Wetherby was part of the settlers freehold grant programme, whereby the government of the day offered land to pioneer farmers who were prepared live in remote largely unsettled areas of Australia.

William and Elizabeth Grove built the Wetherby Homestead at that time and raised their 10 children there.

During the years after WW2, Wetherby became famous as the first property in Queensland to breed tick resistant Droughmaster cattle - even now Wetherby cattle are highly soughtafter in the saleyards.