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from Oakey to Cooyar. The railway was built to Cooyar in ca1913 to support the development of small-scale agriculture in the area and to provide
Toowoomba and the Darling Downs with access to timber reserves at Blackbutt and Nanango. Hence, it is also evidence of the development of closer settlement in the eastern Darling Downs in the early 20th century.
502:. However, from 1916, the branch struggled to remain profitable due to under-utilisation and from 1926, road transport began to seriously affect the profitability of branch lines. This decline was offset, for a time, by cost-cutting measures and the introduction of rail motors. Petrol rationing forced greater use of the rail network by the public during
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The area between Oakey and Cooyar was populated by small-scale farmers, many of whom were of German origin. The lack of a viable transport route to market hindered the profitability of these small farms. Bullock transport was uneconomic and slow. When arguing the case for a branch line to Cooyar, the
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On 1 May 1964, the line beyond Acland was closed. The Acland to Oakey section was kept open to support the operation of the coalmines at Acland. The mines' principal customer was
Queensland Rail. In the late 1960s, when Queensland Rail completed the conversion of their locomotive fleet to diesel all
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The tunnel has a regular elliptical cross-section and it displays pleasing qualities of symmetry. It evokes surprise due to its unexpected location in remote bushland with no other visible railway infrastructure nearby. This response to the tunnel is heightened by its position, hidden within a deep
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The entrances to the tunnel are approached at both ends via a cutting. At the north eastern end, the cutting extends about 38 metres (125 ft) from the entrance. At the south western end, it curves towards the south and extends about 150 metres (490 ft). The floor of each cutting is level
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Muntapa Tunnel is the only tunnel in
Queensland that crosses the summit of the Great Dividing Range. Nine tunnels exist on the section of the main western line from Ipswich that ascends the Range en route to Toowoomba but none of these passes underneath the summit. The decision was made to tunnel
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Muntapa Tunnel is important in demonstrating the evolution of
Queensland's history insofar that it constitutes physical evidence of a Queensland Government policy to construct branch lines as a means of developing rural districts. The tunnel was the most substantial work on a branch line that ran
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The tunnel is semi-elliptical in cross-section. It is around 280 metres (920 ft) in length running from north east to south west. A section of cliff around each entrance is faced with a concrete wall which is topped with a shallow projecting ledge. The year "1912" had been embossed above the
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The line was approved by parliament in 1909 and construction began in
September 1910. The principal work on the railway was on the 287-metre (942 ft) long tunnel at Muntapa. This remains the only tunnel in Queensland that passes beneath the summit of the Great Dividing Range. There are nine
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Branch lines were secondary railway lines designed to connect rural districts with the main rail routes. They were constructed with the aim of supporting small-scale agriculturalists, dairy farmers and the timber industry. Branch lines were generally of cheaper construction than main lines, more
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The tunnel is important as a highly intact example of a concrete railway tunnel. Concrete was first used in 1880 for the Cherry Gully Tunnel on the
Warwick to Stanthorpe line. The Muntapa Tunnel has concrete portals and a semi-elliptical cross-section formed completely with concrete.
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The railway to Cooyar was one of seven branches of the
Western Line that was built by day labour. Day labour construction of railways had been introduced by the conservative government in 1901. The practise continued until the mid-1920s. To carry out this work,
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and this improved profitability while rationing remained in place. However, the cost of recovering from neglected maintenance during the War added to the ever-increasing use of motor vehicles accelerated the closure of branch lines after the War.
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The
Muntapa Tunnel is a former railway tunnel set in isolated bushland about 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Oakey. The tunnel is located in a deep cutting along which the former railway line from Oakey to Cooyar ran.
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and approximately 5 metres (16 ft) wide. A 22-metre-long (72 ft) concrete wall extends along the eastern side of the cutting beginning about 31 metres (102 ft) from the south western entrance.
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The interior of the tunnel is formed from concrete. Away from the entrance, this has become blackened. The floor is sandy, except towards the middle of the tunnel where the base becomes coarse gravel.
