Gympie Region Heritage Trails | Landmark & historical place

Gympie Region Heritage Trails

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24.01.2022 A fantastic pictorial resource for a lot of the iconic locations throughout the Gympie Region. These pictures are of really good quality and resolution - pick out where they are today!!! https://www.flickr.com//queenslands/sets/72157686021916466

23.01.2022 This month we head to the northern reaches of the Gympie Region to focus on the Dickabram Bridge at Miva. Erected between 1884 and 1886, the Chief Engineer responsible for the design of this bridge was Henry C. Stanley. The purpose of the bridge was for both rail and road transportation across the Mary River on the Kilkivan Branch line. The contract for construction of the bridge was awarded to McDermott Owen & Co in August 1884. Casting of the cylindrical piers for the cent...ral spans delayed the construction in 1885 but the bridge was finally tested in November 1886 and the line opened to traffic on the 6th December 1886. Prior to its completion, there were several attempts to form crossings over the Mary River. The first was built in 1878 but was gradually washed away in the floods of July 1879 and February 1880. The replacement crossing was washed away in the October floods of 1882. The current bridge has stayed more or less the same since it was built, with only some minor modifications as trains became heavier. The line to Kilkivan was closed in February 2005 and the last train to cross the bridge was on the 28 May 2008, when it was sent to retrieve spare wagons stored on the branch line. The State Government is undertaking repairs on the bridge as of mid 2017 to enable it to continue servicing vehicular traffic into the future.

21.01.2022 The Goomeri War Memorial Clock was unveiled on the 15 November 1940 by RSL State President, R.D. Huish. The memorial honours 9 First World War fallen soldiers and 12 men who fell in the Second World War. The cost of construction was 700 at the time which was raised in the Goomeri community by the local RSL Sub Branch. The Goomeri War Memorial Clock is significant as one of the few clock memorials erected for that specific purpose. The designer is unknown but the metal wor...k was produced by Ernest Gunderson who established a metalworking company in Brisbane after migrating from Norway. The metal work was part of an earlier memorial which commemorated the First World War. The letters Lest we forget replace numerals on each of the four clock faces. Also, do not forget to take in all the sights and sounds of the Rush Festival throughout the month of October, especially in this sesquicentenary year, more commonly referred to as the G150.

18.01.2022 The Elgin Vale Sawmill was erected in 1908 and subsequently reconstructed in 1944. Originally utilised as a softwood steam driven sawmill, the earliest development on the site was built by Ross and Company in 1908. This operation eventually ceased and relocated to Goomeri. In March 1926, TH (Harry) Spencer negotiated and received approval to build another sawmill at Elgin Vale. During 1926-27 Spencer moved all his machinery and building material from his mill at Sefton to ...Elgin Vale. Commercial operations began in late 1927 but by the end of 1927 he sold the mill to Wilson Hart Company Ltd. Spencer remained and operated the mill on behalf of Wilson Hart. A fire in May 1944 destroyed the mill completely but by October that year Wilson Hart had constructed the current mill that is still on site today. By 1986 the Elgin Vale sawmill had exhausted its allocation of timber in the district. The steam driven technology had been superseded in an era when sawmills were becoming larger and more modernised. A downturn in the timber industry saw the demise of the Elgin Vale sawmill, before it ceased operations on 16 March 1987, with the manager Bob Mercer running the last log through the mill. The Elgin Vale sawmill is important in demonstrating the development and consequent decline of steam driven sawmilling operations. The sawmill is a rare surviving example of steam sawmilling operations and remains substantially intact with a high degree of integrity. The associated remains of the Elgin Vale township, established in 1927 to house workers and their families, add to the significance of the site. It is thought that by the late 1940s, the Elgin Vale mill was one of the largest in Queensland. The mill was purchased by the Kilkivan and Nanango Shire Councils with the intent of making it into a museum. Several buildings were removed from the site, the original boiler was replaced by one from the Kingaroy Hospital and a caretaker was established onsite. In 1993 Nanango Shire Council ended its involvement with the mill and the Kilkivan Shire Council retained responsibility for the mill. Under local government amalgamations in 2008, the mill was transferred to the Gympie Regional Council.

16.01.2022 The #G150 is putting a lot on offer for artists this year. Now and then perspectives are always good as a point of comparison. The Gympie Regional Libraries have a great pictorial resource available, and the plaques on the Gympie Regional Heritage Trail attempt to give users a Now and Then perspective so that we can see what it has become from what it once was.

16.01.2022 The Imbil Railway Bridge was opened in 1915. It crosses Yabba Creek at Imbil on the Mary Valley branch line. The line itself was constructed between 1911 and 1915. The Imbil Railway Bridge is of significant importance as evidence of the economic importance of the Mary Valley to Queensland agriculture during the 20th Century. This half-through Pratt truss (or Pony truss) bridge, completed in January 1915 is one of only six of its kind remaining in Queensland. The bridge sh...ows the progression in the development of steel railway bridges around the turn of the 20th century, especially the change to the through and half-through Pratt trusses from 1908 which increased structural strength. The Imbil Railway Bridge is a high level steel and concrete bridge. Its total length is 393 feet (119.8 m) and its maximum span is 60 feet (18.3 m). The bridge has five steel eight-panel half-through Pratt trusses and is supported by two concrete abutments and nine concrete piers. The bridge retains its rails and timber sleepers.

