FREEDOM CAMP OF THE MONTH
Have you been here? If you are driving between Gatton and Clifton, Qld, take a shortcut via Heifer Creek. It is one of those peaceful overnight waterside stops with campfires allowed. A proper bush telly at night; birdsong at sunrise.
We pulled in for our last night on the road and it was spot-on.
This is a pet-friendly overnight free-camp. There’ s a toilet and a dump point. Basically, it is a clearing in the bush.
The creek was pretty to look at in some places, but not for swimming on this visit. With the cliff for your backdrop for a cuppa or a picnic, you are far from the highway rush.
After dark, we had some curious, pointy-faced, possum-sized locals scurrying around camp while we watched the fire. Better than the Discovery Channel, but the jury is still out as to whether it was a potorou or a bandicoot.
Heifer Creek Road links Gatton to Clifton and makes a handy shortcut. It’ s one of those littleknown drives that locals use and visitors often miss.
There’ s a rest area with something worth stopping for: the Thiess Memorial at Heifer Creek marks a key moment in Australian earthmoving history.
Back in the day, the Thiess Brothers carved a 104ft-deep cutting through solid stone here. No modern machinery. Just grit, planning and a Caterpillar D8 known as Gertie.
Originally, the plan was a tunnel through sandstone. The brothers argued a cutting would be cheaper and proved it by coming in £ 4000 under the tunnel price. That decision won them the job.
Forty men worked for six months to complete it. This project is said to be the turning point that shifted Thiess from small rural contractors building farm dams and council roads to a major infrastructure company.
Stand at the memorial and imagine carving through that rock without today’ s equipment. It gives the drive real context.
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