A VISIT TO MT MORGAN...

We have lapped Australia and spent lots of time exploing towns and cities all around this amazing country in which we live....

Unfortunately,  there are so many things in our back yard that we have not spent time exploring, so I want to remedy that now that I have retired....

One of the things on my list to do in my retirement is to check out some of the amazing places and tourist attractions here in my local city.

My friend Eleonore had the day off on Tuesday, and another good friend of both of us, Dorothy, decided that we would take off on a little adventure and spend the day up in Mt Morgan exploring the town before having a picnic at the No 7 Dam up there...

As we hadn't planned to meet until 10am, I figured that I had time to go for my daily walk around Bethany first, so I set off a little after 8am.  It was such a beautiful day.. I love these walks... it gies me time to clear my head and appreciate the natural beauty around me...

Some of the lovely flowers on my walk...

Enjoying the fresh air and sunshine...

My lovely neighborhood

Once I got home from my walk, it was time for a quick shower, and then get in and make  some lunch to take with us.    We had decided to go to the Bakery for morning tea and then take a picnic lunch out to the dam for lunch.
The girls arrived at my place just before 10am so we packed the car quickly and then we were off.
We decided to take the Razorback Road up to Mt Morgan and head down the range on the way home.  This was the best way for us to appreciate the very scenic views as we traveled...

Historical Museum in Mt Morgan.

Lovely flowering planter boxes in the main street

One of the many murals around town...

Exhibit in the Museum

 We arrived up there just after 10.30am and parked outside of the Historical Museum.  On the way up Dorothy was telling us about a cave tour that had lots of dinosaur fossil prints in the cave.  We decided to head into the museum to find out if the tour was still operating... Also it no longer operates, although the lady in the museum told us that the R'ton City Council was working on fixing the cave and hopefully running tours though there again...

From here we headed down the street towards the Bakery when we came across some street art made from plastic bottles, caps and lids.  It was actually quite colourful and  definitely photo worthy...

 The bakery was pretty much next door, and it also boasts some lovely art work on the side of the building...

 Our plan was to order a cuppa and something nice to eat and have morning tea there... Unfortunately because of Covid, they are only doing take aways, so we could order something there but then had to find somewhere else to have our morning tea...

 They didn't have quite the variety today that they normally had... I am guessing this is because of the Covid and the changes inflicted on businesses because... There was also a note on the front door advising that only four people were allowed in the shop at any one time.. 
We had to wait for someone to leave before we could enter as there were three of us...
We all ordered a piece of the apple slice, and whilst I ordered a hot chocolate to go with mine, the other girls ordered a latte....

The island in the main street has been done up and contains picnic tables under covered areas.  Each of these covered areas are named after a mineral that has been mined out of the Mt Morgan mine..  all very tastefully done...

Some of the picnic areas named after the precious metals mined in the area...

Dorothy and Eleonore social distancing

Morning tea - Apple slice and a hot chocolate...

 Mt Morgan boasts some railway history with the building of the rail line from Rockhampton to Mt Morgan. On 21 August, 1867, the railway line to the west from Rockhampton to Westwood, through Kabra, was opened. Later, when a railway line from Rockhampton to Mount Morgan became a necessity, it was decided to build the line from the nearest point on the western line, which was Kabra. To reach Mount Morgan, the line had to climb the Razorback Range, a height of some 968 feet above sea level, having a vertical rise of 376 feet.

The line from Moonmera to Moongan, built parallel to the existing road up the Razorback was very steep, having a gradient of 1:16.5 and the standard steam locomotive required assistance from an Abt rack engine to handle the train up and down the Razorback range. In descending the range, the Abt rack engine was attached to the front of the standard engine, while ascending the range, the rack engine was attached to the rear of the train.
The Abt rack locomotive, developed principally in Switzerland, was a powerful locomotive, having adhesive wheels and an independently powered engine beneath the boiler which drove pinions (toothed wheels) set between the adhesive wheels. These pinions meshed with the teeth of a serrated or toothed rack-rail attached to the sleepers midway between the normal running rails. This gave the necessary thrust or driving power to the rack engine.
The rack-rail consisted of two parallel serrated bars, about 2.5 inches apart and so arranged that the indentations on one bar were exactly opposite to the teeth on the other bar. There were two sets of pinions under the rack, arranged in such a manner that two pinions were always engaged with the teeth of the rack-rails at any time.
Most rack engines, including those used at Mount Morgan, were built according to a system patented in 1882 by Roman Abt and first used in 1885. The standard of maintenance of the rack engine needed to be very high and they were regularly overhauled at Rockhampton with standard maintenance by the staff of the locomotive depot at Mount Morgan. There were eight rack engines and they operated for fiftyfour years - from 1898 to 1952.
There were only two rack railway systems in Australia, the other being on the private Mount Lyell railway in Tasmania which although closed in 1963 for a period of time, has now been fully restored and is in operation again today as a tourist attraction in the area... Interestingly we traveled on this train when we visited Tasmania several years ago..  We also traveled on a rack and pin train when visiting Switzerland a few years ago also....

