The Bank of New South Wales entry point at Jondaryan Woolshed Tourist Complex

Jondaryan (including Acland)
A well constructed tourist attraction which recreates a 19th century Queensland rural township.
Located 172 km west of Brisbane and 43 km from Toowoomba, Jondaryan is a superb example of a tiny, unimportant settlement exploiting its one famous and important old historical building and creating an entire tourism industry out of it.

The town itself is no more than a hotel, a few shops, and a few houses. It is nothing more than a small hamlet on the Warrego Highway. It would be fair to suggest that the town is there merely to direct traffic towards the Jondaryan Woolshed Tourist Complex.

Jondaryan was first settled by Charles Coxon in 1842. It was named, so the accepted wisdom goes, after the Aboriginal word 'Jondooyan' which was the name given to a waterhole in the Oakey creek. The property changed hands a number of times in the 1840s and 1850s until it was purchased by Robert and Edwin Tooth (famous for their beer as well as their involvement in the establishment of the Bank of New South Wales and the Colonial Sugar Refining Company) in 1856.

The Jondaryan Station remained the centre of all activities in the area although the arrival of the railway in 1868 did much to increase the population of the town which rose to about 350 people before World War 1. The town was large enough to send 57 young men off to war in 1914.

The highlight of each year at Jondaryan is the nine day Australian Heritage Festival which is held at the end of August. During this period people come from all over Australia to display traditional bush crafts and the machinery in this remarkable museum complex all becomes operational.

Things to see:  

Jondaryan Woolshed
The Jondaryan Woolshed is a major tourist attraction which is well organised and interesting. The complex consists a large number of buildings but the centrepiece is the Woolshed itself which has been listed by the National Trust.

It is informative to register why the National Trust considered the building so important:

'A long, low and spacious 56 stand woolshed [there was a time when 88 shearers were squeezed onto the boards], built partially of imported materials, some of which came from London. These include rafters, beams and corrugated–iron roof cladding while the cedar employed in the pen and chute doors, and the hand–hewn ironbark slabs which comprise the walls are from local sources. At the time of its construction, in 1859-60, it was the largest shearing shed in Queensland.

'Built in the vernacular, the woolshed's T-shaped composition addresses only the immediate requirements of processing large numbers of sheep from the yards and of filtering the climatic extremes. In the case of the former its open plan interiors, incorporating rafters covering a great span, facilitating maximum flow of sheep, while in the latter the gently sloping roof culminating in wide overhanging eaves guaranteed both ventilation and shade for the workers.

'Once the centre of the Darling Downs sheep industry, 'Jondaryan' was, in 1842, one of the first free selections taken up in the area - the same year that Governor Gipps declared that 'all settlers and other free persons shall be at liberty to proceed to the Darling Downs in like manner as to any other part of the Colony.'

'By the 1860s the property had become the largest freehold station in the state of Queensland, running some 150 000 sheep on its 62 700 hectares expanse. Inevitably, as free settlement pushed onwards, grain began to encroach on the sheep's pastures. At the end of World War 11 'Jondaryan' was subdivided for soldier settlement.

'This woolshed is a remarkable vernacular structure which has fundamental historical associations with the development of the Darling Downs district and those early pioneers who were connected with it.'

The Jondaryan Woolshed Historical Museum is a remarkable example of local enthusiasm and enterprise. In 1972, after a ball was held in the woolshed on the anniversary of the first ball 111 years before, it was decided to use the Woolshed as the centrepiece in a park which would become a 'living memorial to the historic pastoral industry and the pioneers of rural Australia'.

In 1976 the society received a grant of $10 000 from the Federal Government to restore the deteriorating woolshed. It is worth looking at the guttering of the woolshed because the society had a sustained battle with the National Trust when they attempted to replace the brackets which held the guttering. The original brackets had been made of an iron which was no longer available. A local blacksmith could make the same pattern but not with the same iron. Eventually the National Trust agreed to this minor alteration.

Slowly the complex began to expand. The original Jondaryan blacksmith's shop (which dated from 1850) was moved onto the land in 1977. That same year the old Woodview School (1886) arrived and in August the first Australian Heritage Festival was held.

The following year the sulky shed and an old shepherd–boundary rider's hut were acquired and the Youth Hostels Association established a hostel in the old shearers' quarters.

In 1979 the complex was expanded by a blacksmith–made windmill and the Evanslea wheat handling shed. Then in 1980 the old police lockup from Peranga was added. 1984 saw the arrival of the Lagoon Creek homestead (now a restaurant for visitors) and more recently the beautiful old Bank of New South Wales building has been located as a reception and souvenir shop near the car park.

While it is impossible not to be impressed by Jondaryan it is worth remembering that the success of the complex is still based on its ability to promote itself. The active support of a local MP and a budget that runs to the production of good quality books and attractive brochures certainly has played a part in the success of the complex. But publicity does not mean inherent superiority - there are superb museums at Miles, Chinchilla, Gympie and Caboolture. The truth is that the pit sawing displays at The Woodworks Forestry and Timber Museum at Gympie are as fascinating as anything offered at Jondaryan and the memorabilia collected by both Chinchilla (with its first Qantas ticket) and Miles are as interesting as anything collected at Jondaryan.

The Jondaryan Woolshed is open 8.30-5.00. There are two excellent books Jondaryan Woolshed and Jondaryan Woolshed Historical Museum and Park Association: Its History and Achievements available from the souvenir shop. Contact: (07) 4692 2229.

St Anne's Church
On the way out to Jondaryan Woolshed is St Anne's Church which was built in 1859 and lays claim to being one of the earliest churches in Queensland. It was substantially altered after the 1893 flood but is still the oldest wooden church in the Diocese of Brisbane. It was built from hand sawn and dressed ironbark slabs.

Acland
Over the Warrego Highway and 12 km away is the tiny settlement of Acland which boasts one of the most interesting coal mining museums in the country. Privately run the museum is sited on the old Acland coal field which was still operating as recently as 1984 and is regarded as the smallest coal mine in Australia. The museum is organised so that each visitor is given a tour of the mine which explains all the equipment and goes through the entire process of coal mining.

	Hotels
	Jondaryan Hotel Duke St Jondaryan QLD 4403 Telephone: (07) 4692 2202
	Restaurants
	Jondaryan Hotel Duke St Jondaryan QLD 4403 Telephone: (07) 4692 2202