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Lahey's Tramway, Canungra

Location

The tunnel is on the south western side andimmediately below the road leading fromCanungra to the Gold Coast; the northern entranceis close to a road junction on the outskirts ofCanungra, just before the top of the climb. Agravelled road also leads from the town to a pointabove the southern entrance. GPS 28 deg 1 min 23sec S 153 deg 10 min 15 sec E tunnel north portaland GPS 28 deg 1 min 31 sec S 153 deg 10 min 17sec E tunnel south portal.

Recommended Heritage Boundaries

The recommended boundaries are from thenorthern end of the cutting leading to the northernentrance to the cemented rocks at the southernentrance and a distance of two metres either sideof the tunnel wall or cutting side. This may needto be supplemented by protection from disturbancesuch as quarrying on a larger strip to protect thetunnel's integrity.

History

The Laheys operated at Tambourine in the 1890s.Hugh Mahony is credited with being the first manto seek cedar on Canungra Creek in the 1850s.1

John Duncan told the Laheys of the valuableCanungra timber and on 2 October 1884 Davidrode over Tambourine Mountain to commencework on the mill which was to become theterminus of the largest private timber tramwayoperation in Queensland. Together they estab-lished a saw and planing mill on Portion 61, thefirm providing small cottages for its workers. Thesite was leased from Robert Christie, beside whatis now Christie Street, although nothing nowremains of sawmilling on the site.

The mill burnt down in 1897 and was rebuilt. Nearthe end of the century it became obvious that themill needed access to the Coomera Valley toprovide long-term log supplies. The high saddleeast of the town was a major barrier and in 1900H.W. Clark was employed to survey a loggingtramway.

Machinery for the mill was brought up the Loganby small steamer to near Logan Village and hauledby bullock team. From 1885 production steadilyincreased. Much of the mill's output was forhousing, with the Laheys being directly involvedin promoting house building.

Besides the tramway, Laheys invested in aerialropeway and electrical logging winch andpowerhouse, reputedly the first such installation inAustralia. This plant on Flying Fox Creek, to bringlogs from the Beechmont area, was not regardedas a success and the dynamo and winch were laterinstalled at the mill converted into a travellinggantry for stacking logs.

In January 1906 the mill was again burnt downand rebuilt with modern machinery. LaheyBrothers and Nicklin (Mrs Nicklin being a Lahey)was incorporated as Laheys Limited from 13January 1908. With still no railway to the upperAlbert, as many as 18 bullock teams were carryingsawn timber to Logan Village in 1911.

Tom Lahey went to America to study operationsthere and ordered an eight foot band mill andsteam log turner which made the operations one ofthe most efficient in Australia and the Laheysmulti-mill operation the biggest in Queensland.The railway finally opened to Canungra on 2 July1914, making it economical to convert thelocomotives from wood to coal burning.

By the time the railway arrived log supplies weredeclining and Laheys decided against furthertramline extension and began improving primitivetracks into roads to tap areas of inaccessibletimber. This particularly led to opening up theCainbable area at lower cost.

The War Service Homes Commission, establishedat the end of World War I, bought Laheys Limitedoperation taking possession from 1 January 1921but closed the Canungra operation only threemonths later, having retained David Lahey asmanager there. The Commission sold its operationin 1924 when David Lahey and his sons formedBrisbane Timbers Limited to acquire theoperation. The new firm concentrated on roadhaulage of timber and formed a syndicate withPattersons Limited, the Standply TimberCompany, to take over the Canungra Mill anddevelop further the Mount Cainbable Road (nowthe access to O'Reilly's). Land was gradually sold,the tramway ceasing operations and the last of thetramway rails and equipment being sold in 1935.Besides the Canungra-O'Reilly's Road, thetramway tunnel remains the one major landmarkof the whole tramway and sawmilling complex.2

The tramway from Canungra across and up theCoomera Valley was surveyed in detail by MrGeorge Phillips in 1899/1900. He recommended 3foot 6 inch gauge for compatibility with

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Queensland Government Railways, a simplechoice since a gauge of at least 3 feet would havebeen required for handling large logs. Havingdiscarded options of wire-rope and rack railwayoperation, a 90 metre unlined tunnel of rectangularcross-section was cut through the ridge, the mostsubstantial construction on a timber tramway inQueensland. It was not necessary to line thetunnel, a judgement confirmed by its state nearly acentury later.

