Village Pioneers

History of Logan Village, Yarrabilba & Surrounds – Part Five

Logan Village History: Logan Village was a key site in the overall development of the region and the river traffic that originally serviced it.
Its initial role was as head of navigation for the river with a major wharf and a store constructed in 1862 to service Robert Towns’ plantation at
Townsvale (Veresdale).

The store was located in the vicinity of Anzac Avenue, on land owned by John Edwin Campbell. Campbell was Town’s superintendent of kanakas. The township was surveyed in July 1865, and the town wharf was upgraded in 1873. William Drynan, a former cedar cutter from the Richmond River district, selected land here in 1862 and ran the Logan Village Hotel from 1864. In 1867, kangaroo hunts were promoted as an activity organised through Drynan’s Hotel.

Early merchants trading from the township included Orr and Honeyman, who were involved in the cotton industry. They owned a number of the
boats, which worked the Logan River including the SS Amy, from 1863, and the SS Louisa from 1884. Matthew Orr and James Honeyman owned riverside land in Logan Village between Logan and Wharf Streets. The wharf store was sold to the Hinchcliffe brothers in 1869. They were the agents for merchants J and G Harris and Co.

A ferry lease was offered at Logan Village in 1866 but was never taken up because William Drynan ran a private punt there. He took up an official ferry lease in 1868. William Drynan operated the first Receiving Office for the mail from January 1870.

The school, like others in the region, had a shaky start. It began in 1873 in a structure built of bark, with timber floor and glass windows. It was situated at Stockleigh. Logan Village residents lobbied for a school in the township,
which commenced operation in August 1875. A new school was requested in 1882, but not built until 1894. The Logan Village School became a State School in 1900.

The Logan Village community remained strong, and locals held a meeting in Drynan’s Hotel in September 1880 to lobby for the opening of a road from Waterford through Chisholm’s (Canterbury College) to the Village. This was
eventually built, further opening the land for farming. One of the largest sugar plantations along this proposed road was Hugh Watson’s Rosevaille, which was situated along Weaber Road. Despite the new road, river carriage was still utilised and the proposed railway to Logan Village was a strong selling point. There was also a coal seam on the property.

In September 1885, the initial section of the Beaudesert Branch railway opened to Logan Village. The line linked into the Brisbane-Beenleigh line at Bethania Junction but offered very limited service to Logan Village residents. The Beaudesert extension to Logan Village was completed in May 1888.

The hotel was relocated a number of times over the years. It was originally located in North Street, then relocated to the corner of North and Albert Streets.

Once the railway was built in 1885, it was moved to a site immediately opposite the railway station in Albert Street. By 1892, timbergetting was again in full swing in the region, with seven timber getters working in the area. The town was still a vibrant little settlement surrounded by farmlands, supported by the hotel, store, blacksmiths, painter, bootmaker, two butchers and a saddler. There was a primitive Methodist Church, and the Church of English and Catholic clergy visited occasionally.

For many years the residents of Logan Village had been lobbying for a bridge. A ferry was operated from Logan Village to Chambers Flat since at least 1866. Mr E J Stevens opened the long-awaited bridge at Logan Village on 6 June 1897. Unfortunately, the life of the bridge was limited.

The bridge acted as a dam in times of heavy rain and flooding, trapping debris, which then had to be removed to keep the river trafficable. This also affected the structure of the bridge. By September 1898, Cobra Worm had already attacked the piles and they were subsequently encased in concrete.

Eventually local resident Thomas Kirk was appointed caretaker of the bridge to ensure it remained safe for road traffic and clear for river traffic.
The bridge did not survive the flood of 1 June 1903. It was swept away and remained upturned in a paddock until the council called tenders for its removal and the disposal of the timber. A ferry was quickly employed at Logan Village, which remained operational for a few years before being discontinued.

Extracts from Logan River Tinnie Trail (Images supplied by John Oxley Library)

Written by Noeleen Bobermien (De Lange) and her 82-year-old father, Graham Bobermien, from extracts of their recently published book: “A Journey through Logan Village”. Available to purchase direct from Author (noeleendl@gmail.com) or from Logan Village Museum