RAILWAY 1890
On 1st February 1890, Stage 2 of the North Coast Line railway from Caboolture to Mellum Creek (Landsborough) – a distance of just under 20 miles was opened. This was an important significance to settlers and loggers, and later would provide the farming community with easy access to Brisbane markets for their produce, including Maleny butter.
The men who built the railway line used picks, shovels, spades, cross-cut saws, jacks, broadaxes, winches and horse drawn ploughs. Sleepers were made of tallow wood and blackbutt. A variety of men built the railway and apart from local settlers, loggers and teamsters were the hard-drinking and hard playing notorious ‘navvies’, moving camp alongside the track as the railway progressed.. The original ‘navvies’ were the ‘navigators’ who built the English canal system and then the British railways.
Hi Pat and Kay – wonderful to hear about all that marvellous rain falling over Maleny – just a shame that we’re still here and not able to enjoy it in person. Thanks for these interesting snippets about the past and the amazing pioneers who settled the region – clearly they came from tough and stoic stock – reading many of the items you include on the site reminds us to be grateful for their efforts in the past. thanks as always for helping make home seem that little bit closer
Stay well and happy. cheers from Kim and Jim