16.01.2022 Make sure you get to a local newsagent and don't miss out on this fantastic publication!!!

15.01.2022 It has been quite a while since our last post - the G150 has proven to be quite a busy time, especially heading into the Rush Festival coming up in October. Regardless of this, it is good to see that people still find interest in the heritage places of the Gympie Region, and our focus for this month is on the Goomeri Hall of Memory. Erected in 1926, the site itself was originally used for silent picture shows. On the 1st January, 1926 the Goomeri sub-branch of the RSL receive...d its charter and was instrumental in the establishment of a Hall of Memory. The building committee purchased an existing timber building from Cuthbert Butt in Nanango, and A Kopp and W Toop erected it on the site by May 1926. A crows ash floor was laid for dancing and the hall was then painted. The building was initially leased to Mr A. Rich for his picture show and his wife sold sweets under the hall which appears to have been enclosed soon after. It continued to be used as a picture theatre until the 1950s when film patronage began to dwindle. Over the years, Mr Duffy, who held the lease for showing films, installed electricity and equipment to show ‘talkies’. He also was one of the first country operators to install cinemascope. In 1931 a large supper room with a kitchen was added. Space was made available by removal of wall sections out onto the enclosed verandahs in 1935. During WW2 the basement was used to store supplies in case of Japanese invasion. After the war it was partitioned and used as clubrooms for the RSL. In 1971 the Kilkivan Shire Council accepted the responsibility for the hall. The Council modernized the kitchens and installed a bar and cold room at the supper room end of the hall. The hall is still used for a wide range of social functions to this day.

14.01.2022 We are proud to have officially launched the Gympie Town Centre Heritage Trail this Wednesday 2 November with an afternoon tea at the starting point of the trail at The Fiveways. Thanks to Cr Daryl Dodt for speaking on the day, and we look forward to people getting out and finding out some more information on the history and heritage of the town centre of Gympie.

13.01.2022 The Gympie Town Centre Heritage Trail is another way for locals and visitors alike to get to know about our history and heritage, this time with a short pedestrian trail through the centre of town. Have a look at some of the significant people, places and events from the past - and appreciate what it has become today. Feel free to attend the opening of the Gympie Town Centre Heritage Trail on Wednesday, 1 November from 2pm. Afternoon tea will be provided. RSVP - Wednesday 25 October on 5481 0413 or email [email protected]

09.01.2022 The wider Gympie Region has some very interesting sites and stories of significance for those of you wanting to get out and about a little bit more. Wodonga House was built in 1902 and was originally used as a station homestead. The land on which the original homestead was built was part of Widgee Station which was run by W B Tooth and Company from 1849. In 1869 Government resumptions of Widgee Station began and in 1877 James Meakin Jnr, successfully applied for a 640 acre p...ortion, which became Wodonga Station. Several more tracks were added to the station over time and it became one of the biggest in the area. In 1887 the land was transferred to Catherine Ellen Hillcoat, wife of John William Hillcoat, manager of Hope Crushing Battery at nearby Black Snake Mineral Field. Harold, the son of the Hillcoats, settled on the property with his wife and raised a family of 5 boys and 4 girls. Cheese production was continued and the family lived in the original homestead until 1902. In 1902 the first stage of the new homestead was begun by constructing four rooms with a shingle roof. Two more rooms were added later and the roof extended and clad in corrugated iron. The new building was built adjacent to the old building on the northern side so that the kitchen could be reused. The old homestead was retained and used as a school room, as well as accommodation for visitors and workmen. The Hillcoats in 1908 reverted back to beef cattle farming, and by 1911 they were working as timber getters - although the property again became a dairy farm, run by Percy Pointen who married one of the Hillcoat daughters. When Percy Pointen died, the property was bought by the Wodonga Pastoral Company and became a cattle station once again. From 1962 the homestead was unoccupied and became derelict, but in August 1978 it was sold to the Widgee Historical Society and relocated to the Widgee Hall and Recreation Association grounds. It was repaired and is now used for community events. The original kitchen and homestead unfortunately did not survive.

08.01.2022 For more resources on the history and importance of rail in the Gympie region (and a bit beyond).

06.01.2022 The Mount Clara Smelter was erected in 1873 as a copper smelter. It is thought that mining commenced in the Mount Clara Mount Coora area in 1872. The Mount Clara Smelter was built in 1873 and only operated until 1875. The ore was taken to the Mount Coora smelter for treatment after this date when the Mount Clara holdings were bought out by the Mount Coora Copper Mining Company in 1874. The eventual closure after such a short lifespan of the mines was attributed to the hig...h cost of fuel for the smelters. The Mount Clara smelter was among the earliest to be built in Queensland. The Smelter remains were renovated in 1978 by the Kilkivan Shire Council. The fire-box is in particularly good condition with various brick and stone walls of the smelter ranging in height from 170cm to 120cm. The internal ovoid of the smelter can be easily seen from outside the fenced off area today. Iron staples are inserted into the base plinth of the smelter at regular intervals and help to support points for the rail reinforcing bars which would have originally bound the smelter.

05.01.2022 There are some great places to discover around the western reaches of the Gympie region, in and around the townships of Kilkivan and Goomeri. Head in to the Visitor Information Centres, the Kilkivan Museum and the council branch offices in the townships to discover more about the history and heritage on offer.