The Bump Track
The Bump Track, the major transport route from Port Douglas to the Hodgkinson goldfields, established Port Douglas as a key port for the Hodgkinson goldfield and Herberton tin field.
Cooktown merchants commissioned Christie Palmerston and William C. Leyton to cut a track from the coast to the Palmer and Hodgkinson gold fields in 1877. The route they found may have followed an existing Aboriginal pathway across the coastal ranges west of Port Douglas via settlements subsequently established at Mowbray River and Craiglie.
The Bump remained the main route from the coast to the Hodgkinson until the Cairns to Mareeba railway opened in 1893. However, despite the advent of rail, the Track remained the main access route from the coast to the Tablelands until the Gillies Highway opened in 1926.
From there, the importance of the Track declined. However, it remained significant enough to have explosives placed at critical points during World War II amid fears of a Japanese invasion.
A new wartime road from Mossman to Mt Molloy further reduced traffic on the Bump Track, which became a service route for a telephone line, which was rerouted in 1953. However, since the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service assumed responsibility for the Track in 1988, it has been upgraded as a popular walking and mountain bike trail.
Links to add:
Craiglie
Herberton tin field.
Mowbray River
Palmer goldfield
William C. Leyton
