November 1969. The last rail motor service finished in 1989 and the railway line through the Brisbane Valley was finally closed in that year.

7. Wivenhoe Pocket

The original Fernvale Bridge was opened in February 1876. It was 1 ∏ chains long and stood about 10 feet above the water without side rails of any sort. The floods of 1893 and again in 1898 made this bridge impassable and the economic crisis in Queensland at the time delayed its repair. By December 1898 the Department of Post and Telegraph threatened to add the cost of board to the cost of carrying mail over the river. In February 1900 the Home Secretary provided a grant of £250 towards the cost of repairing the Fernvale and Northbrook bridges.

8. Lake Wivenhoe Spillway Common

The potential for the establishment of a dam at Wivenhoe near Fernvale was recognised in the 1890s as a result of the 1893 Brisbane River flood. Preliminary work and reporting for a proposal to build a dam at Wivenhoe began in the mid-sixties; acquisition of land for the submerged area commenced in 1973. The dam was completed in 1983 when a minor flood substantially filled the lake before construction was quite finished. The dam supplies water to Brisbane and surrounding regions and further serves to mitigate floods, a necessary objective after the 1974 Brisbane Flood.

For more information: Blackbutt Visitor Information Centre Hart Street Blackbutt

ph: 07 4163 0633

Esk Visitor Information Centre 82 Ipswich Street Esk

ph: 07 5424 2923

Fernvale Futures and Visitor Information Centre 1483 Brisbane Valley Highway, Fernvale ph: 07 5427 0200

Nanango Visitor Information Centre Drayton Street Nanango ph: 07 4171 6871

Brisbane Valley Heritage Trails www.brisbanevalleyheritage.info

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail www.brisbanevalleyrailtrail.org.au

FERNVALE

Brisbane Valley Heritage Trails

BRISBANE VALLEY HIGHWAY

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ST HILL

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BROUF

F RD

GRAHAM RD

CLIV

E STVOGLER RD

Fernvale

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4

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GOAD LN KNOX LN

POWELLS RD

BRISBANE RIVER

to Esk

to Lo

wood

to Ipswich

BANKS CR EEK

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Enjoy and explore the diverse heritage of the Brisbane Valley.Brisbane Valley Heritage Trails Inc is committed to recording the history of the Brisbane Valley featuring the routes forged through the Valley by the pioneers. These include the stock routes, mail and coach routes, rail trails, timber trails, heritage buildings’ tour and the wine trails.

Follow the paths of the early pioneers supplying Brisbane with cattle and timber and relive the experiences of early settlers.

Fernvale - A brief historyThe Jagera, Yuppera and Ugarapul peoples are the traditional owners of the Brisbane Valley district. Prior to European settlement in 1841, the landscape of South-East Queensland (as elsewhere in Australia) was influenced and protected by millennia of Aboriginal stewardship. Indigenous use and management of the landscape (e.g. moving camp when resources were depleted and closing areas for particular species) maintained a balance between the land and human needs.

1. Memorial Park

Fernvale War Memorial situated in Memorial Park was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1997. The War Memorial was kindly donated by Queensland Rail. The post-World War II plaque reads: “To those who served this Country will forever be indebted Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Gulf and Peace-Keepers”.

2. Uniting Church

In 1872 a Methodist congregation was formed in the Fernvale district. In 1882 the land on which the Church stands was purchased for ten pounds by a Wesleyan Methodist Minister from Ipswich. The original Church building was relocated to the present place from outside the town. The Church which occupies this site today was then erected in 1894 at a cost of £150.

3. Fernvale State School

The original school building was established in what had been a general store and cotton storage shed owned by Messrs J. & G. Harris. In 1874 the Government purchased the whole eighty acre block, store and house. The school was opened on 11 May 1874 and was known as “Harrisborough Provisional School”. A Bunya Pine was planted in 1884 by William Poole, one of the original pupils of the school; the tree still stands in the school grounds today. The name was changed from Harrisborough to Fernvale in 1884 with the establishment of the railway station there.

A new school was built in 1915.

4. Savages Crossing

Savages Crossing is one of the most picturesque sections of the Brisbane River and is a popular watering hole. The Brisbane River flows from the north of the Somerset Region and Wivenhoe Dam to the mouth of Moreton Bay.

5. Fernvale Cemetery

In 1886 Surveyor Ellis was asked to include in his timber survey a portion of 10 acres for the Fernvale General Cemetery. By 1888 the first Trustees for this cemetery were identified as R. North, F.S. Kamp, H. Jenson, F.C.A. Heers, J.S. Poole, N. Lorensen and J. Kelly. A tender of £7/10/0 to clear and plough the cemetery land was accepted in 1892 and there were plans to plant shade trees there. Before that time the Bethel Lutheran Church at Lowood (1875) opened its cemetery to all denominations. There is also an existing cemetery at Vernor (between Fernvale and Lowood) established by the Church of Christ in 1885.

