The Gillies Highway is a road that runs from Gordonvale in the

Cairns Region The Cairns Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Queensland, Australia, centred on the regional city of Cairns. It was established in 2008 by the amalgamation of the City of Cairns and the Shires of Douglas and Mulgrave. H ...

through the Gillies Range (part of the Great Dividing Range) to Atherton in the

Tablelands Region The Tablelands Region is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas which dated back more than a century. On 1 January ...

, both in

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 , establishe ...

, Australia. It is also known as the Gillies Range Road and was originally known as the Cairns Range Road. Queensland State Archives 1258 View from Heales Lookout 2000 ft Gillies Highway NQ c 1935

Queensland State Archives 1258 View from Heales Lookout 2000 ft Gillies Highway NQ c 1935

The highway is known for its 263 corners, and 800 m elevation change in only 19 km of road. It is a popular tourist drive and has a number of lookouts. Gillies Highway, 2009

Route Description

Commencing from the

Bruce Highway The Bruce Highway is a major highway in Queensland, Australia. Commencing in the state capital, Brisbane, it passes through areas close to the eastern coast on its way to Cairns in Far North Queensland. The route is part of the Australian Nat ...

in Gordonvale the road runs south-west, following the

Mulgrave River The Mulgrave River, incorporating the East Mulgrave River and the West Mulgrave River, is a river system located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The -long river flows towards the Coral Sea and is located approximately south of . Locatio ...

, to the foot of the Gillies Range. It climbs the range by a winding route, generally westward, and then proceeds south through the Little Mulgrave National Park before turning west to ascend to the Atherton Tableland. It then passes north of Lake Barrine and south of Tinaroo Dam before reaching

Yungaburra Yungaburra is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yungaburra had a population of 1,239 people. Geography Yungaburra is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. The lan ...

. From here it proceeds west to Atherton, which it enters from the north. It also provides the only road access to the locality of Goldsborough.

History

In September 1922, the Shire of Eacham decided to use £10,000 of funding provided under

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

and

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

unemployment schemes to construct the Cairns Range Road to provide a short route from the Atherton Tableland to the Cairns hinterland. There were immediate objections to the proposed route from Gordonvale to Atherton on account of the difficult terrain with a counter-proposal to build a road from Smithfield in Cairns to

Mareeba Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning ''meeting of the waters'' ...

via Kuranda, but this route would be more beneficial to the

Shire of Mareeba The Shire of Mareeba is a local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity f ...

rather than to the Shire of Eacham, so the original plan proceeded (although the Kuranda Range Road would later be built in 1940). Top gate entering Gillies Highway North Queensland outside Cairns circa 1935

Top gate entering Gillies Highway North Queensland outside Cairns circa 1935

By March 1925, 150 men were employed building the road. It was officially opened on Saturday 10 July 1926 allowing travel between Cairns to the Tableland in 2½ hours. However, as the road was only wide enough for one-way traffic, it would flow in different directions at various times of day according to a timetable with vehicles wishing to travel in the other directions being held at Top Gate or Bottom Gate. The Gillies Highway was named after

William Gillies William Gillies (1865–1932) was a Scottish patriot and a socialist. He helped to form the Scots National League, which joined with other bodies to form the National Party of Scotland, which in turn evolved into the Scottish National Party (S ...

, a former

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

and the local Member of the

Queensland Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly h ...

for Eacham. It was proposed to name the Cairns Range Road (as it was then known) after him following his sudden death in February 1928 but it was not made official until March 1934. On 4 February 1987, a bus carrying Year 12 school students and teachers from the Cairns State High School came off the highway and fell down 20 metres into rainforest, killing 8 students. An inquiry established the brakes of the bus were faulty.

Upgrades

A project to improve safety on sections of the road, at a cost of $19.341 million, was scheduled for completion in December 2022.

Major intersections

References

External links