THERE still remain vestiges of the Lahey tramway that ran from the old Canungra sawmill up Duncan Street to the tunnel, and then wound its way up the Coomera Valley, also known as Pine creek, through Witheren to Ferny Glen.
Here the first branch line split from the main line so as to go up Flying Fox Creek valley.
A little further along the main line another branch line went to Prices Creek. The main line continued up the Coomera valley to terminate at Illinbah.
Most of the track path is now on private property.
It has been almost 100 years since the line was in use.
In its last few years, it was mainly used by a T-Model car, adapted to travel on the rails, for sightseeing journalists and distinguished visitors like the Governor Sir Matthew Nathan.
Many locals and passing tourists have visited the tunnel, but entry into the actual tunnel is now closed to the public.
While access to the tunnel from the Canungra side is easy along a pathway, the same cannot be said on the eastern side of the tunnel.
About 20 years ago, a person reported following the old track which curved around to the south for about 200m and it then abruptly stopped at a gully, where obviously there had been a bridge. That was the extent of his investigations.
In the winter of 2024, I decided to investigate the old track beyond the eastern side of the tunnel.
The track has deteriorated and is mostly thickly overgrown with lantana.
However, armed with a stout pair of secateurs, over a couple of months, I cut my way along the track to where the former bridge would have existed.
I even rediscovered the track on the other side of the gully until it hit a fence marking the end of the reserve.
My curiosity about the former bridge led me back to the gully, and I saw what I was looking for. There were two straight posts, one quite long, and when I got closer, they had bolts strategically placed in both of them. This was the remains of the old bridge pictured below in its days of glory.
To see the tunnel today, drive up the hill out of town towards the Gold Coast, to the carpark opposite the Rural Fire Brigade Station. From there do the short walk down the path to the tunnel entrance where story boards tell the history of the Tramway and the Tunnel.
By Neville McManimm for Canungra & District Historical Association
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