The district takes its name from the pastoral run owned by the Balfour family which was in turn named for their home town in
Colinton,
Lothian,
Scotland. Colinton Provisional School opened in 1879 but closed in early 1880. It reopened in 1906 and on 1 January 1909 became Colinton State School. It closed in 1969. It was on Emu Creek Road (). which was served by the
Nurinda railway station (). The Brisbane Valley railway ceased operations in 1993. The Colinton War Memorial was unveiled outside the School of Arts on 18 January 1917 by
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for
Stanley,
Henry Plantagenet Somerset. The
1974 flood of the Brisbane River did not affect the Colinton War Memorial, but resulted in changes to the highway. As part of these changes, the
Esk Shire Council relocated the war memorial to its current position in the road reserve at the corner of Emu Creek Road and the D'Aguilar Highway. == Demographics ==