The Isis Branch Railway Line was a narrow gauge railway line 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 , established_ ...

, Australia. It was approved for construction by the

Parliament of Queensland The Parliament of Queensland is the legislature of Queensland, Australia. As provided under the Constitution of Queensland, the Parliament consists of the Monarch of Australia and the Legislative Assembly. It has been the only unicameral ...

in September 1885. The North Coast line north from

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 ...

, reached Maryborough in August 1881,

Howard Howard is an English-language given name originating from Old French Huard (or Houard) from a Germanic source similar to Old High German ''*Hugihard'' "heart-brave", or ''*Hoh-ward'', literally "high defender; chief guardian". It is also prob ...

in March 1883 and Goodwood, to the south of Bundaberg, in August 1887. The first section branched in a westerly direction from the North Coast line south of Goodwood at

Isis Junction The Isis Junction railway station is a former railway station on the North Coast railway line in Buxton, Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia. It was the junction for the former Isis railway line that served the Shire of Isis. History The n ...

. Opened on 31 October 1887,

Childers Childers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alisa Childers (born 1975), American singer * Ambyr Childers (born 1988), American actress *Bob Childers (1946–2006), American country/folk singer-songwriter *Buddy Childers (1926– ...

formed at the terminus and stops were established en route at Bootharh, Horton and Doolbi. The Childers station site is now part of the

Isis District State High School Isis District State High School, established in 1961, is located in the town of Childers, Queensland, set across two campuses on approximately . It is at a midpoint between the major centres of Bundaberg and Maryborough. As well as providing ...

grounds. The line enabled development of sugarcane production in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and a short extension northwest via Huxley, Lynwood and Kowbi to Cordalba opened on 1 June 1896. Kowbi was originally named Hapsburg, but following a large upswell of

Anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as Anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is opposition to or fear of Germany, its inhabitants, its culture, or its language. Its opposite is Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment largely began w ...

in Australia after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

it was changed to the local Aboriginal name for "sugar" . The line serviced early

sugar mills A sugar cane mill is a factory that processes sugar cane to produce raw or white sugar. The term is also used to refer to the equipment that crushes the sticks of sugar cane to extract the juice. Processing There are a number of steps in pr ...

at Knockroe (near Kowbi), Huxley and Doolbi until they were taken over by the

Isis Central Mill Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdo ...

. Another fifty kilometre extension southwest to Dallarnil was approved in December 1909 and opened on 6 May 1913. En route stops were built at Thynne, Marule, Junien, Booyal, Munderbong, Tawah,

Stanton Stanton may refer to: Places United Kingdom ;Populated places * Stanton, Derbyshire, near Swadlincote * Stanton, Gloucestershire * Stanton, Northumberland * Stanton, Staffordshire * Stanton, Suffolk * New Stanton, Derbyshire * Stanton by Bri ...

and Kukar. The Dallarnil extension should never have been built. Much of the country was infertile and the prospect of agricultural development was overestimated. Small quantities of sugarcane, railway sleepers,

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, lime and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

were carried but only in spasmodic fashion. Two trains a week were enough to meet the low volume of traffic and the service beyond Cordalba ceased on 1 July 1955. The Isis Central Mill purchased the Cordalba Dallarnil section for intended conversion to 2 feet tramway but road transport was preferred. The rest of the line closed on 1 July 1964 in response to transport of bulk sugar by road and sugarcane by mill owned

tramways Tramway may refer to: * Tramway (industrial), a lightly laid railway for uses such as logging or mining * A tram transport system (public transport vehicles running on rails) ** The tracks which trams run on (also a section of reserved track for t ...

References

G H Verhoeven "The Isis Branch Line" ARHS Bulletin May 1963 Rod Milne "West of Cordalba" ARHS Bulletin June 1993

External links

Queensland Places , Isis Shire

1925 map of the Queensland railway system
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Closed railway lines in Queensland 3 ft 6 in gauge railways in Australia Railway lines in Queensland Railway lines opened in 1887 Railway lines closed in 1964 Wide Bay–Burnett 1887 establishments in Australia 1964 disestablishments in Australia

See also

References

External links