Yesterday we took the opportunity to pop down to the Gold Coast and call on Chris’s niece, her husband and their brand new baby boy, as well as pick up the mail Tineke had been holding for us; a two hundred kilometre round trip to collect the mail. The Brisbane motorway system is quite brilliant, at least in the area we travelled yesterday; onto the Cunningham Highway, the Ipswich Motorway, the Logan Motorway and then down the Pacific Highway. We had time up our sleeve around our visit, so took the opportunity to call into the Westfield Shopping Centre at Helensvale where I managed to pick up a replacement for my rather drab and bedraggled looking handbag, as well as buying an Australian calendar for the new year, something we had hoped would not be necessary, given that Plan A would have had us back in New Zealand by now.
We found the new family of three coping well, or at
least as well as you would expect given the learning curve they are all
experiencing; baby struggling with colic, mother coping with exhaustion and proud
father having to think beyond his man-of-the-house activities, such as making
coffee for visiting nomads.
We had to chuckle at several stories shared during
our visit, one in particular concerning an English friend of Tineke’s who has already been out to Australia
and has undertaken the required three months “outback” work to allow an automatic
extension on her visa for her next visit. And where did she pass these months
slaving away in the outback? Gatton, no less; that lovely town up the Lockyer
Valley we picnicked in a week or so ago. That is “outback”? We could show her “outback”!
Temperatures in the State topped recent averages, 47
degrees in Birdsville late in the day and 35 in Ipswich. Interestingly the
temperatures were cooler on the Gold Coast, perhaps the reason why people
prefer to live there rather than Ipswich. The forecast for Ipswich today was
for 40 degrees, however we were gone soon after 9 am heading east again on part
of the highways travelled yesterday before turning north up through the Gateway
Motorway, not the shortest or most direct, but certainly the most
straightforward; we were not keen to repeat the rather convoluted route taken
when we came down from the Sunshine Coast several weeks ago. Just short of the
Caboolture exit, the three lanes of bumper to bumper holiday traffic came to a
grinding halt, so we turned off and came on up through Morayfield. So had everyone
else and the traffic was jammed at all the lights and rail crossings right
through until we reached the route north of Caboolture heading to Beerburrum,
on which the showgrounds are situated.
Unlike our last arrival here, exactly one month ago,
the office was (wo)manned and we were efficiently dealt, with electing to stay
for one week for a well discounted tariff. We could in fact stay for the total
of three should we choose to do so, however I am guessing that one week in Caboolture
is as long as we would possibly want.
We were set up and lunching with an excellent view
over the Sydney Cricket Ground (through the box) by midday, the air-conditioner
working at maximum output combatting the near 37 degree heat outside. Although
out in the sun it is a whole lot hotter that that!
We have passed by Caboolture a number of times, and
even stayed that one night in early December last, however we have never thought
of it as a destination, dismissing it merely as a satellite settlement for
Brisbane fringe dwellers. This is completely unfair and we will no doubt see
just how unfair in the coming days if we can drag ourselves out into the heat
wave that is forecasted for the coming week.
A couple of years ago, Caboolture had a population of
46,882, and given the new subdivisions we saw as we made our way here today,
the population has surely grown since then. This urban centre, just over forty
kilometres north of Brisbane, lies at the northern end of the commuter rail
service although our Translink pass cards can be used on the line as far north
as Gympie, beyond the Sunshine Coast.
The area was first settled back in 1842 when the
land around the Moreton Bay penal colony was opened up to free settlers. By the
mid-1860s the local pastoralists were experimenting with sugar cane and cotton,
and in 1867 Caboolture was established as a service centre and soon also served
the miners heading north to the goldfields near Gympie. The rail line from
Brisbane was opened in 1888, a date that seems to crop up time and time again; obviously
it was a good year for rail.
Red cedar was also ripped out of the area as it was
up and down this coast in the late 19th century. Here it was rafted
down the river to Deception Bay, then taken by steamer to Brisbane.
Along with sugar cane, wheat, maize and Indian corn
were trialled along the river flats. Vegetables proved successful, although
more for local consumption rather than the wholesale cultivation that takes
place up the Lockyer Valley. Sheep proved to be too much like sponges for the
damp; cattle a little more successful, particularly of the dairying kind.
But it was not until the 1970s and 1980s when development
of the Sunshine Coast took off that Caboolture followed suit, its accessibility
to the centres both north and south on the upgraded Bruce Highway and the land
being relatively cheap (compared to that in the more sought after centres).
And then there is the proximity to Redcliffe, Mt Mee
and Bribie Island, as well as the river which might offer walking trails. But
for the rest of today I shall be satisfied to relax out of the heat, although
such inactivity would be better left for tomorrow when the temperature is
supposed to be about 41 degrees. One day at a time I think, and now it is time
to refresh our For Sale advertisement on line. Perhaps a Caboolture location
will attract more interest?
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