EPIC Walk Through the HISTORIC Sugar Cane Fields of Alberton & Norwell

[@keithcheney5343]

Always interesting Rob’s Walks and this Walk as a European gives me an impression of the immense size of Australia.

[@johnledingham852]

When I was an apprentice signwriter, I worked on a sign for the Gem Hotel and went down to help erect it on the front awning. I loved the calm atmosphere of the area. So good to see it hasn't changed. When I was just an ankle biter I was taught when there was no footpath to walk on the right side of the road to face oncoming traffic as a safety precaution. I put that into practice and I've reached my late seventies. Hmmm...

[@unshdhGbzbs]

It's not quiet anymore, cops ruined the motorcycle scene

[@gemi_dave]

Unreal timing to find your videos. My grandmother worked at the rocky Point sugar mill for 40 years and we laid my grandfather to rest in the pimpama island cemetery 2 days ago. Such an amazing area and its going to be a shame when it's all gone

[@AutomotiveAllStars]

I'm bingeing your videos Rob. Fascinating history and a credit to not only your stamina but also your research.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Don Manson thanks! I love making these videos and am heading out tomorrow on another one. This time - the Stapylton area.

[@zaphy77]

The reason to walk on the right hand side of the road, is that you can see any oncoming traffic - so if a car swerves off the road, you have at least a chance to jump out of the way - if you were on the left hand side, you wouldn't stand a chance. Also, that pub looks fabulous.

[@julieschipplock9439]

The Heck Family homestead is now in the Historical Village.The Cafe at Horizon Shores has quite nice food. We had our boat in the Marina there for awhile. Cheers Rob, another great walk. 🙂

[@KatefromOZ62-e5o]

I worked for Ethel Spann, at Beenleigh Blue Care. She was the Director of Nursing there for years.

[@Mackays.Microhomestead]

Loving your videos! Do you have one on Jacobs Well?

[@davestraughan449]

Very enjoyable Thank You 👍

[@missanna903]

A bit late to this video to comment but I'll comment anyway... I live in Beenleigh, and you can always tell when they are burning the sugar cane from the mill mentioned at 16:09, when the wind is right, we get the black ash which falls all over Beenleigh and Eagleby. I like to call it "Black Snow". I dont see it as much as I did, say 20yrs ago. But whenever it falls it always make me feel nostalgic. Funny story... when my husband first witnessed "Black Snow" about 7yrs ago, he was freaking out, I had a good old laugh explaining it to him.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Bylagoona I was perplexed by the 'snow' when I moved here a couple of years ago. I guess eventually we won't see it all as the days of the sugar cane in that area appear to be numbered.

[@damientoomey1194]

They only burn when they can’t harvest the cane the first year. It’s too hard to cut green the second year and the extra money from bay bails doesnt outweigh the extra harvesting costs.

[@tedse21]

In my first year of teaching at St Josephs we took the Year 6 students to Rocky Point sugar mill and the Beenleigh Rum Distillery. I taught the Gebhardts, Heck’s, Bahrs and the Kelly’s. The Kelly’s owned the pub you started at. The rest were family’s who’s names are all around Beenleigh and the local area.

[@tonyspiegel6771]

I remember doing those excursions when I was at Saint Josephs when I was alot younger. The Bahrs lived down the road from me and I was in the same grade as Alice Kelly all through my schooling when I lived in Beenleigh. I didn't know the Kelly's owned the Gem Hotel.

[@Wombat993]

The mill still runs,go back when cane season is on,I wouldn’t walk that road when it’s on haha

[@wathewsyvo]

Grew up riding my bike on those streets, thanks for the vid, the family home is still on Marlow Road

[@rissablood]

How different the area will look with a motorway slapped through it.... the walk looks absolutely beautiful.... 💜

[@ChrisCoxCycling]

I really enjoy your videos, Rob. It's wonderful to see areas that I've just passed through in more depth and perspective.

[@TheALIMARS]

Another excellent video, Rob. Thank You

[@markb3146]

Don't forget arrowroot was grown here too

[@robertproietti-ricci6403]

i used to live at quinnhill road stayplton many years ago i had property alberton road to

[@letzgoshopping3684]

Do you have more research on the Yellowood estate of farms there in Alberton? My great grandparents owned one, but no one alive on that side of the family to know more.

[@idiotbox8291]

Much appreciated!

[@jamescolindaley]

that sheep looked like he was saying hey come over here i'll tell ya all about it ...

[@alyshapope129]

I really enjoyed this one Rob! I never knew these places even existed. Thank you for educating me with your experience!☀️

[@sierracharlie7293]

01:53 Salty looking for the Zebra.

[@MicahBell_1860]

I happened to go past a place yesterday with a giraffe statue in the bushes

[@divarachelenvy]

yet another fascinating commentary on the "walk"...

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@rachel gilmore thank you for your kind comment and for watching :-)

[@jamescolindaley]

any chance of doing stafford one day?

[@davidbristow4891]

Thanks Rob, another interesting piece of history.

[@damientoomey1194]

Thanks for taking the time to walk the route. I work in the unsigned shed on loves rd where you turned around on the gravel road. That’s all one private property but you would have made it through almost to the mill had u kept walking. The owners wouldn’t have minded but it would have been a tad boring for the video.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Damien Toomey I was very tempted to keep walking through there, but I never like to trespass. It certainly would have saved some time though!

