Corduroy Road Remains facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Corduroy Road Remains |
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Corduroy Road Remains, Laidley, 2009
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| Location | Toowoomba-Ipswich Road, Laidley, Lockyer Valley Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Official name: Corduroy Road Remains, Laidley | |
| Type | state heritage (archaeological) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600657 |
| Significant period | 1850s, 1860s (fabric) |
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The Corduroy Road Remains are an old, important archaeological site near Laidley, Australia. This site holds parts of a very old main road that connected Ipswich and Drayton. Back in the 1850s and 1860s, this road was improved by turning it into a "corduroy road." This meant covering it with logs, mostly strong grey ironbark logs.
Building this road made it easier to reach the Darling Downs area. Even with these improvements, people still complained about how bad the roads were. It took many more years for them to be properly sealed. Today, the remains of this corduroy road are buried under about 10 to 20 centimeters of soil. This makes it hard to see how long the road still is or what condition it's in. In the 1970s, there was a plan to dig up a small part of the road for people to see, but it never happened. This historic site was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Contents
A Look Back: The Story of the Road
Early Roads in Queensland
In the 1800s, the path between Ipswich and Drayton was one of the most important roads in the Moreton Bay area. It started as a simple track for horses in the 1840s. Soon, it became the main route for wagons carrying wool and supplies. By 1852, the government even called it the only "first-class road" in the region.
However, this "first-class" road was often in terrible shape. People described it as "wretched" and "impassable." Roads across Queensland were generally very poor. Building and fixing roads was expensive and needed a lot of workers. There wasn't much money, and no single group was in charge of road building. This meant it took a long time for things to get better.
Improving the Route to Darling Downs
As more people settled in Queensland, good roads became vital for farmers and businesses. In the 1850s, people started trying harder to improve the journey to the Darling Downs. For example, in 1850, a small wooden bridge was built over Laidley Creek. The government also spent money on road improvements.
In 1854, a surveyor named Phillip D. Vigors was asked to build a proper road from Brisbane through Ipswich to Drayton. This work was very slow. More money was put into road development in the Laidley area in 1857 to build another bridge over Laidley Creek. It's believed that the corduroy road was built during this time, between the 1850s and 1860s.
What is a Corduroy Road?
Corduroy roads were a common way to build roads in wet or swampy areas, especially in Europe and America. To make one, workers would lay logs or half-logs side-by-side across the road. This created a stable surface, like a rough wooden carpet. It was a cheap and simple way to make roads usable in muddy places.
In early Queensland, there wasn't much money or many workers. So, corduroy roads were a good solution for dealing with bad road conditions. They didn't need special engineers to build them, unlike more complex roads. This made them perfect for local farmers and residents to build themselves.
Challenges of Corduroy Roads
Even though corduroy roads helped people get through muddy areas, they weren't perfect. They were very bumpy, especially for travelers in old coaches with basic suspension! They also broke down easily. Logs could rot in the middle, causing the ends to stick up, making travel even more dangerous. One traveler, Nehemiah Bartley, described a corduroy road as an "awful place" for horses and wagons because of the rotting, tilted logs.
In the Laidley area, roads stayed bad until proper paved roads were built much later. The spot where the corduroy road remains are found was known to get flooded easily because it was flat. Since there were plenty of gum and ironbark trees nearby, it was an ideal place to build a corduroy road.
Today, the corduroy road at Laidley is still buried. We can't tell what condition it's in. In the 1970s, the local council thought about digging up a small part for people to see, but nothing has happened yet.
What the Corduroy Road Looks Like Today
The remains of the corduroy road are found on Old Toowoomba Road, about 1 kilometer southwest of Laidley. We don't know exactly how long the original corduroy road was, but it might have stretched across nearby private properties.
As mentioned, corduroy roads were built by laying logs or half-logs side-by-side. They were often used in swampy areas to make the ground stable. Sometimes, gravel was added on top. Because of the wet conditions, these roads were often covered in mud.
The corduroy road at Laidley is still buried under 10 to 20 centimeters of soil. This means we can't see its current condition. In 1976, a piece of wood from this road was studied. It was found to be grey ironbark, a type of tree common in the area. The wood showed some damage from "wet rot" (decay from being wet) and termites.
Why This Site is Important
The Corduroy Road Remains at Laidley were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 because they meet important criteria:
Showing Queensland's History
This site is important because it shows how Queensland's road networks first developed in the 1800s. It also shows how early settlers dealt with very poor road conditions. As the Darling Downs region grew from the 1850s, better ways to connect communities and get farm produce to markets were needed. The corduroy road is a great example of a practical and cheap way to improve roads when there wasn't much money for big projects.
A Unique Part of Queensland's Heritage
The corduroy road is a rare and important example of an old road-building method. It shows a technique that was once common but didn't need special engineering skills. Local farmers and residents could easily build these roads to overcome difficult conditions on important supply and communication routes.
