The Beaudesert Run was first taken up by Edward Hawkins on behalf of Henry Souter of Bathurst.
Hawkins arrived in the district in 1842 with a mob of 10,000 sheep, naming the selection Beau Desir, after a property he had worked on near Bathurst.
By 1844 Beau Desire was carrying 1,200 Cattle but no sheep. Joseph Robinson Phelps took over the Run in 1844, but on his sudden death the property passed to his brother George who formed a partnership with William Duckett White.
In 1874, Robinson bought out White, but sold part of the land to White’s son Ernest.
Town blocks were surveyed by Ernest White and put up for auction in 1874, although there is no record of any sales at the time. Beaudesert remained a ‘private town’ because the area was not officially gazetted as a town. It is however the date celebrated as the beginning.
The major business hub of the district in 1874 was Townsvale. It was there that the first Police Station was established in 1876. However, businesses were beginning to open in Beaudesert, and the opening of the railway terminus in Beaudesert in 1888 spelt the end to Townsvale.
Jeremiah Dunn and Thomas Brayford were among the first to commence business. They were quickly followed by David Howard who became the first postmaster and John Markwell who took over the mail coach.
The population of Beaudesert in 1885 was 25 and there were three mail coaches per week.
By 1895 the population had increased to 240.