[@michaelcurro9107]

Rob, thank you once again for such delightful and informative walks. This one was a beauty. Reminds me so much of areas around my old home town of Ingham.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Michael Curro thanks and you're welcome. Glad you enjoy my little adventures. Planning a new one now...

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@walkaboutwithrob I have no connection with Ingham (or Italians - except as friends) but seeing as boneyards fascinate you the Italianate graves in the Ingham cemetery would be worth a trip.😉

[@Robbo0090]

where can we see your movie?

[@computertennis]

God I love these videos! Thanks mate !!!

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@computertennis thanks indeed for your wonderful comment. Hope you enjoy my future ones! All the best

[@martingoodef811]

I saw that same palm shell on the road at calypso bay just the other day, how can that be? 🤣😎

[@daklindsay]

Great vidoes, do you have one of Upper Coomera / Coomera area

[@shellebelle53]

The plans you mentioned, I actually heard about when I was living in Ormeau. From what I understood, it was Chinese developers who wanted to have a Disneyland like theme park within the city. I was always taught to walk facing oncoming traffic so you can see what's coming towards you 😊

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Shell Yeah the whole development thing out there has now grown quiet. Personally I think the area is just too low and flood prone to be a viable new city. However with the Coomera Connector going through that may change...

[@shellebelle53]

@@walkaboutwithrob agreed, Eggersdorf Road always used to flood with a few days of rain. I'm actually glad I'm not in Ormeau anymore with the Coomera Connector going ahead

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@@shellebelle53 Indeed. As so much of it is still in the planning and consultation stages, it would make investment and building highly dicey and troublesome in the areas around it. I wonder if it will increase house prices here in Beenleigh though..

[@shellebelle53]

@WalkaboutWithRob it actually may do. I've noticed a steady increase in property prices through Beenleigh, Eagleby and Bethania. I know a house in Edinburgh Drive in Bethania where I live sold for a cool million, so it's certainly reasonable to assume that prices will improve across all 3 suburbs

[@malcolmduncan3047]

Gold Coast Council have told the sugar cane farmers that their land will not be rezoned if they sell to a developer, as the Sugar Mill requires a minimum number of farms to remain viable. I think that this will cause the area to be 'land banked' until enough growth will cause the whole area to be reconfigured, all at once. Also, large areas are quite low and some even flood during the summer king tides, so a lot of the area will be unsuitable for development unless huge amounts of fill are imported. Another rumour, I have heard, is that the area would be ideal for a projected second Brisbane airport...but that might be 30 to 50 years, in the future (if at all).

[@billmarsh7104]

opposite the mill, on google maps - 2014, there was still a beautiful big home there - would have been the owner or manager

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@Bill Marsh most likely the Heck family home. It was moved to the Beenleigh Historical Village where it has been renovated and restored.

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

@@walkaboutwithrob ​Nice to see some of the old Queensland style mansions preserved. Our Kraut great grandparents' large farmhouse was bought and removed to below the range at Toowoomba for restoration. Unfortunately the upmarket buyer never got to enjoy it. The restoration was just completed when it caught fire and burnt to the ground. An old small format photo is all that remains of that part of our family history. 😢

[@jamesherbst4988]

That Loaders Lane that you went down is where the arrowroot mill was. Re the South Sea Islanders: weren’t used by the Germans, but the English. Re Mt Stapylton: it’s indigenous name is actually Bookinburra. Re the Lutheran church in Alberton: it was originally at the Cemetery on Zipfs Road (Hence the plaque you read) before being relocated to where it is now. Re the cemetery: there’s a monument there to unmarked South Sea Islander graves: if you place your head on the ground and look horizontally across the grass, you can see the raised graves. I have a lot more that I can tell you...but I’m not walking it...we would drive. You should think about maybe buying a ticket on one of my Tag Along Tours...

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@James Herbst thank you for your comment, most interesting indeed. Actually, some German families did use Kanaka labour. For example, the 'Logan Witness' newspaper of March, 1884 reports that Mr. Raehfeldt, owner of the Junction Logan Mill "employs several Polynesians". Regarding the name of Mt. Stapylton, the name Joongavin as given in the video comes from the Bundjalung-Yugambeh Dictionary and means a 'scrub tree' or 'grass scrub tree'. The name Bookinburra means 'peak'. The name Joongavin therefore specifically refers to Mt. Stapylton whereas the word Bookinburra can refer to any peak within Bundjalung-Yugambeh territory.

[@enothewonderdog]

Did the movie ever get released?

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@@enothewonderdog it did yes

[@enothewonderdog]

@@walkaboutwithrob cool. Anywhere we can stream it or see it?

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@ it was streaming on 9Now and might still be there.

[@enothewonderdog]

@@walkaboutwithrob Damn - it's gone.

[@walkaboutwithrob]

@ it’ll be migrating to Stan

[@lawlerscorner4420]

The land north of the logan belongs to the Turrbal People the Traditional Owners of Greater Brisbane :)

[@theoztreecrasher2647]

Your cheque is in the mail. 🤫🤨

[@mariehillard1742]

I knew that you would now.....

[@Jagermonsta]

the Pacific City Project sounds pretty awful