My dad died earlier this year, which left a large hole in my life. I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with dad, travelling on various trips through Australia and Asia. In 1998 we flew over to Brisbane, on a trip to see dad’s ailing sister in Gladstone. This is the story of that trip. Dad’s brother Peter and my cousin Stephen came with us.
Background
Dad’s family had emigrated from the UK to Australia in January 1951 on the P&O Cameronia. They first settled in north-west Queensland on the railway at Wammutta near Cloncurry. They lived there a numer of years before moving out to the east coast on the railway at Kooltandra near Ogmore. On this trip we would revisit Kooltandra, and also find my grandfather’s banana plantation he walked away from during the great depression.
Day 1: Brisbane – Kingaroy – Bundaberg
Day 2: Bundaberg – Mackay
We pulled off the highway at Marlborough for a drink and decided to hunt out dad’s old place at Kooltandra. Further up the highway we stopped in Ogmore and found the site of the movie theatre where dad worked. We followed Kooltandra road through the scrub for a couple of kilometers south.
There was nothing left except for a wooden ‘Kooltandra’ sign and some railways infrastructure. Dad was able to point out the stump of a tree that he had a photo of surrounded by floodwaters.
Dad also spent some time poking around in a gully where a firearm had been dumped that had been given to him as a kid. No hope of finding it after all these years.
Day 3, 4, 5: Mackay, Broken River, Brampton Island
We spent a few days knocking around the area. My grandfather had a banana plantation somewhere near Eungella, so we set out to see if we could find it. A local museum gave us a few tips where some wild bananas grew within the Eungella reserve.
On a spare day we caught the boat out to Brampton Island for a look. It was still a busy resort with a nice beach. A couple of years later mum and dad spent a week on the island for a holiday. In more recent times the resort has closed and has been abandoned.
Day 6, 7: Mackay – Gladstone
Capricorn Caves at Rockhampton
Day 8: Gladstone – Noosa
Epic thunderstorm in Gympie and Noosa
On the drive south, we got caught up in an epic thunderstorm as we headed through Gympie, the driving conditions were pretty difficult in the ultra heavy rain.
Later on we stopped in Noosa for the night, I walked down the street and spent an hour or two watching the anvil crawling lightening, with what felt like dozens of other people.
Day 9: Noosa – Brisbane