The town is named after Ada Constance Stevens (wife of Ernest James Stevens). The Stevens family had the Tintinchilla (later Milo) pastoral run in the area. There is a story that the origin of the name is that Ada lost her hat veil (Ada-veil) where the Milo road crosses Blackwater Creek.[2]
Town and suburban lots in the town of Adavale were sold on 9 February 1881 at Charleville.[10]
Adavale Post Office opened on 1 January 1881 and closed in 1991.[11]
Milo Station Provisional School opened circa 1888 and closed circa 1891. It reopened as Milo Provision School circa 1902 and closed circa 1905.[12]
From 1889 to 1930, Adavale was the seat of local government, initially called Adavale Division and later the Shire of Adavale. The town was a thriving centre but, in 1917, the Western railway line did not come to the town as expected but passed further to the south where the new town of Quilpie was created along the railway line, and soon became the major town in the region while Adavale diminished. In 1930, it was decided that the seat of local government should move from Adavale to Quilpie and the Shire of Adavale was renamed the Shire of Quilpie.[5]
^"Classified Advertising". The Queenslander. Vol. XIX, no. 282. Queensland, Australia. 8 January 1881. p. 61. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
^Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Phoenix Auctions. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2021.