Sitting in the heart of southeast Queensland’s lush Lockyer Valley, Gatton is famed for its agricultural heritage, for the warm welcome it offers grey nomads and other travellers … and for a brutal unsolved murder!
Located on the Warrego Highway an hour’s drive from Brisbane, the town is part of the fertile ‘Salad Bowl’, and – amongst other things – the area produces large quantities of vegetables.
The first European explorer here was Major Edmund Lockyer in 1825, and the settlement was gazetted in 1855. A post office opened in 1866, the original school in 1868, the Gatton Congregational Church in 1874, and a major agricultural college in 1897.
Today, Gatton boasts a population of around 7,000 and is a major service centre for the region.
The ‘Lights on the Hill’ memorial pays tribute to truck and coach drivers who died on the road. PICS: Tourism and Events Queensland
It’s got great cafes, restaurants, and a range of interesting shops … including Gray’s Furniture & Gifts, and Jack & Mo Taste Co. There’s also a Repco and a Supercheap Auto, and Coles, Aldi, and IGA supermarkets.
And the town prides itself on the camping options it offers visitors. These include private operations like Murphy’s Creek Escape, which invites travellers to relax in a genuine bushland setting. Also popular with grey nomads is William Kemp Park, located on the banks of the Lockyer Creek near Gatton CBD. This offers free 48-hour campsites on a no-bookings required, ‘first-come, best dressed’ basis.
The Lockyer Valley Cultural Centre – which comprises of a Visitor Information Centre, art gallery, transport museum, café, and library – is a must visit for all travellers. The Transport Museum, in particular, is well worth a good look around, and displays scores of lovingly-restored vintage vehicles.
The Cultural Centre sits next to Lake Apex, which is great place to stroll around, and to look at the mind-boggling variety of birds that visit. Here also is the Lights on the Hill Queensland Truck and Coach Drivers’ Memorial, which has been made in the shape of the front of a truck and pays tribute to professional drivers who have lost their lives on the road.
There are a number of interesting war memorials in Gatton, including the Lone Pine Memorial, a tree planted from seeds whose lineage can be traced back to Gallipoli; and the Weeping Mother Memorial which pays tribute to the role of women in wartime.
So, that’s the agricultural heritage, and welcoming reputation taken care of … what about the unsolved murder?
Well, back in 1898, Michael Murphy and his sisters Norah and Ellen were killed in the most gruesome way after they had hitched from their farm to a nearby dance. The particularly brutal crime drew massive nationwide attention, but was never solved.
For grey nomads interested in a bit of dark tourism, the graves of the three murder victims can be seen in the Gatton cemetery.
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