Construction of first cairn near Spicers Gap
This page from Ipswich Technical College teacher Harry Johns' diary involves an account of the construction of the first cairn that Johns built at the pioneer graves site near the foot of Spicer’s Gap. Johns built this first cairn during the Exhibition Week holidays in August 1930, when he and his family camped at Spicers Gap for the best part of a week. In December 1932 Johns replaced this cairn with the larger more substantial structure that's still there today...
Johns' account indicates that the stones for the construction of this earlier cairn came from an outcrop beside the road some 50 yards away up hill...I'd say Johns probably used the stones from this first cairn in the larger cairn he built in 1932...
---------------------------------------
'SPICERS GAP AND THE GRAVES
As there was a weeks’ vacation for the Brisbane Exhibition we all (except Ruby who was at Kingham station near Kilcoy) went up to Spicers Gap again and camped from Monday to Friday at our old camp near Harry Alphen’s pub at the entrance to the scrub and opposite Greig’s ‘Bee Farm’ (see p. 91). Some time before the trip I purchased a good pair of ‘sack’ wheels with axle and made a good strong body for it. The truck was taken to pieces - the box part forming an admirable rear carrier for bread etc on the trip up, and reassembled or put together at the Gap, at the side of the road just about 50 yards above our camp there was a fine outcrop of flat stones. We cleared a track right down the hill to the graves and Len & Arthur & occasionally Steve and Lorna [Johns’ young children] kept going all day and every day carrying stone down to the graves. There we built a fine cairn (see photographs). Its erection just occupied a week. It is my intention later to strengthen it with cement.
We cleared the ground about it and hope at some future early date to plant violets and other flowers.'
---------------------------------------
H.W. Johns diaries (copies) John Oxley Library MS OM82-66
Harry Winifred Johns
Construction of first cairn near Spicers Gap
This page from Ipswich Technical College teacher Harry Johns' diary involves an account of the construction of the first cairn that Johns built at the pioneer graves site near the foot of Spicer’s Gap. Johns built this first cairn during the Exhibition Week holidays in August 1930, when he and his family camped at Spicers Gap for the best part of a week. In December 1932 Johns replaced this cairn with the larger more substantial structure that's still there today...
Johns' account indicates that the stones for the construction of this earlier cairn came from an outcrop beside the road some 50 yards away up hill...I'd say Johns probably used the stones from this first cairn in the larger cairn he built in 1932...
---------------------------------------
'SPICERS GAP AND THE GRAVES
As there was a weeks’ vacation for the Brisbane Exhibition we all (except Ruby who was at Kingham station near Kilcoy) went up to Spicers Gap again and camped from Monday to Friday at our old camp near Harry Alphen’s pub at the entrance to the scrub and opposite Greig’s ‘Bee Farm’ (see p. 91). Some time before the trip I purchased a good pair of ‘sack’ wheels with axle and made a good strong body for it. The truck was taken to pieces - the box part forming an admirable rear carrier for bread etc on the trip up, and reassembled or put together at the Gap, at the side of the road just about 50 yards above our camp there was a fine outcrop of flat stones. We cleared a track right down the hill to the graves and Len & Arthur & occasionally Steve and Lorna [Johns’ young children] kept going all day and every day carrying stone down to the graves. There we built a fine cairn (see photographs). Its erection just occupied a week. It is my intention later to strengthen it with cement.
We cleared the ground about it and hope at some future early date to plant violets and other flowers.'
---------------------------------------
H.W. Johns diaries (copies) John Oxley Library MS OM82-66
Harry Winifred Johns