To reduce costs severe grades were employedincluding an average grade of 1 in 12 1/2 in a littlemore than a kilometre climbing to the tunnel. Theloads of course were moved down this grade, butthis section required great care by locomotivedrivers to keep the load under control especially ifrails were wet. Because of the grades, Climax andShay geared locomotives were built, moreexpensive to buy and maintain but able to handlesteep grades at low speed, and in common use inNorth America in similar operations.3

By 1904 4 1/2 miles of the proposed 10 miletramline (bridging the Coomera three times) hadbeen completed with rails and the formation foranother mile. The 90 metre long tunnel wascomplete. The line was long enough to tap 18months supply of timber. By February 1905 theline was complete and the geared Climax loco-motive had arrived.4

By 1909 Laheys Ltd, 34 years after the familiesbegan sawmilling, held the largest tract of pri-vately-owned pine in Australia. The depression ofthe 1890s had forced the Laheys into stave-shaping and casking to provide income but thesurge of economic activity, after the 1902 droughtbroke, had been very profitable. During the slacktime, the Laheys had designed a log haulingmachine to make them largely independent ofoutside labour, it was claimed. Fire had burntdown the mill in 1894 and the sawing section atCanungra in 1906.5

The electric logging winch, the first in Australia,and complete with its own powerhouse, wasinstalled in 1913. It proved uneconomical.6

When the railway reached Canungra, a connectionwas finally made between the government and theprivate systems but Lahey's drivers were notallowed onto the government forkline. QR driverswere allowed to collect wagons from the planingmill. Government locomotives were not allowedover the bridge on Lahey's tramway.7

After a period of closure, the Standply TimberCompany reopened the Lahey mill by 1933 withHerb Doyle as manager having added a veneer andplywood plant. Mr Brims was the glue-maker, itscomposition a trade secret. The removal of thesiding serving the Standply Timber Company in1939 indicates an end of operations.8

Site Description and Condition

Except for the removal of rails and sleepers thetunnel appears to be substantially in the conditionin which it was constructed. The tunnel floor maybe somewhat raised by material which hasaccumulated inside the tunnel. The tunnel iscompletely unlined and has no portals in theformal sense.

Assessment of Significance

Lahey's timber operations at Canungra werelimited by the turn of the century by the relativeinaccessibility of the timber in neighbouringvalleys needed to augment log supplies. TheCoomera Valley was close to Canungra but sep-arated from it by a major ridge and the tramwaywas the means of extending the life of the sawmill.A tunnel was required to provide practicablegrades. Even so steep grades were used to placethe tunnel as high as practicable to reduce thelength and hence cost of the tunnel. Thisnecessitated the use of geared locomotives. Thetunnel was the key to extending the operation ofsawmilling into the Coomera Valley fromCanungra. It is thus important in determining thepattern of cultural history (Category a). Tunnelsare uncommon features of timber tramways whichare usually built at minimal capital cost and this isan unusual example, unique in Queensland but notAustralia, of a tunnel on a timber tramway.(Category b). It is the best known example of thesawmilling enterprise of the Lahey family andmay be considered significant under Criterion h.

Recommendations

The tunnel was a major factor in the prosperity ofCanungra for three decades. In the absence of anyvisible remains of Lahey's Canungra sawmill, thesite should be signed and suitable access provided.Barriers have been provided to prevent vehicularaccess and although they detract from theformation approaching the tunnel, they are neededand are clearly an addition for that purpose. Theformation approaching the tunnel from both sidesis still intact for some distance, although on thesouthern side partly affected by uncontrolledaccess tracks and beyond these is largely

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overgrown. An extended study is recommended sothat a worthwhile walking track from the townshipof Canungra to the next rural residential area inthe Coomera Valley might be established.

References

1. M. Curtis, unpaged, Chapter 4. 2. Shirley Lahey, pp. 6, 8, 14-8. 3. R.K. Morgan, "Lahey's Canungra Tramway", LightRailways Nos .54, 56, 57 (1976). 4. BC 6 October 1904 p.7; BC 25, 28 February 1905;see AG2 Sheet 145 1905, QSA for map. 5. E.J.T. Barton, p. 346. 6. R.B. Joyce, "Canungra Timber", Queensland Her-itage Vol. 1 No. 4 (May 1966) pp. 3-8. 7. WN 369 of July 1915. 8. M. Curtis, Chapter 4, unpaged; WN 24/39.

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Tunnel on Lahey’s Tramway, Canungra

View looking into tunnelfrom northern end towards Coomera Valley

View looking into tunnelfrom southern end towardsCanungra

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Mount Cougal National Park Mill

Location

The sawmill is now inside the Mount CougalNational Park at the end of a short walking trackabout 400 metres from the car parking area. GPS28 deg 14 min 29 sec S 153 deg 20 min 56 deg E.

