Place names set in stone

LOCKYER Valley pioneers have been recognised with a number of hills and lookouts officially named for the first time.

LOCKYER Valley pioneers have been recognised with a number of hills and lookouts officially named for the first time.

Lady Bowen Hill, Buhses Hill, Cunninghams Crest Lookout and Schultz Lookout have all been added to the Department of Environment and Resource Management's (DERM) place name database.

For some of the locations, such as Cunninghams Crest and Schultz Lookout, this is merely the State Government recognising what locals have been calling the hills for some time.

The names honour the region's pioneering families as well as commemorating the visit of the wife of Queensland's first governor.

Regional services director Randall Hart said the hills marked important moments in the region's history.

"The name Lady Bowen Hill came about after Lady Bowen, the wife of the then governor, planted a tree on the hill to celebrate the opening of the first railway in Queensland in 1865," he said.

"Buhses Hill has been named in honour of the pioneering Buhse family whose ancestor, Emil Albert Robert Buhse, owned the property on which the hill is located.

"Schultz Lookout was named after Harold Edward Shultz, who originally owned the land the lookout is located on.

"The name Cunninghams Crest Lookout is well known to locals and is signposted near the intersection of Range Crescent and Mountain Road, approximately five kilometres east of Laidley."

A spokeswoman for the Lockyer Valley Regional Council said council supported recognising local pioneers in the newly official names.

"These areas had been known locally by residents for many years, and are now officially recognised.

"This is a great achievement, particularly for those families that still live locally in the area," she said.

Lady Bowen Hill is located just outside Grandchester.

Schultz Lookout is at Blenheim on the Schultz Lookout Road, while Buhses Hill and Cunninghams Crest Lookout are located east of Laidley.

Mr Hart said DERM had been in continual contact with state Member for Lockyer Ian Rickuss as well as the Lockyer Valley council regarding the names.

The full locations and further information about the newly named hills can be found at www.derm.qld.gov.au.

Originally published as Place names set in stone