Gladstone–Monto Road is a road route in the

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

and North Burnett regions of

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_ ...

, Australia. The entire route is signed as State Route 69. The Gladstone–Monto Road (number 471) is a state-controlled district road, rated as a local road of regional significance (LRRS)

Route description

The road commences at an intersection with the

Dawson Highway The Dawson Highway is a state highway in Queensland, Australia. It runs for between Gladstone and Springsure where it terminates. From Gladstone to Rolleston it is signed as State Route 60, and then A7 onwards to Springsure. It continues west f ...

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; grc, Καλλιόπη, Kalliópē, beautiful-voiced) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses" ...

, a locality to the south-west of

. It soon turns south and then south-east, following the valley of the Boyne River through the localities of

Taragoola Taragoola is a rural Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Taragoola had a population of 0 people. History Taragoola State School opened circa 1919 and closed circa 1934. In the Ta ...

, Wooderson, Diglum and Boynedale. It skirts the south-western edge of

Lake Awoonga Lake Awoonga was formed on the Boyne River by the dam located from Gladstone, in Central Queensland, Australia. It is approximately 30 minutes drive from Gladstone, via Benaraby. Lake Awoonga is the main water supply for the Gladstone region.< ...

before reaching the locality of

Boyne Valley The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...

. That locality contains four small towns: Nagoorin, Ubobo, Builyan, and Many Peaks. At Builyan the road turns west, following Glassford Creek. Just west of Many Peaks it passes through Glassford State Forest and turns south-west through

Kalpowar Kalpowar is a town in the North Burnett Region and a locality split between the North Burnett Region and the Bundaberg Region, in Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Kalpowar had a population of 67 people. Geography The Gladstone� ...

to Bancroft. In this section it crosses from the Boyne River catchment to the

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta a ...

catchment. It then turns north-west to Mungungo, where it meets Monal Creek. Turning south-west it follows that creek through Bukali to

Monto Monto was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin, Ireland. The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street, Amiens Street, Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in ...

. The road enters Monto as Lister Street, where it ends at an intersection with the

Burnett Highway The Burnett Highway is an inland rural highway located in Queensland, Australia. The highway runs between its junction with the Bruce Highway at Gracemere, just south of Rockhampton, and Nanango. Its length is approximately 542 kilometres. The ...

History of Calliope roads

Gold was discovered in the area in 1862, and a settlement soon followed with a Post Office in 1864 and a school in 1872. Calliope was the name of a pastoral run in the district from 1887 to 1908, and Upper Calliope was a separate property from 1869 to 1901. At some point parts of these runs were made available for selection of smaller lots. The presence of rich farming land to the south, first along Poison Creek and other tributaries of the

Calliope River The Calliope River is a river located in Central Queensland, Australia. The river rises in the Calliope Range inland from the industrial port city of Gladstone, flows past the town of Calliope, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean just north o ...

, and then along the valley of the Boyne River soon led to closer settlement, and to the need for roads to support this expansion. Basic roads were constructed as far as Boyne Valley, and these were the only means of transportation of goods until the arrival of the

Byellee to Monto railway line Byellee to Monto Branch Railway was a branch railway that branched off the Boyne Valley west of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia.The Boyne Valley region was predominantly a dairying region and a railway had little justification. However a bra ...

in Many Peaks in 1910.

History of Monto roads

Europeans settled in the area from the 1840s, maintaining large pastoral holdings. Gold was discovered in the 1870s, and in 1881 the first school opened. When gold reserves dwindled the activities of logging and farming became predominant. One such farming area was to the north-east, along Monal Creek, in what are now the localities of Bukali and Mungungo. When Monto was declared a town in 1924 it was not yet connected to the rail network, and it was about from the nearest port over poor roads. A rail connection to the south-east finally arrived in 1928, but locals continued to press for completion of the line from the north-east as it represented a shorter route. By the time this was completed in 1931 a road had been constructed through the rugged section between Mungungo and Boyne Valley, completing the link via Calliope to Gladstone.

Road status and upgrade projects

In about 2006 the then Monto Shire Council stated in an assessment of the suitability of the road as a freight corridor to the

Port of Gladstone The Port of Gladstone is Queensland's largest multi-commodity port and the fifth largest multi-commodity port in Australia. It is the world's fourth largest coal exporting terminal. It is within the locality of Callemondah in Gladstone in Centra ...

: Since the Awoonga Dam was raised to its present level in 2006 the waters of the dam, when at its designated “full” level, reach the edge of the road between Boyne Valley and Calliope. When a flood rain event occurs the lake can rise up to above that level, and the road can be cut for several weeks. In 2013 the State Government pledged $1.3 million to build a bypass road, but the Gladstone Regional Council was unwilling to bear the expected additional cost of about $0.7 million. In November 2019 work commenced on widening a section of this road between Nagoorin and Ubobo, with completion expected in January 2020 (weather permitting). The outcome of this project was to be a two-lane sealed surface for the whole of the road. In 2020 the Queensland Trucking Association rated a bridge over Splinter Creek between Bancroft and Kalpowar as the eighth-worst bridge in the state. In 2021 the repair of nine floodways was completed at a cost of $14 million.

Major Intersections

All distances are from Google Maps.

Route description

History of Calliope roads

History of Monto roads

Road status and upgrade projects

Major Intersections

See also

References

Further reading