20240515 Qld Aratula, Willow Bank, Maryvale, Dalveen, Cotton Vale, Applethorp to Ballandean.
20240515 Travelling along Mount Cotton Road towards Burbank where we turn left at Mackenzie to connect to the M1 - M2 towards Ipswich/Toowoomba onto M15, the Cunningham Highway. We have no idea where we are going or what our first stop will be but our first thought was trying to avoid the rain. Our first stop was the Aratula Hotel for lunch and maybe camp the night but with not much of an appetite we decided to eat in for a light lunch.
Des eating lunch when Red Dog turned up looking for a bit to eat, sorry but no dogs aloud in the van.
20240516 We just passed that familiar site of Willow Bank, which was the name of a large sheep and cattle station established in the 1880s by Darby McGrath. His homestead was located on the banks of the Warrill Creek which is known today as the Amberley Air Force Base. Named Willowbank in recognition of the willow trees that grew in the area. Drag racing in Queensland was in jeopardy surrounding Surfer Paradise Raceway at Carrara as it became more built up with housing and shops, then a local racer decided if the sport was to continue to grow suitable land was needed. At the time the Government had given away land to Moreton Shire (now Ipswich) to be developed for sporting use. Keith White, a committee member travelled to the open farm land to find a perfectly suited open plain area that could be developed into the 1320ft drag strip that would become known as Willowbank Raceway.
Drag racing down the quarter mile at Willowbank.
A familiar site to all and living on top of a pole not far from Amberly AFB, is this former RAAF Canberra Bomber which served in Vietnam with the 2 Sqn as part of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing in conjunction with the USAF.
We’ve passed this sign before and I wounded what it’s all about, I found this info on Google:It’s about ordinary Aussies doing extraordinary things to expose the truth across the geo-political landscape in Australia and worldwide. We are the 'new' media committed to truth and transparency.
Now for that long slow climb up and over Cunningham’s Gap, 40ks and lots of roadworks, lucky for us there wasn’t much traffic going up but I felt sorry for the poor buggers going down as the traffic was backed up.
We just passed over into the Southern Downs, created in 2008 from a merger of the Shire of Warwick and the Shire of Stanthorpe. Back to The Crown Hotel Maryvale for the night, Des was told it’s pitha night and looked at the guy strangely, this guy really needs to put his teeth in, he meant Pizza night. We sat around the fire with the locals drinking and chatting while watching the many locals stop for a quick ale before picking up their pizza and heading home.
20240517 We wake to a slow drizzle but it’s coming in fast, so much for missing the rain and there goes our BBQ breakfast in the park so we packed up and left. Just up the road is our usual truck stop where we stop for a shower before heading to Warwick for supplies then onto the A15, New England Highway heading towards Stanthorpe, this highway could sure do with some repair she’s a bit bumpy in spots.
As we passed into the Granite Belt we found a little town, Delveen where we drove into Jim Mitchell Park and camped to see the rain out. The name Dalveen derives from locality name given by settler John Flint, who named it after Dalveen Pass in Lanark, Scotland.
There’s not much here but the post office, craft and convenience store and a very friendly shop keeper.
In 1995, Billy Moore, local Rugby League Football Legend chanted "Queenslander! Queenslander!" while entering Sydney Football Stadium during Game l of the State of Origin series, inspiring his underdog team with State pride. The chant has become a war-cry and has been memorialised with this Queenslander Sign.
20240518 AfterWW1, the area was opened up as a soldier settlement focused on fruit growing, the town was named after the Cotton Vale railway station in 1920 after orchardist Edward Cotton, who was believed to be the first from his district to enlist as a soldier in World War I.
As we were heading to the New England Highway we came across this veggie store in the middle of nowhere so we stopped for a look, wow this we did not expect to see.
Not just a fruit store but also a convenient store with many extras.
The History of how it all began in this town.
We pass through the tiny town of Summit, a rural town in the Southern Downs Region of Queensland with a population of 409.
Just 10 minutes north of Stanthorpe on the New England Highway is the town of Applethorpe – home of the “orchardists”, a person who owns, manages, or cultivates an orchard. Take a detour off the highway from January to June during apple season and drive along the ‘Fruit Run’ to buy your own local produce fresh from the farm or roadside.
This dinosaur was originally made as a float for the 1998 Apple & Grape Festival when the local shopkeeper’s daughter was a queen entrant. After the festival the community put it by the roadside in front of the Ballandean railway station to stop passing traffic in a bid to sell fruit as a fundraiser for the local football club. It soon became a major attraction.
Next Stop Wallangarra Once Again
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