Pine Rivers SHSSchoolHistoryGympie Rd

Gympie Rd

Travelling north through the Pine Rivers was something of a trial in days gone by. The first really useable road from the Moreton Bay Settlement was pushed through by the Archer Brothers in the mid 1840's to service the Durundur Run near Woodford. The Old North or Northern Road still appears on maps and street directories. The road passed through Enoggera over the South Pine River at Cash's Crossing and across the Pine River at Young's Crossing. It kept close to the D'Aguilar range to make river and creek crossings easier. Travel was still not easy as a good run from the Whiteside run on the upper Pine River to Brisbane on a light dray or jinker could be done in nine hours. With heavy weather the journey could stretch out to two days or not at all. Today it is less than an hour by car.

James Cash, the first freeholder in the Pine Rivers district established himself on the banks of the South Pine River in 1849 and became something of a legendary character always good for a 'cuppa' or a 'bite' for travellers. Cash's Crossing remembers those days.

Tom Petrie took up property at North Pine in 1859 and established Murrumba just a few kilometres east of Young's Crossing. When gold was discovered in Gympie in 1867 the need for a more direct an reliable route became necessary. The new road negotiated flatter coastal plains and troublesome river crossings were progressively bridged or had horse powered ferries put into service. The new route came through Breakfast Ck, Bald Hills, North Pine and north to Caboolture. Tom Petrie had a helping hand in surveying and pushing through the new road.  Cobb & Co services began and Petrie's Murrumba became the Cobb & Co stop at North Pine.

The arrival of Strathpine Railway Station in 1887 and the completion of the Pine Rivers Shire Hall in 1889 shifted the administrative and economic focus away from North Pine to Strathpine. Gympie Rd remained the main road north for a hundred years and it is hard to imagine that all traffic north did in fact pass through the Pine Rivers. Despite periodic realignments and widening at various locations the road struggled to meet traffic demand by the 1960's. An alternative route, the North Coast Highway or Bruce Highway which by passed the population centres in Pine Rivers Shire was in operation by 1973. Ironically Gympie Rd through to Kallangur now carries more traffic and has undergone more redevelopment than at any time in its previous life.

Reference:

1. Barter, L. "Shire History - Strathpine"  Pine Rivers Shire. http://www.prsc.qld.gov.au/yourShire/History/Strathpine.htm [28/09/01]
2. Smith, L. S. "Tracks and Times"  Pine Rivers Shire Council. 1988

7th December 2007