20240630 Qld Glenden to Lake Elphinstone

20240630 We left Collinsville travelling along the Bowen Developments Rd following the Newlands Railway System, a relatively smooth road in which the coal trains continually run day and night, this is why the trains are constantly running passed Collinsville, just up the road is the Sonoma Mine where the coal in loaded then further along is the open cut mine and it’s massive, this is where I wish I had a drone.

This Train loaded with coal ready for its journey to who knows where.

The Sonoma Coal Mine is an open-cut coal mine located approximately 6 kilometres south of Collinsville at the northern end of the Bowen Basin in Queensland.

It’s a never ending task mining in the outback.

Inside the Sonoma Coal Mine complements of Google.

Newlands railway system in Queensland opened in a series of sections between 1922 and 2012. Coal started to raile to Mount Isa in the 1930s, a distance of 1,230 kilometres (760 mi), then line was upgraded in the 1960s as coal volumes grew enabling 2,000 ton trains hauled by two main line diesels to be introduced.

Just crossed the Bowen River, look out Des as cattle decided to cross in front of us as we pass a unfenced property. Ooo shit, I just saw a black eagle sitting in the bush, at first I thought it was a burnt out log but his head move and I didn’t have time to get a photo, bugger. 

It’s certainly isolated through this stretch of inland road, you can travel for miles without seeing any homes or cars in site, just the cattle grazing off the land and the untouched nature, you would have to be pretty unlucky to get hit out here hence why there’s not much road kill. We turn off onto Elphinstone Road heading north on the Newlands Access Rd were we just hit a rough patch of road, I knew it was too good to be true.

We are now on the Collinsville Elphinstone Rd and the scenery is still the same apart for the railway underpass.

We just passed another mine, the Byerwen Mine is railed to Abbot Point Coal Terminal for export and the construction, operations and decommissioning are expected to last 50 years.

Glenden, where the population declined when the local mine changed its roster to a seven-days-on, seven-days-off roster so many residents relocating to towns like Proserpine that offer a more stable environment. In 2023, there was outrage when the mine announced that the town would be demolished as it was a requirement of the original mine approval that a complete rehabilitation of the area was undertaken when the mine closed. This was bad timing considering the high levels of homelessness in Queensland due to a shortage of homes, but then Annastacia Palaszczuk announced that legislation would be enacted to prevent the demolition of the town.

And we arrived at Glenden where the population was about 470 in the 2021 census, with about 420 private dwellings, it certainly looked deserted.

The bulldozing of these homes was opposed by residents, who along with the Isaac Regional Council fought for the town to be spared. The state government has since amended the Mineral Resources Act to allow Glenden to remain open.

20240701 We woke to a lovely hot winters day at the sports oval so I drag myself out of bed and strolled to our BBQ area for Des the chef to cooked breakfast, apparently this complex was to be demolished by the mining company until the council stepped in and saved it, although it looks like it never gets used. Just 30 minutes down the road is Lake Elphinstone where we will spend the next few days.

There are other camper here whom I would have thought would have snapped up this area, too late it’s ours now.

Check out the spiffy BBQ it’s brand new and has our name on it but I will be putting in a complaint to management about this chef, my egg was hard, he forgot my fried tomato and took all the bacon.😠

We found this sign and were trying to work out what it meant, Yep Yep 🤷‍♀️

Big Red Rhino Bucket in Moranbah after we left Glenden

The lake on sunset, it once supported the town of Elphinstone, but the town no longer exists, and the lake is now used as a recreation area popular for bird-watching, fishing and camping.

One of the many Paper Bark trees in this area that provides our oxygen and a resting spot for the many birds that live here.

From what we could see it’s a paper bark but I have never seen one with the roots exposed like this, it seems when the lake is full it’s washed away the dirt and exposed the roots of these trees all along the bank, very unusual.

We had a pleasant surprise this morning when our neighbours from around the bend called in to bid us farewell.

Another Time Another Place