Pasturage Reserve at Bargara was once part of the vast Barolin Station and was later used by the public for the agistment of livestock and for recreation.
Now known as Barolin Nature Reserve, it is a place for nature and leisure activities, and is included on Bundaberg Regional Council’s Register of Local Heritage Places.
Barolin Station, (‘Barolin’ being a local aboriginal word for kangaroo or ‘land of the kangaroo’), was a tract of land stretching between the Elliott and Burnett Rivers that was taken up as a pastoral selection in the 1850s.
Following the 1868 Crown Land Alienation Act, one block of 1200 acres (486 Hectares) was reserved for pasturage and placed under the control and management of the Board for the Division of Barolin in 1880.
Known then as the 1200 Acre Pasturage Reserve, it was later placed under the control of the Woongarra Divisional Board.
A pound keeper was employed, and farmers, butchers and residents put livestock on the reserve on agistment.
The reserve was also used for recreational purposes such as picnicking and bird watching.
Over time, several allotments were excised from the Pasturage Reserve including:
- the Mon Repos Cable Station in 1893;
- Neilson Park reserve in 1912;
- Bargara State School in 1957;
- a reserve for quarry purposes with stone crusher (which later became a local government reserve for sanitary landfill purposes in the 1960s); and
- the Bundaberg Girl Guides association special lease and camping area in 1963.
The Woongarra Railway, from the Bundaberg-Millaquin branch line to Pemberton, was opened in 1912 and ran through the Pasturage Reserve.
The line ran from Mon Repos through to Nielson Park, Bargara, Windermere and Pemberton.
The train carried goods, sugar cane and passengers, including those on weekend excursions to Neilson Park and Bargara.
The section between Qunaba and Pemberton eventually became economically unviable and was closed in May 1948.
Heritage remnants
The Pasturage Reserve is bound by Potters Road, Mon Repos Road, Bargara Road and the Nielsen Park reserve, and consists of a 312 hectare area of scrubland, including areas of melaleuca, swamp and other native vegetation.
The area’s long history of cattle grazing was gradually reduced after Bundaberg Regional Council undertook management of the land for environmental purposes, with all grazing ceased in 2022.
Old cattle yards are visible from the Bargara Road entrance near Bargara State School, however for safety reasons the yards should not be entered.
The former railway line traverses the reserve, evidenced by bridge abutments and corridor embankments.
A number of drainage channels also pass through the site, one being named Cablehouse Creek.
Several concrete water troughs are located on the reserve and there is evidence of former cattle dips.
Gravel and grassed walking tracks have been established through the reserve which link the Bargara Road entrance to Davidson Street, Mon Repos Road and the Turtle Trail.
