Spicer's Gap

Spicer's Gap lies 100 km west of Brisbane, Australia, and was the original route over the Great Dividing Range in the area around Brisbane. Today it is included in Main Range National Park and is a popular destination for campers and bushwalkers.

Spicer's Gap, originally preserved under the Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park is accessible via conventional vehicle, although in places the road is rough. On the steep passage to the Gap, visitors pass a cemetery, Moss's Well and the site of a former hotel.

History

Spicer's Gap is believed to be a traditional pathway for Indigenous Australians travelling between the inland and the coast.

In 1828, Allan Cunningham 'officially' discovered the route through the mountains now called Cunningham's Gap, however it can be easily seen from Brisbane. Stockman Henry Alphen discovered Spicer's Gap in 1847. The road through the pass was originally built by convicts during the 1800s. This trail became an important transport route from to the coast to the agricultural region known as the Darling Downs. The Spicer's Gap Road, used to carry supplies to and from the Darling Downs, is the best remaining example of sophisticated 19th century engineering in Queensland.

A popular resting spot for early governors of Queensland who were travelling through the gap became known as Governor's Chair Lookout. Lord Kerr, Lord Scott, Sir Charles Fitzroy and Sir George Bowen all sat on the rock in the early 1850's [Queensland Environmental Protection Agency, "Heritage Trails of the Great South East", State of Queensland, 2000 p 32. ISBN 0-7345-1008-X.]

ee also

*Spicers Gap Road Conservation Park

References