Bowen River Hotel– On this exact spot at 6.45pm on the afternoon of April 27th, 1958. A marital argument was had and won by the husband.
Secretly anonymous – Bowen River Hotel Patron
Back in the outback
My destination today is the Bowen River Hotel, which is 20 kilometres west of the mining town of Collinsville. I took my time packing my tent and checking out Emu for any loose bolts. The road out of the Eungella Dam has recently been graded and makes for a fast ride. It’s not long before I start going down. To get to the Bowen River Hotel I have to ride down the western side of the Clarkes Ranges. This will link up with the Turrawulla Road and eventually to the Bowen Development Road and Collinsville. If you want to know how I got here, you can read about my travels at the following link: Day 23 of my motorcycle tour of outback Queensland
The road down the range
Apparently, there are two roads that lead down the range from the Eungella Dam. The track I rode was known as the pipeline road, or as it is officially known “The Lizzie Creek Road”. This is a well maintained track used mainly to service the water pipeline. The pipeline dominates the first part of the road, crossing under it as you wind down the range.
Collinsville
It had been a hot ride with very little breeze. But eventually after two and a half hours, I came upon the intersection of the Collinsville to Newlands (Coal Mine) road. It is possible to ride from Collinsville to Nebo via Clermont on tar. However, having driven these roads a number times, I found the rural road far more interesting and exciting. Once you cross the Bowen River Bridge it’s about 15 minutes until you reach the outskirts of Collinsville.
I was running low on fuel so I pulled into the local Caltex station. With a full tank of gas in the bike tank and a chocolate milk in my tummy, I headed onto my destination for the night. As I had been to Collinsville numerous times during my time living in Bowen, I didn’t want to hang around in town.
Collinsville is a mining town, with both Glencore’s Collinsville Coal and QCoal’s Sonoma mine next door to each other. The mines are on the door step of the town, so they dominate the landscape. However, grazing is still a big industry in the rural landscape outside of town. It was established way before the mining industry (see day 22 for details). It wasn’t until 1912 that full scale coal mining commenced.
A future without coal……seriously?
The biggest economic shock for Collinsville was the closure of the Collinsville Power Station. As I rode up the road I went past the new Collinsville Solar farm that was designed to replace it.
This farm produces approximately 42.5 megawatts of power while the sun is shining. In contrast the Collinsville Power Station produced 190 Megawatts all day/night and all year round. The argument of course is the amount of CO2 produced. For one hundred and ten million dollars it is a big investment.
Bowen River Hotel
I had been riding for only 30 minutes when I came across the causeway over the Bowen River. The road led steeply up hill and as soon as I got to the top, I could see the historic Bowen River Hotel. This is an historic rural hotel. I highly recommend it as a destination for an overnight bike adventure. The publicans’ have a Facebook site highlighting coming events, you might want to check it out at: https://www.facebook.com/bowenriverhotel/
The Bowen River may look peaceful and inviting but it is full of saltwater crocodiles. I have seen photos of five metre crocodiles in the river. It is estimated that estuarine or salt water crocodiles inhabit the river up to where the Bowen River meets the Broken River. This is approximately 225 kilometres from the coast.
It just goes to show that you can’t take for granted the absence of crocodiles in North Queensland, even in fresh water inland rivers.
Arriving late in the afternoon
I arrived at the Bowen River Hotel in the late afternoon. As I was the only person there, I asked if I could camp out the back of the hotel. The hotel hosts events such as rodeos and farming open days, it has a selection of small donga accommodation. But there are plenty of places to camp. I paid $10 to pitch my tent on a grassy allotment near the toilet and shower blocks.
The hotel
The Bowen River Hotel was originally known as the Heidelberg Inn, when it was built in 1865. It should be noted that this was not long after the nearest township of Bowen was first discovered by Europeans in 1859 and then settled in 1861. Although there is some confusion as to whether the current Bowen River Hotel was actually the Heidelberg Inn.
It is claimed there were two hotels build at this time, one at the place called the “Lower Crossing Place” and one higher up the steep bank. The current Bowen River Hotel is definitely on the higher steep bank. The one at the lower mark was called the Heidelberg Inn.
Considering the amount of water that flows down the Bowen River during the wet, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine anything lower being swept away.
Chicken Parmigiana
After exploring the grounds, setting up my camp for the night and partaking in a few red wines. I went to the bar to order food. There were two main menu items available that night, a steak sandwich and a Chicken Parmijiana. As a number of locals had rocked up for a birthday celebration, I quickly decided on the Chicken Parmijiana.
In no time at all there were Toyota utes everywhere. They all had big high powered spot lights, dogs in cages and rifles sitting on the bench seats. It wasn’t long before the whole frontage of the pub was full of work vehicles. It soon became a raging party.
Sitting to the side sipping on my red wine, eating my Chicken Parmigiana, I enjoyed the rural ambiance. This was an historical heritage listed pub. It was doing what it had done for the past 156 years, entertaining travellers and locals alike. I left for a good nights sleep, knowing I would be up early to watch the sunrise.
If you have any comments or would like to add to this story please leave your comments in the section below. Tomorrow I ride to Ravenswood and visit the Burdekin Dam……… Save travels:)
My wife Laura and I used to live at Heidelberg Station 1975 1976 with our first born daughter we loved it there as during the wet we were totally cut off from the outside world by the Bowen River.
Parts of the original Bowen Downs Station road were stone pitched in a very professional way by to old wagon drivers when bogged for weeks in wet weather. These sections are now totally lost in the bush but we would ride onto them when mustering Heidelberg Station.
The pub was burnt down I think at some time any how an old bloke rebuilt it using original type tools Cross cut saw/axe/board axe/brace and bit ect. In the 1970’s.
Hi John, thanks for sharing this information. There is soo much history in this area, your story make me want to find out more. Cheers Gary.