December 11, 2013
Today is 11-12-13 … an interesting date but also one that resonates in the history of the South Burnett.
On this day exactly 100 years ago, six men carved their initials in a tree on the Bunya Mountains.
The men – F.J. Paterson, Thomas Webb, Jack Herbert, Alan Stirling, Alec Patterson and Dinny Hart – were members of a survey party marking out the area that was to become Mowbullan township.
They carved their initials into a tree – FJP, TW, JAH, AS, AELP and DH – along with the propitious date 11-12-13.
The party, led by surveyor Frank Paterson – later mayor of Toowoomba – marked out the township on part of Portion 444 of the Parish of Maida Hill on the western side of what is now the Bunya Mountains Road.
The half acre building sites were sold for £35.
A section of the blazed tree now resides at the Hillview museum, located behind Cedarvale Cottage, the Bunya Mountains Natural History Association’s information centre at Dandabah.
It was donated to the association by Mrs Alan Stirling (Snr).
