Yarwun Provisional School opened on 5 June 1906. It became Yarwun State School on 1 January 1909. The school was relocated to the centre of town in the late 1990s in a land swap with
Queensland Rail as part of the straightening and duplication of the North Coast railway line. The Yarwun-Targinnie Co-operative Association was established in 1924 to market locally-grown fruit. The district was well known for its
pawpaws. In 1963 the Co-op established a store at 60 Butler Street to provide goods needed for fruit production, such as timber cases. Later the store expanded to general goods for the community and postal services. In June 2003, the Yarwun railway station was relocated to the
Calliope River Historical Village as its ticket office and kiosk. In March 2005,
Rio Tinto Alcan opened an alumina refinery in Yarwun.
Bauxite from
Weipa is processed by the
Bayer process into
alumina. The refinery was expanded in 2012 including a 160 megawatt
co-generation facility, which converts heat into electricity. == Demographics ==