Authentic Bushland Camping

The traditional aborigines of the area were the Kitabel people who spoke the Yuggera dialect. They called the area Tamamareen, meaning “where the fishing nets were burnt in a grass fire”. The explorer Alan Cunningham was the first recorded pioneer, camping at Lockyer siding on the 25th June 1829.

The locality became known by the early surveyors as Fingal. However in 1840 Patrick Leslie, along with his freed servant Peter Duffy Murphy, happened upon the area whilst looking for a crossing over the Range.

They later pastured sheep and cattle in the area using the water from the creek, under the watch of a shepherd named Murphy. The area became known by the station managers as Murphy’s Creek, a name which has by popular use, supplanted the name of Fingal.

The community of Murphy’s Creek was largely established during the construction of the Toowoomba Range Railway Crossing in the 1860’s. At the time this crossing represented a great engineering challenge and its construction was a huge commitment for the fledgling state of Queensland.

Rail workers were recruited from all over the world. An eyewitness in 1865 described Murphy’s Creek as being “a seething mass of tents, humpies, salons and sly grog-shops.” The township was built around the railways; housing several thousand workers for the construction of the railway line up the range in the 1860’s. Sourced from Murphy’s Creek State School website.

Murphy’s Creek has a very rich history of all things railway. The Murphy’s Creek Railway museum is open by appointment (46305183) and contains the full history of the railway construction. Jessie’s Cottage provides a glimpse into the life of a pioneer.

It was built by Scottish immigrant William Taylor in 1899. A five year restoration project completed in 1997 restored the cottage to near original condition. The cottage now tells the story of Jessie Taylor, a shy local lady who lived an eccentric life for her times. Jessies Cottage is open Saturdays and Sundays (4630 5703).