20120831 Qld Moonie, Dalby to Kilcoy

20120831 The area was first settled in the in the 1840s, but it only came to prominence in December 1961 when it became Australia’s first commercial oil field. In reality it is only a small oil field accounting for less than one per cent of Australia’s oil and gas reserves but the excitement which was associated with its success led to the establishment, in 1969 of a pipeline which joined the fields to refineries in Brisbane.
 

Travelling along the long stretch I could notice the scene begin to change, no more wide-open plains and many more trees, it really feels like were getting closer to home.

Stopping at Moonie Crossroad Hotel /Motel for a coffee and a bit to eat and I ran around taking some photos.

Thomassen De Stegg Holland Beam Pump also known as Pump Jack or Nodding Horse, this was the original beam pump used on the Moonie well back in the 1960’s.  Beam pumps are used to lift a variety of liquids from subsurface.  The wells at the Moonie Oil Fields are drilled to 5800ft and the beam pumps are used to pump oil from this depth to the production facility.

The boars lined the wall at the Crossroad Hotel with a story about how they were captured and by whom.

Recently a plane landed on the Leichhardt Highway just outside the Crossroads.  The pilot came into the cafe and ordered… “White coffee with two sugars, and by the way where am I…?”  After drinking his coffee… he flew off down the runway of the Leichhardt Highway!

 At Dalby we stopped in to catch up with Sue McNeal but unfortunately she wasn’t home so we stopped in town to check it out and top up the beer before heading to a caravan park to catch up with Steve. We ended up around a fire at Steve’s camp with all his work mates having a few beers and catching up on old times but by 8.30 Steve went to bed, the workers are tested every day and if over the limit could lose their job. Des and I went back to the van ended up having a few to many more before crashing.

In the outskirts of Dalby I couldn't help but notice the leaning power lines and wondering if this is a result of the floods

 

 

01-09-2012  Driving over the D'Aguilar Highway through the Blackbutt Range the road suffered major flood damage in the January 2012 with 12 landslips over 2.5 km and is under major remonstration which have included major stabilisation works, drainage and pavement repair.

A flyby shoot of the reconstruction work.

They couldn't pay me enough to do that job, stuff that.

How creepy is this, that what I call living on the edge.

 

Kilcoy came from the Gaelic “cucoille” meaning “Nook of the Wood”. Although the township was originally called Kilcoy it was known as Hopetoun around 1897 but was reverted to Kilcoy by 1913. Reputed to be hairy human like creature, the Yowie is rumoured to roam the hills around Kilcoy and a well publiced sighting was made in 1979.

At Kilcoy we stopped for lunch at the Exchange Hotel and ran into a crabber from the Redlands and an old friend of mine from Thorneside, we sat with them for lunch. They were on their way to a party at Nanango and tried to talk Des into turning around and going with them, it will be a great night said Gary the crabbers who tried his dam nest to get Des to go with them, but not a chance.

The modern day Exchange Hotel

 

The Exchange Hotel in 1905

After lunch we said our goodbyes and walked the town then headed for Woodford.