Acland is north of Oakey, on the Darling Downs, 160 kilometres (100 mi) west of Queensland's state capital, Brisbane.

[23][24] St Jude's Anglican Church was dedicated on 21 June 1953 by Reverend Rupert Warner Shand.

[27][28][29] By 1971, with demand for coal for transport in decline, Acland was home to the only remaining coalmine on the Darling Downs.

[33] Anticipating major expansion, the company began to purchase houses in Acland in advance of the area becoming an open cut mine pit, expected to produce 10 million tonnes of coal each year.

Ahead of the mine's development, several Queensland bottle trees were prepared for transplantation to the new National Arboretum in Canberra.

[35] In December 2008 Glenn Beutel was the only remaining homeowner, having rejected the company's offer to purchase his house.

[12] In mid-2010 Beutel continued to resist the company's offers, and was reported to still be maintaining the local park established by his parents.

[36][37] On Monday 4 June 2012, during a live broadcast of ABC TV show Q&A from Toowoomba's Empire Theatre, a question was asked by an audience member which made reference to Glenn Beutel being the last resident of Acland.

[20] Australian radio broadcaster, Alan Jones attended Acland State School from 1946.