Traditional Owners

We acknowledge the Gurang Gurang people, the traditional custodians of the land and waterways on which the rail trail is situated.

Development and future of the rail trail

Kolan Shire Council constructed the first 4 km trail in 2004, with support from Queensland Sport & Recreation, after council purchased the land from Queensland Rail.

In 2017, the state government released its Queensland Cycling Action Plan which committed $14 million over four years to develop and implement a program to deliver rail trails in partnership with local governments on state-owned disused rail corridors. This funding provided an impetus to examine a range of railway corridors which could be converted into rail trails. Bundaberg Regional Council commissioned Mike Halliburton Associates to prepare a feasibility study for a possible rail trail from Bundaberg to Gin Gin using the first part of the disused branch line to Mt Perry.

In January 2019, following consideration of the major issues pertaining to the development of a trail on the disused railway corridor between Bundaberg and Gin Gin and considering the views of key stakeholders, groups and individuals consulted, the feasibility study recommended that the rail trail proceed, subject to a number of conditions.

The recommended stages for the development were stated as: Stage 1 – Bundaberg to Sharon (8.7 km – including restoration of bridge over Splitters Creek); Stage 2 – Sharon to South Kolan (Birthamba) (10.2 km – including existing 1 km Sharon Rail Trail); Stage 3 – South Kolan (Birthamba) to Bullyard (12.9 km); Stage 4 – Bullyard to Gin Gin (13.8 km, including Watawa Walkway).

In August 2020, the state government and Bundaberg Regional Council announced they would each contribute $9.5 million to build the first half of the trail from Bundaberg to Koolboo Rd via Sharon but in 2024 the regional council announced that it would not go ahead due to a cost blowout.

Railway history

The Mount Perry Line opened from North Bundaberg to Moolboolaman in 1881. The Mount Perry Railway (originally known as the Bundaberg Railway) was built by the Queensland Government to service the Mount Perry copper mines.

An extension to Gillens Siding opened in 1882, then on to Boolboonda in 1883, and to Mount Perry in 1884. A feature of the last stage of the project was the Boolboonda Tunnel. Excavated 192 metres through solid rock, the tunnel was the longest unsupported tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere

The line was closed back to Tirroan in 1960, a bit more to Gin Gin in 1991 and completely in 1993.