The Esk–Hampton Road is a state

highway A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It leaves the

Brisbane Valley Highway The Brisbane Valley Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It links the Warrego Highway near Ipswich and the D'Aguilar Highway about north of Harlin. Its direction follows the approximate course of the Brisbane River. It is part ...

at Esk and travels in a westerly direction for until it reaches the

New England Highway New England Highway is an long highway in Australia running from Yarraman, north of Toowoomba, Queensland at its northern end to Hexham at Newcastle, New South Wales at its southern end. It is part of Australia's National Highway system, an ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

, where it ends. This road is part of State Route 85, which extends for over from

Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is ...

Nindigully Nindigully is a rural town within the locality of Thallon in the Shire of Balonne, Queensland, Australia. Geography Nindigully is north of the town of Thallon, the main town in the locality. The Moonie River flows south to north passing th ...

, duplexing with the

(National Route 17) from the

D'Aguilar Highway The D'Aguilar Highway is a two-lane highway linking the Bruce Highway near Caboolture with Kingaroy in the state of Queensland, Australia. Major towns along the route include Woodford, Kilcoy, Blackbutt, Yarraman, Nanango and Kingaroy. The hig ...

to Esk, the

(State Route A3) from Hampton to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

, the

Gore Highway The Gore Highway is a highway running between Toowoomba and Goondiwindi in Queensland, Australia. Together with Goulburn Valley Highway and Newell Highway, it is a part of the National Highway's Melbourne-Brisbane link. It is signed as National ...

(National Route A39 - formerly 85) from Toowoomba to the

Leichhardt Highway The Leichhardt Highway is a major transport route in Queensland, Australia. It is a continuation northward from Goondiwindi of the Newell Highway, via a section of the Cunningham Highway. It runs northward from Goondiwindi for more than 600 ki ...

, and the southern section of the Leichhardt Highway (also National Route A39) to

Goondiwindi Goondiwindi () is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Goondiwindi had a population of 6,355 people. Geography Goondiwindi is on the MacInt ...

History

From a historical perspective the Esk–Hampton Road consists of three sections of approximately equal length. The eastern section, from Esk to the foothills of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

, was developed along Redbank Creek (the watercourse) to provide access to stands of timber, and to a sawmill that was located at Redbank Creek (the locality). Subsequently, it serviced farms that were established on land cleared of most

old-growth forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

. The western section, from Hampton to the end of a spur of the Great Dividing Range, was also developed to facilitate the harvesting of timber. Prior to European settlement the rich volcanic soil on the ridge supported a sub-tropical rainforest, which contained timbers that were in high demand, including red cedar, tallowwood and

hoop pine ''Araucaria cunninghamii'' is a species of '' Araucaria'' known as hoop pine. Other less commonly used names include colonial pine, Queensland pine, Dorrigo pine, Moreton Bay pine and Richmond River pine. The scientific name honours the botanist ...

. These timbers were used in some homes constructed in the area at the time. The road later provided access to cleared land that was used for dairying and beef cattle grazing. This section provides access to

Ravensbourne National Park Ravensbourne is a national park in Ravensbourne and Buaraba in South East Queensland, Australia, 33 km west of Esk. It is a small scenic park on the Great Dividing Range within the Lockyer Creek water catchment area and overlooking the ...

, which preserves a remnant of the rainforest. The central (mountain) section was developed later, to enable more direct travel between the two districts. The road is now a popular tourist drive, particularly as part of a round trip from the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

area to the Toowoomba district. It is rated as a "good ride" by motorcycling tourists. The mountain section was completed in 1929. One of the most difficult sections to complete was the Pryde's Pinch section which had a steep gradient and was not suitable for traffic until sometime after 1932.

Terrain

The Esk–Hampton Road climbs from an elevation of 117m at Esk to 719m at Hampton. Seven km of its length has an incline/grade of 5 to 10%, and 1.4 km has an incline/grade greater than 10%.

Major intersections

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esk-Hampton Road Highways in Queensland Buildings and structures in Somerset Region Toowoomba Region

History

Terrain

Major intersections

See also

References

Notes