| Tregony Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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 Allan Cunningham monument, Cunningham's Gap, 2009 | |||||||||||||||
  Tregony | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 28°03′04″S152°21′16″E / 28.05111°S 152.35444°E Coordinates: 28°03′04″S152°21′16″E / 28.05111°S 152.35444°E | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 4370 | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
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| LGA(s) | Southern Downs Region | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Southern Downs | ||||||||||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Maranoa | ||||||||||||||
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Tregony is a locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. [1] It is one of the major gateways to the Darling Downs from the Queensland coast.
The eastern part of Tregony is the Main Range National Park on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range (rising up to 1160 metres). From there Gap Creek rises and flows west, eventually becoming a tributary of Glengallan Creek, then the Condamine River and eventually the Murray-Darling River through New South Wales and South Australia. [2]
The Cunningham Highway coming from Tarome to the east crosses the range at Cunningham's Gap (elevation 790 metres) on the eastern boundary of the locality and then runs from east to west through the locality running roughly parallel and south of Gap Creek falling to 590 metres elevation on the western boundary. The land in the western part of the locality is flatter and used for farming. [2]
Although not called Tregony at that time, the area was of great interest to early explorers. The Darling Downs was seen as having great agricultural potential but initial access to the area was via an overland route through inland New South Wales, which would create an unreasonable time and cost barrier for trade. A faster route was needed to the coast, preferably via the newly developing towns of Ipswich and Brisbane, which were linked by the Bremer and Brisbane Rivers to Moreton Bay and then by sea to other parts of Australia and overseas. However, the Great Dividing Range separated the Darling Downs from the coast. On 11 June 1827, Allan Cunningham approaching from the Darling Downs identified a possible dray route (later known as Spicer's Gap) across the range. On 21 August 1828, travelling from Ipswich, Cunningham found a second pass, now known as Cunningham's Gap, but he thought (wrongly) that it was the same pass as he had found in 1827, but Cunningham's Gap is about 4 km north of Spicer's Gap. Cunningham reported to the New South Wales Government that the route should be via Cunningham's Gap. [3]
As the Darling Downs was being settled, finding a dray route across the range became increasingly important. The route via Cunningham's Gap was too steep for a dray, but it was not until April 1847, that Henry Alphen rediscovered Spicer's Gap. In August 1847, two dray successfully travelled via Spicer's Gap to Ipswich. This led to the establishment of Spicers Gap Road (modern spelling omits the apostrophe) over the range. In 1861 the telegraph line was built along Spicers Gap Road linked up the first telegraph station at Fassifern Reserve with the station at Tregony, on the Darling Downs side. [3]
Spicers Gap Road required extensive expenditure on maintenance and with the 1871 opening of the Southern railway line from Warwick (the major town on the Darling Downs) to Toowoomba and then by the Main Line railway to Brisbane, Spicers Gap Road was virtually abandoned as rail transport was superior to drays. [3]
As automobiles started to become more widely available, it became realistic to create a road via Cunningham's Gap, which was built between 1925 and 1927. On 11 June 1927 (a century after Allan Cunningham discovered Spicer's Gap), the road was officially opened by the Acting Queensland Premier, William Forgan Smith, who also unveiled a monument to Cunningham. [4] [5] The plaque on the monument states that Cunningham found Cunningham's Gap in 1927 (perpetuating Cunningham's own confusion over the two gaps). [6] In 1935, the road was upgraded to highway standard and was named the Cunningham Highway, and became the most direct route between Brisbane and Warwick. [3]
Tregony has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the fifth longest land-based range in the world. It stretches more than 3,500 kilometres (2,175 mi) from Dauan Island in the Torres Strait off the northern tip of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through New South Wales, then into Victoria and turning west, before finally fading into the central plain at the Grampians in western Victoria.
The Main Range is a mountain range and national park in Queensland, Australia, located predominantly in Tregony, Southern Downs Region, 85 kilometres (53 mi) southwest of Brisbane. It is part of the World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. It protects the western part of a semicircle of mountains in South East Queensland known as the Scenic Rim. This includes the largest area of rainforest in South East Queensland. The park is part of the Scenic Rim Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because of its importance in the conservation of several species of threatened birds.
The New England Highway is an 878-kilometre (546 mi) long highway in Australia running from Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end to Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, and forms part of the inland route between Brisbane and Sydney.
The Mount Lindesay Highway is an Australian national highway located in Queensland, also known as National Route 13. The highway runs southwest from Brisbane, where it leaves Ipswich Road in the suburb of Moorooka, to the Queensland – New South Wales border and is approximately 116 kilometres (72 mi) in length. For most of its length it is roughly aligned with the Sydney–Brisbane rail corridor. At its southern end these transport routes take different passes over the Scenic Rim into the Northern Rivers region.
The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally applied to an area approximating to that of the Condamine River catchment upstream of Condamine township but is now applied to a wider region comprising the Southern Downs, Western Downs, Toowoomba and Goondiwindi local authority areas. The name Darling Downs was given in 1827 by Allan Cunningham, the first European explorer to reach the area and recognises the then Governor of New South Wales, Ralph Darling.
Spicers Peak is a mountain in Australia. It lies roughly 120 km west of Brisbane in the middle of the Main Range National Park. It is just south of Cunninghams Gap and Mount Mitchell. Its summit height is approximately 1,205 metres (3953 ft).
Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between Warwick and Brisbane. The Cunningham Highway was built to provide road transport between the two regions.
Spicers Gap is a mountain pass that is located 100 kilometres (62 mi) west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and was the original route over the Great Dividing Range in the area around Brisbane. Today it is included in Main Range National Park and is a popular destination for campers and bushwalkers. To the south of the gap is Spicers Peak. To the west of the mountain pass is Spicers Gap State Forest. Both the state forest and national park are part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia.
The Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park is a protected conservation park located within the Main Range National Park in south east Queensland, Australia. The park is part of the Main Range group World Heritage Site Gondwana Rainforests of Australia inscribed in 1986 and added to the Australian National Heritage List in 2007.
The Cunningham Highway is a 327-kilometre (203 mi) national highway located in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. The highway links the Darling Downs region with the urbanised outskirts of Ipswich via Cunninghams Gap.
The Gore Highway is a highway running between Toowoomba and Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. Together with Goulburn Valley Highway and Newell Highway, it is a part of the National Highway's Melbourne-Brisbane link. It is signed as National Highway A39.
Cunningham is a surname of Scottish origin. It may also refer to:
The Maryvale railway line was a branch railway in the Southern Downs region of Queensland, Australia.
Karara is a town and locality in the Darling Downs region within the Queensland, Australia. It is in the Southern Downs Region local government area. In the 2016 census, Karara had a population of 123 people.
Maryvale is a town and a locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia.
Allan is a rural locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Allan had a population of 87 people.
Flagstone Creek is a rural locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia.
Upper Flagstone is a rural locality in the Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia.
William Allan (1840—1901) was a pastoralist and politician in Queensland, Australia. He was a Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and a Member of the Queensland Legislative Council.
Spicers Gap Road is a heritage-listed road at Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park, Tregony, Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1859 to 1865. It is also known as Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park and Spicers Peak Road. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 July 1999.