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entrance at the south western end. However this has heavily worn so that only "912" remains visible. A steel gate of about 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in height encloses the north eastern entrance.
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Construction of a branch line to Cooyar had been advocated for some years. As well as improving the viability of farms and stimulating closer settlement along the route, the line would provide
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from
Ipswich climbs the Range en route to Toowoomba, but none of these pass underneath the summit. Tunnelling was a more economic alternative than routing the line around the summit.
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Initially, the revenue raised on the branch exceeded working expenses. Transport of timber peaked in 1915 and from that year coal also began to be railed from the area of
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The tunnel penetrates the ridge which forms the summit of the Great
Dividing Range. The terrain is rocky and sparsely vegetated, comprising open eucalypt woodland.
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cutting. It is only visible from within the cutting or close to its edge. The place also conveys a sense of the isolation experienced by the tunnel's builders.
421:. The tunnel is one of a small number built on a branch line and it is the only tunnel in Queensland that crosses between the inland and coastal sides of the
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Commissioner for Railways, J. Thallon, noted that farms needed to be within 10–12 miles (16–19 km) of a railway line to be viable.
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frequent stops were provided and they were often built on road easements to reduce the costs stemming from land resumptions. The
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maintained a construction branch with engineers and plant and employed construction workers on a temporary basis.
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The tunnel interior is formed from concrete and it has concrete portals. Concrete was first used in 1880 for the
460:. Of secondary consideration was a proposal to eventually extend the line to connect with Nanango and ultimately
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The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.
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under the summit at Muntapa because it was a more economic alternative than routing the line around it.
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but one of these mines closed. On 8 December 1969, the Oakey to Acland section was also closed.
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The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.
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The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.
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The tunnel is now contains the winter roosting site of up to 8,000 bent-wing bats:
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on 8 October 2014). The geo-coordinates were originally computed from the
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and the Darling Downs with access to much needed timber reserves at
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line. It was found to be more economical than brick or masonry.
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The Muntapa Tunnel is a concrete railway tunnel located on the
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The place is important because of its aesthetic significance.
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on 3 May 2007 having satisfied the following criteria.
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This Knowledge (XXG) article was originally based on
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713:"Queensland heritage register boundaries"
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
324:Location of Muntapa Tunnel in Queensland
724:licence (accessed on 5 September 2014,
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695:"The Queensland heritage register"
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768:1910 establishments in Australia
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658:"Muntapa Tunnel (entry 602594)"
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763:Railway tunnels in Queensland
666:. Queensland Heritage Council
778:Disused tunnels in Australia
758:Queensland Heritage Register
663:Queensland Heritage Register
561:Queensland Heritage Register
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238:Queensland Heritage Register
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373:from Narko-Nutgrove Road,
352:Muntapa Tunnel (Australia)
425:. It was opened in 1913.
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256:state heritage (built)
745:at Wikimedia Commons
728:on 15 October 2014).
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369:is a heritage-listed
355:Show map of Australia
143:Narko-Nutgrove Road,
423:Great Dividing Range
182:27.0758°S 151.7481°E
40:improve this article
718:State of Queensland
700:State of Queensland
477:Cherry Gully Tunnel
411:Cooyar railway line
395:Queensland Railways
391:Queensland Railways
289:Queensland Railways
226:Queensland Railways
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468:tunnels where the
462:Central Queensland
269:Reference no.
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683:Attribution
524:Description
439:Harrisville
377:through to
185: /
172:151°44′53″E
160:Coordinates
155:, Australia
96:August 2015
752:Categories
603:References
485:Stanthorpe
387:Queensland
264:3 May 2007
261:Designated
191: (
169:27°04′33″S
153:Queensland
66:newspapers
454:Blackbutt
450:Toowoomba
375:Highgrove
222:Architect
217:1910-1913
145:Highgrove
726:archived
708:archived
670:1 August
379:Nutgrove
285:Builders
140:Location
481:Warwick
479:on the
458:Nanango
435:Ipswich
405:History
80:scholar
720:under
702:under
500:Acland
371:tunnel
272:602594
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214:Built
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