6. Brisbane Valley Rail Line

The rail line to Fernvale was opened formally on 17 June 1884 and the service ran until its closure in 1989. The Brisbane Valley Line was subject to land slip and flooding and the last regular Ipswich to Yarraman steam train ran on 29

Lieutenant Joseph North came to Queensland in 1841 on the ship “Sarah” in charge of convicts for Moreton Bay. The following year when the penal settlement at Brisbane was closed and the embargo of settlements within 50 miles of it was lifted, Lieutenant North resigned his commission and took up the stretch of country on the Brisbane River. Later he was joined by his brothers, who leased Fairney Lawn and later Wivenhoe Station that became Northbrook and Bellevue.

In 1869 the lease on Fairney Lawn was forfeited and it was cut up for closer settlement. Blocks were selected or purchased by settlers from the southern colonies, British Isles and Germany. These settlers grew cotton supported by a Government subsidy.

A teamster’s camp beside a newly cleared bullock track was the beginning of Fernvale, originally known as “Stinking Gully”. The spot became a regular camping place on the road from Ipswich to Esk. In 1875 this camp site was known as Harrisborough and later Fernvale.

In the late 1800’s, the old business premises of Cribb & Foote serviced the settlers who came to live in the Fernvale district. The Royal Exchange Hotel was first licensed in 1884 and later destroyed by fire. The railway came through Fernvale in 1884 to Lowood then later to Esk and Yarraman. Today, the old railway line has been removed and a walking, riding, cycling track has been constructed between Fernvale and Lowood.

The Denning family owned the Sawmill in Fernvale since 1902. Timber has been one of the most vibrant industries in the Brisbane Valley since the late 1800s. The Woolworths shopping centre has recently

been erected on the site of this sawmill.

Fernvale is one of the most popular weekend tourist spots and provides many facilities including the Fernvale Futures Visitor Information Centre, Fernvale bakery and café, butcher, real estate agent, banking facilities, accommodation and a hotel. The Fernvale country markets are held every Sunday adjacent to the State School on the Brisbane Valley Highway.

November 1969. The last rail motor service finished in 1989 and the railway line through the Brisbane Valley was finally closed in that year.

7. Wivenhoe Pocket

The original Fernvale Bridge was opened in February 1876. It was 1 ∏ chains long and stood about 10 feet above the water without side rails of any sort. The floods of 1893 and again in 1898 made this bridge impassable and the economic crisis in Queensland at the time delayed its repair. By December 1898 the Department of Post and Telegraph threatened to add the cost of board to the cost of carrying mail over the river. In February 1900 the Home Secretary provided a grant of £250 towards the cost of repairing the Fernvale and Northbrook bridges.

8. Lake Wivenhoe Spillway Common

The potential for the establishment of a dam at Wivenhoe near Fernvale was recognised in the 1890s as a result of the 1893 Brisbane River flood. Preliminary work and reporting for a proposal to build a dam at Wivenhoe began in the mid-sixties; acquisition of land for the submerged area commenced in 1973. The dam was completed in 1983 when a minor flood substantially filled the lake before construction was quite finished. The dam supplies water to Brisbane and surrounding regions and further serves to mitigate floods, a necessary objective after the 1974 Brisbane Flood.

For more information: Blackbutt Visitor Information Centre Hart Street Blackbutt

ph: 07 4163 0633

Esk Visitor Information Centre 82 Ipswich Street Esk

ph: 07 5424 2923

Fernvale Futures and Visitor Information Centre 1483 Brisbane Valley Highway, Fernvale ph: 07 5427 0200

Nanango Visitor Information Centre Drayton Street Nanango ph: 07 4171 6871

Brisbane Valley Heritage Trails www.brisbanevalleyheritage.info

Brisbane Valley Rail Trail www.brisbanevalleyrailtrail.org.au

FERNVALE

Brisbane Valley Heritage Trails

BRISBANE VALLEY HIGHWAY

FERNVA

LE RD

FORE

ST HILL

-

BROUF

F RD

GRAHAM RD

CLIV

E STVOGLER RD

Fernvale

3

4

5

8

7

GOAD LN KNOX LN

POWELLS RD

BRISBANE RIVER

to Esk

to Lo

wood

to Ipswich

BANKS CR EEK

RD

BANKS

CREEK

RD

BEES

TON DR

SCHMIDT R

D

6

1

2

FAIRNEYVIEW FERN

VALE RD