20120719 Qld Atherton Tablelands

20120719 Liam hung around home waiting for us to leave so he could go to the show with his mate; he’s such a sweet boy, I gave him a cuddle and off he went.  We stopped for supplies, ran into Kelly working, said goodbye then headed up the Kuranda Range.  Stopped at Kuranda, checked out the markets but nothing took my fancy, but I did take many photos. 

The rainforest is home to the Djabugay aboriginal people who have lived here for over 10,000 years.  Exploration by Europeans in the early 1800s opened the way for gold prospectors and the timber industry.  Kuranda was first surveyed in 1888 by Thomas Behan, and the building of the railway and roads from the new seaport of Cairns paved the way for trade and the movement of people over the mountains.  At 380 meters above sea level coffee was the crop of choice until severe frost in the early 1900s wiped out the harvest.  Kuranda became a destination for locals on holiday and honeymooners and soon spread to the Barron Falls.  In the 1960s Kuranda was the place to be, the so called “hippy” communes flourished for a few years and from what I saw still is today.

The Sky rail opened to the public on the 31^st Aug 1995 and was originally installed with 47 gondolas given it a carrying capacity of 300 per hour.  A $2.5 mil upgrade completed in 1997 increased the total gondolas to 114 and a carrying capacity of 700 per hour.

It was 1882 and the miners of Herberton were on the brink of total starvation, unable to get supplies due to flooding, a route to civilisation was desperately needed and adventure bushman Christie Palmerston was charged with finding a starting point for the railway.  Dense jungle and cliffs with sheer drops of up to 327 metres and a slope as steep as 45 degrees were literal death traps for workers. 

Without modern equipment but simple fortitude, dynamite and bare hands the team eventually finished the job. After removing 2.3 million metres of earthworks, creating 15 tunnels, 93 curves, dozens of bridges and 75 kilometres of track, a banquet high up on the bridge with Sir Henry Wiley Norman marked the completion of Stoney Creek Bridge then in June 1891 the line was opened.

Des relaxing on a chair made of old railway lines.  We had a lovely day strolling around the markets and checking out the old railway station and trains, these trains really take you back in time.

Surrounded by creepers, twiners and ramblers otherwise known as vines.  Many of these plants start their life on the poorly lit rainforest floor and then quickly scramble up towards the rainforest canopy in search of light.  I Tried to get Des to swing off the vine only he couldn’t reach it, jump I said, get stuffed he said.

At the bottom of the walk is this grand waterfall in the middle of the rainforest, imigine seeing it after a large amount of rain fall. 

Headed to Atherton hoping to catch up with Maggie, one of my old time friends but unfortunately she had to work.  
We did manage to run into her in town as she was heading to work and we had a quick chin wag, it was great to see an old mate, we had some great time together.











I swear Des is reliving one of his past travels from years ago, as our next stop is the Millaa Millaa Falls which Coxy and he went to on one of their many trips, Arrr the memories.

A fly by shoot of the scenery after leaving Atherton.

Millaa Millaa is an attractive undeveloped settlement with wide and uncluttered main street and the home of the world famous Waterfall Circuit which includes the Millaa Millaa Falls.

Christie Palmerston and Pompo

In 1882 Palmerston was the first European to find and make a feasible track through the 90kms of continuous rainforest between Herberton and what is now Innisfail, the present Palmerston Highway, named in his honour, closely follows the original track.  He was accompanied as a close companion for over five years by an Aboriginal boy in his teens whom he called Pompo.  Palmerstone had an amazing ability not only to find his way through rainforest but also to work with the Rainforest Aboriginals.

The Millaa Millaa Falls a beautiful summing hole on a hot day, but certainly not in winter. The falls circuit include the Zillie and Ellinjaa Falls only the roads were closed for repair but they say this is the best one to see.

I was lucky to get a few shoots before bus loads of tourist turned up and were diving into the freezing cold water, there crazy.

Windy power station was the first wind farm to be established in Queensland and  the largest.  It consists of 20 wind turbines that produce 12 megawatts of electricity, enough to supply 3,500 homes equivalent to the towns of Atherton and Mareeba.  The Turbines are mounted on towers 44 metres high with the rotor diameter of 46 metres, the cost of the project was $20 million.

After a big day of site seeing we parked up in the Rocky Creek War Memorial Park just out of Athertons. The history on the plaques covering the grounds made for a very interesting and touching Memorial Park, a great place to camp.

The park was chosen due to several Army Divisions camped on this site during 1942-95.  Approximately 60,000 Australian soldiers were treated for war related conditions at these hospitals of over 2,000 doctors and nurses. 

The complex was recognised as the largest military hospital in the Southern Hemisphere. There are 77 military units plaques and the Memorial Park represents the association with the Rocky Creek Australian Army Hospital or the troops that trained or provided unit support of the Atherton Tableland area during World War II.

This structure, the family residence and workplace of 49 years was donated to the Atherton Shire Council by Mrs Ellen Frazer on behalf of her late husband Frank Frazer so the structure can be preserved as an important war time relic.  You don't see many buildings like this one anymore.