 It was interesting to read about this and also nice that one of the few ones operating in our country is so close at hand...

Mt Morgan also has a rich dinosaur history also and this is reflected in the town, not only at the local museum but also in the redeveloment of the town centre..

Dinosaur footprints through town....

Colourful flowering plants around town..

 After our morning tea we decided to go for a walk up and down the main street.  I was keen to do this and photograph some of the many lovely buildings that were built at the turn of the century..

One of the lovely old buildings in Mt Morgan...

The Mafeking Bell

 This bell has a real history.
The Mafeking Bell was cast at the Mount Morgan Mine in 1900. Made from copper pennies donated by the local school children, the bell was cast to celebrate the relief of Mafeking; held under siege for a number of months during the Boer War. The defense of Mafeking was under the command of Lord Baden Powell, founder of the Boy Scout Movement.
The Bell was originally located at the front of the town’s Council Chambers but by 1962 it was presented to the local Boy Scouts of Mount Morgan to tie its special history. The bell is now located in Morgan Street as part of the Main Street Refurbishment. The bell weighs a whopping 570kgs. Another interesting fact about the bell is that its gong was originally made from melted watch cases.

 Another interesting fact I learnt about the refurbishment is that all the seating and retaining walls in the new development was made by Luke a good friend of ours...

This Running of the Cutter Statue represents an interesting past tradition carried out in Mount Morgan from 1900 – 1918. At the time of this unique custom, a billycan was known as a “cutter”. There are a number of tales behind this past custom, but often the “running” of the Cutter refers to the task which was carried out by a young local daily. It is said that when a miner finished his shift, he would have a young lad run to a nearby hotel with his billycan, have it filled with beer and brought back to him as he came off shift.
Another chapter of the “running” is said to have been established by miners who wished to head home straight from work, or a number of miners’ wives who tired of their husbands returning home late for meals; sending their children to fetch Dad a billy of beer and have it waiting for him at the end of his shift. It is believed that the rising cost of beer caused publicans to put an end to the billy can, and cease the tradition of running the cutter.

Today the tradition is brought to life annually, during a competition held in the Golden Mount Festival. The Running of the Cutter contest sees teams relay the town’s remaining 4 hotels, with the lucky last team member downing a cutter full of beer.

 On our way back down the otherside of the street towards our car, we came across a quaint newsagency.  A friend of ours had told us how she loves to stop off at this newsagency whenever she is returning from visiting her Mum out Biloela way because they always have beautiful cards.  We thought we would check it out...

I loved the oldness of the store... The bare wooden floorboards,  the wide variety of quirky goods they sold, and their cards were fabulous... Very different to the normal run of cards you find in a newsagency.  They also had lots of different knick knacks for sale too, and Dorothy was able to pick up a birthday present for her daughter, and a cooling rack.  Both the other girls bought cards also.  I had a ball checking out their wares and photographing some of the ones that I particularly liked...

Loved the oldness of the store with all it's old wooden floorboards.

Eleonore and Dorothy checking out the cards

Group shot

Lots of variety and lots of colour...

Even had an assortment of sweets...

 They had some great games too and I was particularly taken by these after dinner quiz, set up like after dinner chocolates....  Would make a great gift...

Would be a great game for having dinner guests around...

 From here we headed back to the car.. There were still quite a few buildings around town that I wanted to photograph..

The Grand Hotel built at the start of the Century..

Mount Morgan Miners` Clock

 The clock commemorates all who worked in the Mount Morgan Mine.

Queensland National Hotel.

 The most distinctive and impressive building on Morgan Street is the beautiful Queensland National Hotel which was built in 1899, one of Mount Morgan’s 27 hotels. This two storey structure is heritage listed. The tower was used as a lookout to spot enemy planes during World War II.

The tower was used as a lookout to spot enemy planes during the war

School of Arts

The Mount Morgan School of Arts Hall, was built in 1924. The first School of Arts was built in the 1890s but destroyed by fire in 1923. The second School of Arts Hall was opened with a Grand Ball on August 20, 1924. Like so many halls in country towns it lies at the heart of the town's social life having seen films, wedding receptions, concerts, dances, school formals and award presentations. The first School of Arts Building saw Dame Nellie Melba perform in 1911 and the current Hall was used as an accommodation and recreation base for American soldiers during World War II.

Just below the Queensland National Hotel in Morgan Street is Anzac Park which includes the Coronation Light erected in 1902 to commemorate the Coronation of King Edward VII; a mine plaque which displays the contour of the original Ironstone Mountain (now hollowed out by the open cut mine); and a record of the years of mining operation from 1882-1990.

