Toowoomba railway history marked by 'aberrations'

A ANECDOTAL, illustrated account of railway building in Queensland, including the anniversaries the Ipswich to Toowoomba and the ‘Drayton Deviation’ railways.

Railway workers are digging a cutting for the Grandchester line. Picture: Contributed

THE guest speaker for The Toowooomba Historical Society's June general meeting was Peter Cullen, who gave an anecdotal, illustrated account of railway building in Queensland, noting that 2015 is the 150th anniversary of the start of the railway from Ipswich to Toowoomba and the 100th anniversary of the opening of the 'Drayton Deviation' much of which were accompanied by 'aberrant' behaviour.

The first of these was the economizing selection of a 3'6" gauge rather than a 'standard' gauge and the selection of a large 'multinational company with a poor industrial relations record' (Peto, Brassey & Betts) in a shady tendering process; each was the work of Abraham Fitzgibbon who had earlier failed to construct a horse-drawn tramway in Queensland.

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Lady Bowen turned the first sod at Ipswich in June 1864 but was probably 'gazumped' by William Mill, a young railway navvy, a few days earlier.

When the first train reached Bigge's Camp on 31 July 1865, Governor Bowen, afraid that the name might be corrupted to Big Scamp, urged a name change; hence it became Grandchester (Latin for big camp).

The official occasion was marked by a boozy 5-hour déjeuner (in a large marquee 150 feet x 40 feet) funded by the contractors.

The Main Range section from Murphy's Creek to Toowoomba comprised 16 miles, 157 cuttings, 128 embankments, 47 bridges, and 9 tunnels.

Some 1,500 navvies - from England, Ireland and Germany were employed under the direction of engineers Ballard, Thomas, and Thornloe-Smith.

Navvies lived in 'temporary' camps of bark huts, sly-grog shops, stores and churches; hygiene was poor and typhoid was widespread.

The church at Fountain's Camp was later relocated as the mortuary chapel in the local cemetery.

Ballard is commemorated by a Range-side station and Thomas (who drowned in Sydney harbour) by a monument initially at the corner of Margaret and Ruthven Streets but relocated to the Botanic Gardens).

Thornloe-Smith later planned the drainage of Toowoomba's swamps and flood mitigation by creation of a lake at the junction of East and West Creeks; hence The Lake Hotel.

The Toowoomba line was scheduled to open officially on 30 April 1867 but the first train, with Eton Vale squatter and Minister for Railways Railway history marked by 'aberrations' John Watts on board, arrived unofficially on 12 April much to the disgust of the 'King of Toowoomba' James Taylor.

>> Historic account of what is now the Cambooya Shire

The official opening was marred by train derailments and the non-arrival of a Governor trapped by floods near Ipswich.

Watts tried to persuade the navvies to settle on his advertised Paddington Estate but most opted for Irishtown (Harlaxton); railway employees settled in cottages on the Mort Estate.

A serious accident near Murphy's Creek on 30 January 1913 - in which five workers were killed - resulted in the formation of the Railway Ambulance Brigade by Joe Featherstone.

From Toowoomba the line went west to Gowrie Junction and then west to Dalby and south to Warwick on routes that favoured the squatters. 

Drayton residents/farmers were peeved at missing out and as early as 1865 began an agitation to redirect the southern line via Drayton to Wyreema but it was not until 20 April 1914 that the first sod on the 'Drayton Deviation' was turned near the present tennis courts on James St.

The line was officially opened on 15 May 1915 with the famous Lady MacGregor engine (with Drayton pioneer
W C Peak on board) hauled a train across Russell St. Two other Drayton pioneers, John Finnie and John Shepperd, held a blue ribbon (printed with 'Drayton Deviation 15/5/1915') across the line; it was later cut into small pieces and auctioned off for the Patriotic Fund. 

Does anyone have a piece of this 'Drayton Deviation 15/5/1915' ribbon?

- Content provided by the Toowoomba Historical Society.

Originally published as Toowoomba railway history marked by 'aberrations'