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Maroochy Ex-Moreton Mill, Nambour |
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The sad remains of Maroochy hiding in the long grass at
Murrumba Downs / Kallangur on 12 April 2003.
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Builder |
Hudswell,
Clarke & Co. Ltd, Leeds |
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Builder’s Number & Year |
1078
of 1914 |
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Wheel Arrangement |
0-4-2T |
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This locomotive
was delivered new to the Moreton Mill, Nambour, where it received the name
‘Maroochy’ after the local Shire. Maroochy spent its entire working life at
Moreton Mill, trundling empties out to the fields and then returning to the
crushers with long loads of harvested sugar cane. The Moreton Mill tramway
system was popular with rail enthusiasts as it was one of the most accessible
tramway systems, being located only 100 kilometres north of Brisbane and
close to the coastal holiday towns of Noosa and Maroochydore. The Moreton
Mill system was also notable for having a major route to the crushing plant
threading through the heart of the town’s busy commercial district. Maroochy
was withdrawn from cane haulage duties at Moreton Mill by 1963. The loco was
saved for preservation and it subsequently passed through a number of owners
and locations, but the years have not been kind to ‘Maroochy’. Indeed its
current status and location is unknown and it is feared as scrapped. Maroochy’s
first preservation site was at Gilltraps Auto Museum,
Kirra Beach, where it arrived in 1963. (The Gilltraps Auto Museum was a
popular Gould Coast tourist attraction in the 1960’s and 1970’s, featuring an
excellent selection of historic vehicles, but alas it was overtaken by theme
park development in the 1980’s and the collection was dispersed. Two steam
locomotives with local connections were among the Gilltraps collection;
Maroochy and the Rocky Point Fowler.) Maroochy
was photographed at the Rocky Point Sugar Mill in 1976 (as per image below)
and had passed to a new owner in Woongoolba by 1979, changing hands again in
1981 and moving to Redbank Plains. Around 1986 a further ownership change
occurred, with Maroochy acquired by a collector and transferred to his
industrial premises at Murrumba Downs / Kallangur, north of Brisbane. The
owner kindly showed me his collection at Kallangur on 12 April 2003. During
that visit he explained that Maroochy had been dismantled to begin repairs,
but was then assessed to be beyond repair. As per the photo above, my visit
found Maroochy stored outdoors, stripped of chimney, side tanks and cab
(probably all heavily corroded) with no further work planned. The
Murrumba Downs / Kallangur industrial site was sold for redevelopment and
cleared in 2007 and I understand Maroochy was sold around this time; there
have been some suggestions that it was disposed as scrap metal although I
find it hard to believe the former owner would have allowed Maroochy to be
destroyed. (I suspect the residents of the Shire of Maroochy would find that
an unsatisfactory fate for their namesake locomotive!) I’ve had numerous
email requests from various rail enthusiasts asking after Maroochy’s fate, so
further information about Maroochy’s status or fate is most welcome. As for the
Moreton Mill and tramway system – alas these close in 2003, with the sugar
refinery since demolished and the mill site redeveloped. Fortunately the
Moreton Mill cane tramway route through the Nambour town centre earned a
place on the National Register of Historic Places and remains preserved,
albeit now an unused and isolated remnant of the once extensive tramways in
the Nambour district. The local Nambour Museum has a fine collection of locomotives and other artefacts from Moreton Mill and tramway system;
perhaps if Maroochy does survive then this museum would be a good home for
its static restoration and display. An
excellent source of information on the various Hudswell Clarke steam
locomotives employed in Australia and Fiji is ‘Salute to the Hudswells’ by
Ian Stocks, David Mewes and John Browning. Page 132 of this book provides
some history for Maroochy. |
This fine view of Maroochy shows the loco displayed at Gilltraps
Auto Museum, Kirra Beach, circa 1967.
Photo credit to Robert Riseley, kindly contributed by David
Riseley.
‘Maroochy’ photographed at the Rocky Point Sugar Mill in
1976; this photo was kindly contributed by Thomas Hurley.
The side tanks & chimney don’t look
like Hudswell Clarke originals.
References
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a |
Light
Railway Research Society of Australia Inc. Web site (Retrieved
3 November 2018): 'Preserved
Australian Sugar Cane Locomotives' list by John Browning |
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b |
Wikipedia page for Hudswell, Clarke & Co. Ltd, retrieved
28 November 2018 |
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c |
‘Salute to
the Hudswells’ by
Ian Stocks, David Mewes and John Browning Published
by Australian Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Society, 2014. |
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Page updated: 4 June 2025
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