It’s a slow start, we enjoy the sunrise, early morning bird chorus and a chat with other campers. It’s then west to Jackson, former home of Marg. We have a cuppa with Joyce and Pat, memorialised in the Old School play shed.

We note the CWA hall is open and a meeting is in progress, it’s a Maranoa Council meeting for locals so we invite ourselves in and by chance we catchup with old friends and neighbours .

History of Jackson, Queensland

Located along the Warrego Highway in the Maranoa Region—approximately 85 km east of Roma and 57 km west of Miles—Jackson began as a small railway and pastoral outpost in the late 19th century. The town was named after John Woodward Wyndham Jackson, an early sawmiller at nearby Tchanning (now Jackson South) who later became a police magistrate in Mackay.

The extension of the Western Railway Line in the 1880s firmly established the settlement, supporting sheep and cattle grazing across the surrounding brigalow and open woodland country. A receiving office opened in 1887, followed by a formal post office in 1908. In the late 20th century, the region took on renewed industrial significance as a key transit and processing hub for southwest Queensland’s oil, gas, and coal seam gas (CSG) networks, connecting pipeline assets like the Jackson oil fields to eastern ports and refineries.

The Old School Play Shed & Pioneer Tribute

One of Jackson’s most cherished heritage sites is the Old Play Shed, situated in the township park in Railway Street.

• Origins: The Jackson Provisional School opened in January 1892 and became Jackson State School in 1909. The open-sided timber play shed was constructed on the school grounds in 1908.
• Relocation: Following the school’s closure in December 1983, the site lay dormant for nearly two decades. In 2002, local resident Ella Robinson petitioned the Bendemere Shire Council to rescue the 1908 play shed and move it to the town centre and railway precinct.
• Tribute to Pioneers: In November 2012, the structure was revitalised into an open-air historical display. Outfitted with curated narrative panels, photographs, and settler records, it preserves the social and educational heritage of early families who cleared and farmed the district.

The Old Noonga Cream Shed (Jackson–Wandoan Road)

Heading north out of Jackson along the Jackson–Wandoan Road (featured as part of the regional Country Insight Drive / Tourist Drive #3), travellers encounter reminders of the area’s mixed-farming history.

Approximately 21 km north near the Gullagimbi turnoff sits the Old Noonga Cream Shed alongside the historic Noonga State School site. In the first half of the 20th century, before bulk refrigerated milk tankers became standard, smallholder dairies across southern Queensland relied on roadside cream and milk sheds. These simple timber shelters protected heavy metal cream cans from direct sunlight and dust while farmers awaited horse-drawn wagons, trucks, or rail connections to regional butter and dairy factories. Today, it stands as a roadside heritage marker of early rural enterprise.

Noonga Community Hall

Located roughly 1 km past the cream shed along the Jackson–Wandoan Road, the Noonga Community Hall & Recreation Grounds remains an essential social lifeline for the surrounding grazing community.

In isolated farming districts where homesteads are separated by vast distances, halls like Noonga provide a dedicated communal gathering place. It regularly hosts:

• Community dances and social functions: Including the annual Noonga Black Tie Affair and traditional bush dances.
• Recreation and sports: Local tennis days and recreation gatherings at the adjacent courts.
• Civic meetings: Council engagement sessions, regional emergency briefings, and agricultural network events.

Waterloo Plain Environmental Park (Wandoan)

Further north at Wandoan, the Waterloo Plain Environmental Park (managed by Western Downs Regional Council) offers a 11-hectare wetland refuge:

• Wetlands & Wildlife: The park centres around an expansive, water-lily covered lake featuring a protected central island that serves as a safe nesting and roosting habitat. It is a premier birdwatching destination, home to over 30+ bird species including the white-necked heron, rainbow bee-eater, whistling kite, and shining bronze cuckoo.
• Free Camping: The park provides free short-stay camping suitable for tents, campervans, caravans, and big rigs.
• Amenities: Facilities include hot showers, flushing toilets, picnic tables, sheltered barbecues, rubbish bins, exercise stations, and paved walkways with bridges winding through the parklands.

We enjoy a delicious meal at the Bushman Motel Restaurant, a very comfortable venue and friendly staff.

The frogs are calling in abundance around our camp they are at our doorstep and would out complete a passing road train for noise. The starlit night is glorious.

Additional Credible Resources

• Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC) Parks Directory: Official council updates on park amenities, trail conditions, and camping rules for Waterloo Plain.
• Maranoa Regional Council – Touring & Trails: Detailed maps and trail conditions for Tourist Drive #3 (Country Insight Drive), Jackson township amenities, and local public library services.
• State Library of Queensland (SLQ) / Rural Libraries Queensland: Historical photograph archives, early pastoral maps of the Maranoa/Bendemere shires, and records from the former Jackson State School.
• Outback Queensland Tourism Authority: Regional travel guides and historical itineraries connecting Jackson, Yuleba, Wallumbilla, Surat, and Roma.