Category: Moreton Bay

Aboriginal Australia, Cycling, Pine Rivers

The Mailmans Track

by NeilEnnis 13 March 2010 No Comments Shortlink

I rode out to Samford this morning via Winn Road, and came back via the Mailman’s Track and Bunya Road.

The Mailman’s Track is wonderfully hilly (just the thing for a Saturday morning bike ride), and leads into some beautiful state forest along Bunya Road.

Although the area is called “Bunya” I had a hard time finding any Bunya Pines (Araucaria Bidwilli). So I was delighted to find a couple of majestic specimens by the side of the road.

The aborigines used to harvest the nuts from these trees for food. They drop their huge 5-10kg cones in abundance every three years, so you have to be careful standing under them in late summer!


Cedar CreekSteep Climb AheadThe Mailman's TrackBunya Pine

History, Pine Rivers

Hoop Pine at John Oxley Reserve

by NeilEnnis 10 March 2010 2 Comments Shortlink

This is the only remaining Hoop Pine (Araucaria Cunninghamii) at John Oxley Reserve, Murrumba Downs, on the north bank of the North Pine River about 2km west of Petrie.

John Oxley came ashore here on 1 December 1823. He was impressed with many “fine cypresses” he saw there referring to the Hoop Pines. This was the first reference to the species, which was later cataloged by English botanist and explorer, Allan Cunningham.

The first settlers loved these huge trees for their long straight trunks which were ideal for ship masts or any buildings which required large quantities of long straight timber.

Today if you drive down Gympie Road, Strathpine, you’ll see the road lined with dozens of Hoop Pines on either side – a fitting tribute to this majestic tree, native to this area.


Cycling, Pine Rivers

Kobble Creek

by NeilEnnis 7 March 2010 1 Comment Shortlink

The purpose of this ride was to find a route from Kobble Creek up to Mt Glorious. There’s a road visible on Google Maps, but as we found out, it disappears into private property.

Due to recent rain, we had to cross a few flooded creeks. The bikes held up really well until the last crossing, when the current snapped my rear derailleur off.

The area around Kobble Creek is beautiful. In drier weather it would be a really pleasant ride, with some challenging hills greater than 17% gradient. When they’re not swollen, some of those creeks look like they’d be really fun to swim in too.

But to be honest, crossing flooded creeks is a pretty stupid thing to do. If you slip, it would be easy to be washed away or lose your bike. And even if you do make it across, there’s a good chance you’ll damage your bike.

So I’m going to be a bit more sensible in future.



Cycling, History, Pine Rivers

Irrigation Dam, Joyner’s Hill

by NeilEnnis 27 February 2010 2 Comments Shortlink


William Joyner purchased the “Samsonvale Run” in 1845 from Darling Downs squatters James Sibley and Joseph King.

He died in 1847 in a shipping accident, and his wife, Isabella decided to sail up from Sydney and manage the property.

This irrigation dam is about a kilometer from where the family built “Aust House” in 1865.

This area is rarely visited, and some of the scrub is very thick. It made me wonder what Isabella would have thought of it when she arrived in 1847.

Cycling, History, Pine Rivers, Surveying

Martin Lavelle Was Here

by NeilEnnis 23 February 2010 1 Comment Shortlink

Surveyor Martin Lavelle marked this tree in 1867 while he was surveying the Griffin area on the northern banks of the Pine River.

Surveyors often used natural features as reference points when preparing a plan of an area. When trees or stumps were used, they would cut a mark in the tree to make it easier to find by others.

This stump is known affectionately by locals as “Tom Petrie’s Stump”, probably because it marks the corner of a property that he purchased in 1870.

The surrounding area is being redeveloped from rural land into a housing estate. Happily, the developers have agreed to protect the tree, erect bollards around it, and place an informative marker near it so people can understand its significance.

Next time you see an old tree with a large triangle cut out of it, listen closely and you might hear the whisper of an old story.

Cycling, Pine Rivers

Bike Path Ends Here

by NeilEnnis 18 February 2010 No Comments Shortlink

Bike Path Ends Here
The North Pine River is flooded at the moment from all the rain we’ve been having.

Some of the crossings are quite low, so I think I was being a tad optimistic this morning when I hoped I’d be able to ride over a few of them (I didn’t).

Makes you wonder what it was like in the old days before we had the dam upstream.
Youngs Crossing in Flood
Cyclists DismountYoungs Crossing in Flood

Cycling, History, Pine Rivers

Drapers Crossing & Bunya Cemetery

by NeilEnnis 13 February 2010 2 Comments Shortlink

Draper's Crossing, South Pine RiverDraper's Crossing, South Pine RiverDraper's Crossing, South Pine RiverDraper's Crossing, South Pine RiverDraper's Crossing, South Pine River
On my cycle back from Samford this morning, I thought I’d take a detour over Drapers Crossing that crosses the South Pine River through some idyllic dairy farmland.

The rickety bridge looks like it’s been there for ages, but the actual crossing has been in use much longer.

At 28 years of age, Jacob Draper an English migrant, built a slab cottage near here in 1869.

His land holdings grew, and his family eventually established a successful dairy farm. The family continued to operate successful dairy farms until well into the 20th century.

(Source “Pioneering The Pine. A Short History of the Pine Rivers Shire” by Leith Barter)

Bunya CemeteryBrothers
A sad reminder of the heartbreak faced by pioneering families in the district in the 1870’s. Bernard died aged 7 months. A decade later, his brother Ralph, died aged 12 months.

The brothers must have been one of the earliest burials in the Bunya Cemetery, which was established in 1873.