Hello Marg The rail line to Brisbane from Rockhampton was not completed until 1903. As Estelle mentioned most people arrived before this time into Rockhampton by coastal steamer as it was the quickest way. There were too many large rivers to cross for coaches to come up the coast way. It was possible to travel west from Brisbane or Toowoomba and get to Rockhampton by the inland route but it was extremely slow. The rail line from Toowoomba to Charleville was open in 1888. The rail line from Rockhampton reached Barcaldine in 1886. Therefore your relative could have travelled by rail to Charleville and then by Cobb & Co from Charleville, Augathella, Tambo, Blackall to the Central Rail line at Jericho and then rail to Rockhampton but it would take days. Many western people travelled a somewhat similar route from Winton area to Brisbane in the early 1900's. Our reference is "Cobb & Co - Coaching in Queensland" by Deborah Tranter. I would suggest that the easiest and quickest method of arriving in Rockhampton would definitely be by ship. In the early 1930's, my Mother said that she travelled to Sydney by coastal ship from Townsville so this method of travelling was very common for many years. By the way, the Bruce Highway was named in 1930's but could not find when this road was completed. cheers Margaret Sandstone Point ----- Original Message ----- From: "Estelle Daniels" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 6:55 PM Subject: Re: [AUS-QLD] Getting around in 1892 ? > > Helle Listers,James Stewart & Co is still a department store in > Rockhampton. At least in 1896, the rail went to Gladstone, but if I > remember correctly, the link to Rockhampton was not made until 1902, so > the usual mode of transport from Brisbane to Rockhampton was by coastal > steamer. Many of these boats went right up the river and docked alongside > Quay St in Rockhampton (probably named for obvious reasons). I believe > some of the immigrant ships which would have arrived earlier than that > were moored in Keppel Bay and the passengers boated in from there to the > Immigration Depot for processing. I think there was a rail link from > Brisbane to Toowoomba, or Ipswich and Toowoomba maybe. Im not 100% > certain on which towns at that time. If you go onto Trove, you will find > many passengers on these coastal steamers listed in Arrivals and > Departures. Generally steerage passengers are not listed, and often the > cabin passengers are only mentioned by surname. I havent come across any! > of the local papers listed rail passengers as such - just in social notes > of comings and goings from Rockhampton hotels and whether they arrived or > departed by train. There are several Rockhampton papers now digitised on > the Trove site, so it is worth a look. Anyway, once in Rocky one could > travel quite easily west on the rail - it arrived in Emerald in 1879; > Capella (north of Emerald) in 1882; Clermont (still further north of > Capella) in 1884. The lines from Emerald to Springsure (south); and > Emerald to Barcaldine (west) were both completed in 1887. The > construction of the rail line superseded the coach routes, and coaches > simply kept running the remainder of the way from wherever the rail head > happened to be, until it was completed. Mail services which conveyed > passengers continued to service routes not on the rail. I hope this is of > some use. Estelle

Hello Margaret,I agree that it was possible to go inland from Toowoomba to Rocky, basically following in the footsteps of explorers like Leichhardt, as much of the road does today. Most of the squatters and selectors in the Central Region, even prior to Qld statehood took this route if they had to bring stock and property. If there were women and young children that couldnt make that long arduous journey - often months on the road, depending on the weather - they would take the journey by coastal steamer and join the remainder of the group, depending on the time frame of course. From the research that I have done, it was probably the shortest route, but you didnt make that overland trip if you didnt have to. Rockhampton was the hub of Central Qld and all communications seemed to lead to there - and then to wherever you wanted to go. Qld is still a very decentralised state as far as road and rail go.Estelle> From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:29:31 +1000 > Subject: Re: [AUS-QLD] Getting around in 1892 ? > > Hello Marg > > The rail line to Brisbane from Rockhampton was not completed until 1903. As > Estelle mentioned most people arrived before this time into Rockhampton by > coastal steamer as it was the quickest way. There were too many large rivers > to cross for coaches to come up the coast way. > > It was possible to travel west from Brisbane or Toowoomba and get to > Rockhampton by the inland route but it was extremely slow. The rail line > from Toowoomba to Charleville was open in 1888. The rail line from > Rockhampton reached Barcaldine in 1886. Therefore your relative could have > travelled by rail to Charleville and then by Cobb & Co from Charleville, > Augathella, Tambo, Blackall to the Central Rail line at Jericho and then > rail to Rockhampton but it would take days. Many western people travelled a > somewhat similar route from Winton area to Brisbane in the early 1900's. > > Our reference is "Cobb & Co - Coaching in Queensland" by Deborah Tranter. > > I would suggest that the easiest and quickest method of arriving in > Rockhampton would definitely be by ship. > > In the early 1930's, my Mother said that she travelled to Sydney by coastal > ship from Townsville so this method of travelling was very common for many > years. > > By the way, the Bruce Highway was named in 1930's but could not find when > this road was completed. > > cheers > Margaret > Sandstone Point > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Estelle Daniels" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 6:55 PM > Subject: Re: [AUS-QLD] Getting around in 1892 ? > > > > > > Helle Listers,James Stewart & Co is still a department store in > > Rockhampton. At least in 1896, the rail went to Gladstone, but if I > > remember correctly, the link to Rockhampton was not made until 1902, so > > the usual mode of transport from Brisbane to Rockhampton was by coastal > > steamer. Many of these boats went right up the river and docked alongside > > Quay St in Rockhampton (probably named for obvious reasons). I believe > > some of the immigrant ships which would have arrived earlier than that > > were moored in Keppel Bay and the passengers boated in from there to the > > Immigration Depot for processing. I think there was a rail link from > > Brisbane to Toowoomba, or Ipswich and Toowoomba maybe. Im not 100% > > certain on which towns at that time. If you go onto Trove, you will find > > many passengers on these coastal steamers listed in Arrivals and > > Departures. Generally steerage passengers are not listed, and often the > > cabin passengers are only mentioned by surname. I havent come across any! > > of the local papers listed rail passengers as such - just in social notes > > of comings and goings from Rockhampton hotels and whether they arrived or > > departed by train. There are several Rockhampton papers now digitised on > > the Trove site, so it is worth a look. Anyway, once in Rocky one could > > travel quite easily west on the rail - it arrived in Emerald in 1879; > > Capella (north of Emerald) in 1882; Clermont (still further north of > > Capella) in 1884. The lines from Emerald to Springsure (south); and > > Emerald to Barcaldine (west) were both completed in 1887. The > > construction of the rail line superseded the coach routes, and coaches > > simply kept running the remainder of the way from wherever the rail head > > happened to be, until it was completed. Mail services which conveyed > > passengers continued to service routes not on the rail. I hope this is of > > some use. Estelle > > Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message