Recommended Heritage Boundaries

The recommended heritage boundaries extended20 metres in each direction from the sawmill shedin order to cover artefacts and logging remains inclose proximity to the mill.

History

The survival of a mill in what is now NationalPark makes an interesting contrast between theimpact of old style and modern logging. The millat the head of the valley, and now in the MountCougal section of Springbrook National Park,operated as a case mill and to break down largelogs into flitches. It was established as recently as1942.

John Joseph Tracey built a sawmill at the head ofthe Currumbin Creek valley in 1942 and felledtimber from scrub land owned by the Dolanfamily, and now part of the National Park. Traceymills softwood for banana cases.1

Hardwood was hauled by road, with hardwoodtimber felled and later cut into lengths and splitinto flitches at the mill, being loaded onto motortrucks and supplied to boat building yards.

Tracey applied for a sawmilling license in 1946and sold out in 1948 to Bunney and Sons ofWynnum. Bunney replaced the original keroseneengine with a V8 engine and larger breaking downsaw and bench and cut hardwood.2

Tony Stephens who had worked with Tracey,bought the mill in 1951 and the next year bought aMack truck to carry timber to Brisbane. The millclosed in early 1954, accelerated by the impact ofsix months heavy rain starting in late 1953.Among the former mill workers were LesMcClymont timber cutter, George Dethick tailer-out, and Ray Box and Les Lee.

Bunney repurchased the mill, for its timber rights,and employed Stephens cutting trees to send totheir Wynnum mill. On 23 April 1959 as he wascutting a track around a hill below the mountain, adry limb fell, hitting him on the head. He lost

control of the tractor which rolled backwards. Hejumped as it fell over a cliff and died of afractured skull.

His son, John, bought the mill from Albert Bunneyin the 1970s, removing much of the machinery tohis own mill at Burleigh, also now closed. Thesteel jinker was not sold and with the sawmillshed, and the residual machinery, is now possiblythe most visited sawmill in Queensland.3

Site Description and Condition

The principal remains are the sawmill shed, someremnants of the machinery and a timber jinkeroutside the shed. Some restoration work wasundertaken by National Parks to stabilise thestructure, and does not appear to have impaired itsheritage significance. Only a small amount of theoriginal machinery remains, principally a series ofpulleys for belt drives attached to an axle forwhich the bearings have largely been removed.The remains of a one cylinder oil engine, withpulley and flywheel, which presumably providedthe main power for the sawmill, are in one cornerof the sawmill shed. A scatter of sawn timber(which may not be original) lies in another cornerof the shed. Adjacent to the southern side of theshed is an abandoned timber jinker which carriesthe wording "Built by A.B. Campbell GloucesterN.S.W. No.337". It is built of steel with steelwheels and a braking mechanism.

Assessment of Significance

The sawmill was one of a large number of smallbush sawmills which produced rough sawn timberfrom small to moderate sized logs. Better qualitylogs were generally hauled to larger betterequipped mills. Because of its location in aNational Park, in which it is the only culturalreminder of former settlement, it attracts a steadystream of visitors. It is probably the most visitedsawmill in the state. In the absence of interpret-ation. Visitors are inclined to regard it as typicalof all sawmills of past years, which it is not. It issignificant as one of a once large class of smallbush sawmills (Criterion d). From its site in theNational Park, it is better maintained and saferfrom destruction from most similar examples. It isalso valuable as a reminder that there a few areas,even in National Parks, which have not beenlogged by European settlers.

Recommendations

A plan for regular maintenance is needed if notalready in place. A series of interpretative signs to

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indicate how the sawmill operated and its place inthe timber industry would enhance the value of thesite. There may be other remains in the vicinitysomewhat covered in undergrowth which wouldhelp an understanding of the site and the heritageboundaries may need revision after suchinvestigation.

References

1. Currumbin Valley State School history p. 112. 2. Jackie Bettington, unpublished assignment on MountCougal Section of Springbrook National Park,University of Queensland, 1997, pp. 23-4. 3. Currumbin Valley State School history p. 112.

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Mount Cougal National Park Mill

General View of Sawmill from above with log dump and jinker

View inside sawmill showing large wheels for belt drive to machinery

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Mount Cougal National Park Mill

View inside showing limited machinery remaining in shed

View of steel jinker located just above the sawmill shed

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Report on Site Visits 235/236 John Kerr, January 1998