I would like to wish everyone where ever you may live, a safe, happy and prosperous new year and for those people who haven't sat on a bicycle saddle for many years, then perhaps 2014 will be the year you make the decision to hop back on a bike and quickly realise what you have been missing out on as you don't really know the area where you live until you either ride or walk through it.
For the first post of 2014 I am going to start at Virginia Railway Station, take you out to Nudgee Beach and then on to Toombul Railway Station. The purpose of starting and finishing at railway stations is that if for some reason you don't want to or can't continue riding, you may take an alternative form of transport back to where you started.
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| Virginia to Toombul via Nudgee Beach (22 km) |
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| Bike path from Virginia station to Banyo, Qld. |
Whilst we were riding through the suburb of Virginia, one of our female riders directed our attention to a particular house, explaining that she used to live in the house when she was a child and that the house used to be the old Virginia Police Station and her father was the officer in charge.
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| Old Virginia Police Station |
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| Old Virginia Police Station
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If you look closely at the second photograph, you will notice two things that are quite unusual, the first being that the flag flying is the British Union Jack and secondly, there is a light aeroplane parked outside the station on the road. Perhaps the pilot was renewing his licence. If anyone has a more plausible explanation, I would be pleased to receive it.
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| Nudgee Catholic Cemetery |
On riding past old cemeteries, I wonder at the stories the inhabitants could reveal. There is a lot of history wrapped up in these graves and their secrets may well remain hidden forever. I think that there would be a number of books and films that could benefit if only the dead could speak.
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| Pam's Cafe, Nudgee Beach |
This little cafe/shop is a cyclist's dream. The owner, a Vietnamese refugee likes having cyclists drop in so much, that he has a pump and first aid kit on hand just in case it may be needed. The coffee is great and the owner just loves to have a chat if time permits. This guy is a hive of information so if you are out and about on your bike, drop in and have a cup of coffee. http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowUserReviews-g255068-d590923-r127638255-Nudgee_Beach-Brisbane_Queensland.html
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| Nudgee Beach |
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| Nudgee Beach |
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| Nudgee Beach |
On leaving Nudgee Beach we followed Kedron Brook Floodway past Albert Bishop Park in Nundah, then onto the station at Toombul.
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| Kedron Brook Floodway |
If you wish to continue the ride, you may like to try:
* Toombul to Mitchelton
* Toombul to Murrarie via Gateway Bridge
* Toombul to City via Hamilton or take a ferry across to Bulimba
Useful Information:
Always use a good map or a trusty GPS.
Distance: 22 km.
Surface: Mainly paths but with a small amount of on road riding.
Bike: Suitable to all bikes
Fitness: This is not a difficult ride.
I use Map my Ride for simplicity and elevation information. Become a member (free) and find similar rides within the area and elsewhere.
I really appreciate receiving good, constructive and polite comments.
Cheers and safe riding,
Jimmy Bee
Is there a plane there ? I do recall a local resident of the area telling me her husband used to land a plane there back in the 1920's or 30's, his name was Warburton.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this piece of information, it is amazing to think some pilot could land a plane and taxi up to the entrance of a police station when you see how densely populated it is now. I will pass this information on to the owner of the photograph.
In the second photograph you will see an aeroplane parked outside the Virginia Police Station (right hand side - midway)
Cheers,
Jimmy Bee
OK Jimmy. just looked like an advertising hoarding to me, but who knows. But the gentleman mentioned certainly was landing his light plane in the vicinity, according to Mrs Warburton, who lived in St Vincents Rd till her death in her eighties, around 1984. She told me he would sometimes taxi right to the house there. Actually the old police station there would have been on the main road to Sandgate back in those days, which wound around the back of the golf course then, not the straight run it is now. I think the route changed when the present concrete bridge was built over the railway line, probably in the 1950's or early 60's, replacing an old wooden structure that dated to around 1910, prior to that it was a level crossing. I saw somewhere that when the bridge ( a joint venture of the railway dept and the Toombul Shire) was opened prior to WW1, it was carrying a hundred or two hundred vehicles a day. I dare say many or most, horse-drawn. How times have changed.
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