The history on how the Barron River lost its vegetation and what resulted.

Early photos of the Kuranda to Myola settlements, during and after the Kuranda Railway construction, depict the deforestation and consequent landslides that usually occurred during heavy rainfall (sources: TROVE and Cairns Historical Museum - see Bibliography).

1890 - Excavations for the Kuranda Railway caused massive slips that often took months to clear and restore the line. Even so, by 1891, the railway was finished to Kuranda and the Kuranda railway station opened in June 1891

1890 - Thousands of men, as well as their families living on site, constructed the railway by hand. Much of the timber was used for sleepers, fuel for cooking and building material for the workers’ shelters.

1902 - Kuranda Railway arcs the Barron Falls before the weir wall was erected in 1963 to divert water to the hydroelectric power station (see Olds 2008)

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1954 A massive landslip probably caused by deforestation and heavy rain.

1906 Kuranda Village taken from Street’s coffee plantation. The white section in the middle is the sandy beach of the Barron River before the weir was erected.

Owens Creek bridge near Mantaka, circa unknown

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