The Masonic Hall

 Standing as a solitary grand building in Gordon Street is the Masonic Hall of Mount Morgan (1903), a handsome two storey structure, made of red face brick, which was designed by Rockhampton based architects Eaton and Bates. The Temple was erected for £1500 by Newman Brothers of Rockhampton.

 These large cats were guarding a residence in Gordon Street..

 Located in Gordon Street, the Saint Mary’s Church of England was built of local bricks in 1889. It was a gift to the Anglican community from the hugely wealthy James Wesley Hall, who had been the first General Manager of the Mount Morgan Mine and the first Mayor of Mount Morgan.

 After photographing a lot of the building we went for a drive out towards the Mine.. We were debating about whether the mine was still operating today or whether it had closed down... We knew it had closed down but thought that we had heard recently that it was opened again but operating on a much smaller scale.

 The mine site is heritage listed and only accessible to organised tours. It has a number of important buidlings including the brick chimney known as the Big Stack which was built to disperse fumes caused by the copper production. The assay chimney, the manager's house, the treatment plant and the mine offices are all extant and of historical significance. On the northern boundary of the mine lease lie some manmade caverns which were excavated by the early miners for fireclay which was used to line the furnaces used for smelting. Inside the caverns early Jurassic dinosaur footprint tracks have been found.

 On the drive to the mine we came across these buildings,  I haven't been able to work out what these buildings are but I tend to think they may have been associated with the mine. 

brick guttering..

 As we hopped out of the car to photograph the building above, Eleonore notice that the gutter along this word was actually made out of bricks.  We had not seen this before but w also have not been able to come across why it was done like this...

From here we decided to take a drive up to the Arthur Timms Lookout which is located at the top
of Pattison Street and named after a former Chairman of the Mount Morgan Council.  The Arthur Timms Lookout is the town's most impressive lookout with views across to the mine as well as an angle which allows the visitor to appreciate how the town is actually nestled into the Dee River valley. From the Arthur Timms lookout it is possible to see the remaining part of Ironstone Mountain, as a cut off hill behind the Big Stack. Beneath this cut off hill is the Open Cut Pit, which was once the deepest man made pit in the Southern Hemisphere.

Impressive views of the mine and the remaining part of Ironstone Mountain

Views over Mt Morgan...

  By now we were getting a little hungry and it was getting close to 12.30pm so thought it was time to head out to the Dam for lunch.
On our way I wanted to stop in town and take a few more photos of some of the amazing graffiti art works around town...

 After taking my photos, we headed off to the Mount Morgan Big Dam and Picnic Area where we planned to have a picnic lunch..
 On the way we pasted the Private Victor Stanley Jones Suspension Bridge.

The Private Victor Stanley Jones Suspension Bridge is a memorial bridge (there were once a series of swing bridges across the Dee River) which celebrates the nation's first military casualty. Private Jones was the first Australian soldier to die in Imperial Service (he was a member of the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry) on foreign soil. He died at Sunnyside in South Africa during the Boer War on 1 January, 1900. The bridge was built as a joint project by the Engineers of the Army and Mt Morgan Shire Council in 2001 for the centenary of federation. In the 1890s six swing bridges were built across the Dee River to ensure easy access between the town and mine site, particularly during times of flood. Sadly no originals remain today. This is only a replica.

We stopped to take a photo but as we were running out of time now before we needed to leave to head home, we only stepped out of the car to photograph the bridge.. We didn't have time to walk over it.

It was only another kilometre of so down the road until we arrived at the Mount Morgan Big Dam and Picnic Area.

 After our lunch, we picked up everything and put it back into the car before going for a walk around the park lands.....

 We enjoyed checking out the flowering bushes as we headed around to the boat ramp.

Heading down the boat ramp

 Eleonore decided to take a walk right down to the water's edge whilst Dorothy and I read about the Dam and the fingerling breeding in the Dam..

We noticed these stick like structures in the water at the far side of the dam...
We also noticed a side road along the dam also that we thought we should drive down and there looked to be a caravan free camping besides the water..

 Researchers at Queensland’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries have designed and built bespoke structures, called fish attractors, to create realistic habitat for fish at some of Queensland’s dams. Fish attractors are part of the Habitat Enhancement Research Program, a program co-funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, to improve recreational angling and regional tourism.

By now it was around 2pm and as Dorothy needed to be home at her place by 3.15pm we decided that it was time to head home...  We were going home via the Mt Morgan range as the views into Rockhampton were quite stunning heading down the range.

Views from the Mt Morgan range looking towards Rockhampton

 Driving through Bouldercombe on our way up to Mt Morgan I noticed some tin cows standing in front of someone's driveway, so I had mentioned to the girls that I wanted to stop there  and photograph the cows...

 We arrived back in Rocky around 2.45pm. 
What a great day we had all had...
Makes you realize that you need to do this sort of thing more often..
We definitely need to have little outings like this more often....