A Part of Buderim's History

Buderim Roads

by Joyce Short
September 2011

Buderim was always notorious for its bad roads.  The rich red soil when dampened became as slippery as ice and motor cars would slither helplessly around.  When the soil was really soaked it was boggy and once a cars back wheels started spinning it quickly bogged down to its axles.  Chains, like snow chains were often used on the back wheels during wet weather.  Loads of stones were spread over the boggy patches and when the soil dried out the roads were very bumpy.

During the depression the road work was mostly done by out of work men who were paid relief money by the Government for doing a couple of days road work once a week.  There was no dole money in those days. 

In 1943 with about 30 other young hopeful girls we were being interviewed in Brisbane by two men from the Department of Education.  One man was an ex school inspector and he asked each of us where we lived.  When I said Buderim Mountain, he snorted “That little mud ball!  You get on one end of it and skid off the other!”  I take it that he had visited Buderim Mountain State School during the wet season.

Not long after World War 2 ended I was walking along Burnett Street about where the muffler factory is today, when a visitors car came bumping and rattling along.  The man stuck his head out and sang out “Don’t you people up here ever pay your rates?”

Everyone was pleased to see the first mile of bitumen road go down on Buderim, between the top of Crosby Hill Road along Burnetts Street and Main Street to the junction of Gloucestor Street and Main Street.

But the old red soil didn’t give up without a struggle!

The rise in the road, between what is now The Tavern up towards Vandy’s (Charley Perkins) Garage, had eroded badly and the footpaths either side stood at least a metre higher than the road.  The road building contractors brought in the loads of red soil to build the road up closer to footpath levels.  Then we had a heavy wet spell!  Well, that stretch of road became absolutely impassable to any type of vehicle.  Anyone wishing to drive from the village to Vandy’s garage or further had to go down Jones Road, along Maroochydore Road to the Bruce Highway and around to Tanawha and come up Crosby Hill Road.  Of course these are roads that could be used now days, but they weren’t there then.  That land was still either part of farms or else impossible bush tracks.