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The village of Wallangarra is the one of the most southern towns in Queensland lying on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. It is also a town split in two, with the town of Jennings on the New South Wales side.
HISTORY + HERITAGE
Founded in 1885, Wallangarra is famous for being the change over station for trains travelling between Queensland and New South Wales. As the train line gauges differed, Wallangarra is home to a grand station where all interstate travellers changed trains before the coast line was completed in 1930. At the time, Customs excise officers were relocated from Tenterfield and Stanthorpe to a purpose-built customs house where duties were imposed upon those crossing the border. Resentment of these duties helped to fuel the push towards federation. This grand station is now home to the Customs House, the Wallangarra Museum and Café.
During WWII the government created a general army store on the Queensland side of the border, and an ammunition depot the New South Wales side. This was known as the 1 Advanced Ammunition Depot (1AAD). Five semi-underground ammunition shelters were initially constructed. At a later stage ten timber structures and seventy Williams huts were erected. Minimum clearing of trees was permitted in the area to help camouflage the depot from aerial reconnaissance. Whilst there was some confusion by the NSW authorities in the early years whether to call their side of the railway station Wallangarra or Jennings, they finally settled on Wallangarra around April 1904. Hence there is no Jennings Railway Station.
During WW2 thousands of Allied troops passed through Wallangarra Railway Station on their way north or south. Due to wartime secrecy arrangements, railway staff were only given about 2 hours notice of the arrival of a troop train. By the 1970s the depot was the largest ammunition dump in the Southern Hemisphere.
GRAZE THE GRANITE BELT
Turn back time a visit the Wallangarra Train Station Cafe.
NATURE + ADVENTURE
Surrounded by some of the most amazing Queensland national parks, Wallangarra is a place of natural beauty. With the incredible forest of Girraween to the east and the rugged Sundown National Park to the west, Wallangarra is the perfect base for outdoor adventures. Bald Rock National Park and Boonoo Boonoo Falls are also within an easy drive from Wallangarra.
Just south of Wallangarra is the hideout of bushranger Frederick Ward “Thunderbolt”. The path to the hideout is signed and parking is available. Explore the granite caves used by Thunderbolt to hide from authorities from Wallangarra and Tenterfield. Only 1km from Thunderbolt’s hideout is a significant part of World War II history. A cement wall and upright posts are remnants of the Brisbane Line fortifications from World War II established as Australia’s second line of defence in case of an invasion from the north. They look simple but were effective tank traps. In the course of the war there were up to 10 000 troops stationed in the area.
The Australian Railway Historical Society host the bi-annual Winelander train journeys from Brisbane to Stanthorpe and on to Wallangarra in summer and winter. These weekend trips include accommodation and winery tours in a package deal. The Southern Downs Steam Railway provide a series of train journeys from Warwick to Stanthorpe and on to Wallangarra. This slow and scenic rail journey is proving highly popular with locals and visitors alike.
If it’s a round of golf you crave, the Wallangarra Golf Club on the northern edge of town is the perfect solution!
TOP GONGS
Rugby League legend Billy Moore lived in Wallangarra as a child. He is best known for playing for the North Sydney Bears and the Queensland State of Origin team.
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