Boolboonda Tunnel, Mt Perry, Queensland, Australia - Abandoned Train Tunnels on Waymarking.com

The Boolboonda Railway Tunnel opened 12 November 1883 following a construction period of two years. It was built by Queensland Government Railways as part of the Bundaberg - Mount Perry railway line, constructed to service the Mount Perry copper mines. The section of the line between Tirroan and Mount Perry closed in 1960 and was removed in 1961. Copper was discovered in the Mount Perry area in the second half of the nineteenth century. Mining activities led to agitation for a link between the mines of the Mount Perry region and a port. In 1872 proposals of a private railway line were considered, and both Maryborough and Bundaberg vied to secure the line. These plans were never executed however. Rather, it was decided a state-owned line would be constructed. Thornloe Smith, Engineer in charge of Railway Surveys, conducted a survey from North Bundaberg to Mount Perry in 1875. Thornloe's survey noted the country was rugged, and eventual surveying plans called for a tunnel to pierce part of the Boolboonda Range. The Bundaberg Railway, as it was called, was constructed in two sections. The first section, North Bundaberg to Moolboolaman, was constructed by Overend and Co. and opened on 19 July 1881, although timber specials had run for some months previously. The second section, including the tunnel works, was approved in November 1880. The original tenderers for this second contract declined the offer and a second round was called. O'Rourke and McSharry submitted costings of £112 502. Previous to this another series of surveys had been conducted to avoid the expense of constructing a tunnel through the Boolboonda Range, however it was decided to continue with the original plans. Work on the approaches to the tunnel had commenced by the end of 1881, progressing steadily throughout 1882. The Boolboonda Railway Tunnel was driven through the hard granite of the range, and as noted by the Acting Chief Engineer 'this tunnel will not require to be lined being excavated through hard granite and that thus a saving of £5 000 will be effected'. This was the first time in the colony where it had not been necessary to line a tunnel, due to the nature of the rock it was driven through. The hard granite rock also meant the tunnel did not require additional support, and it is the longest unsupported (railway) tunnel constructed in Queensland. Mechanical means, including boilers and air compressors for drills were used to advance the drilling of the two tunnel headings. The section of line to Boolboonda opened on 12 November 1883. As noted in the Commissioner's Report for 1882-83, the tunnel being driven from east and west ends was about half complete at this time (a total drive of about 300 feet). The headings of the tunnel broke through at noon on 19 June 1883. The line to Mount Perry was officially opened to rail traffic on 19 May 1884. It included the tunnel and a succession of curves of 100 and 120 metre radius. Although the contract for the second section had expired on 10 February, the delay in completion was attributed to station works at Mount Perry and the difficulty the contractors met with in piercing the tunnel at Boolboonda, this not being completed until 1884. The tunnel when completed measured 584 feet in length (192 metres). At the completion of the line the Mount Perry copper mines closed due to the financial failure of the mines. The copper mines reopened around the turn of the century and with the construction of a smelter, operated until the period of the First World War. The unlined tunnel and the Splitters Creek trestle bridge at Sharon were the two major engineering works undertaken on the Mount Perry line. For the next 50 years the main traffic generated on the Mount Perry line was mainly from dairying, livestock and timber traffic, with sugar traffic from Gin Gin east to the Gibson and Howes mill. The section of line from Tirroan to Mount Perry was closed in 1960 and removed in 1961, due to declining traffic revenues. The final section of the Bundaberg Railway, Bundaberg to Gin Gin, closed in 1992. Since cessation of rail traffic the tunnel has become a habitat for a colony of Bentwinged bats. Built as a low cost, development railway, the only evidence remaining of the Tirroan-Mount Perry line are embankments and the Boolboonda tunnel.The tunnel is presently used by local property owners for vehicular traffic and tourists.

Construction: Natural - No lining Condition: Good Rail Status: No Current status: Other Original Use: Mining The "Other End": N 25° 04.920 W 151° 40.358 Tunnel Length: 584.00 Suggested Parking Area: N 25° 04.860 W 151° 40.685 Terrain: Website: [Web Link] Date Built: Constructed 1883 - 1884 opened 19 May 1884 Date Abandoned: closed in 1960 and removed in 1961

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Date Logged Log User Rating   03/09/2020 blingg visited it