 1991.[2]
Demographics
In the 2016 census, Toonpan had a population of 57 people.[15]
In the 2021 census, Toonpan had a population of 62 people.[1]
^"Townsville". The Brisbane Courier. Vol. XXXV, no. 4, 237. Queensland, Australia. 18 December 1880. p. 7. Retrieved 5 February 2024 – via National Library of Australia.