March 29, 2014
Stopped for the night at this Rest Area north of Woodford at the junction of the Kilcoy-Beerwah Road. There is lots of space here with some open grass area behind/aove the main area. New toilet block and shade trees compliment the stopover. In the centre is a new monument commemorating the place in history of Durundur homestead.
The wording on the plaque is a little hard to see on the photo but the text reads:
“Looking straight out through the doorway to the ridge on the near horizon you can see a tall Hoop Pine, a stout Bunya Pine and a large stand of Bamboo, this is the original site of “Durundur” homestead.
The first home was built on that site by the Archer brothers in 1841 and was a rough slab building cut from local timbers. This was followed by a much grander home built from Red Cedar that burnt to the ground in 1879 never to be rebuilt.
In 1841 it was believed to be the most Northerly inland settlement of the Colony of New South Wales not accessed by ship. (The Colony of Quensland was not declared until 1859). Brisbane remained a Penal Settlement until 1842 and as a result an exclusion zone kept all freehold settlements at a distance of 50 miles (about 80 kilometres)”
