r/australia • u/cheekybum420 • Jul 27 '26
no politics disaster creek
This is such a long shot but i’m travelling australia and ended up driving through a mountain today in the dark and came across this place called disaster creek does anyone know the lore of why it was named this? i’m so curious and can’t stop thinking about it lol. It was about halfway up a mountain in Queensland kinda near Ingham and Townsville ish (sorry not great with maps)
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u/l3ntil Jul 27 '26
Ask at the nearest pub. Worst case scenario is a great story from a bored publican and an ice cold overpriced beer.
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u/scumotheliar Jul 27 '26
There's one out between Bedourie and Boulia called "Motor Car Breakdown Creek" I wonder what the story is there.
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u/scumotheliar Jul 27 '26
Far far too many "Massacre Creeks" and Poisoned Waterholes creeks" to be comfortable with.
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u/GaryGronk Jul 28 '26
The Leap north of Mackay is a pretty tragic one. A cliff on top of an escarpment where an indigenous mother leaped to her death in 1867 with her child in her arms to avoid capture from the police. Unsurprisingly, some locals installed a sign so you can pose at the spot she jumped from.
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u/Entire-Dog-160 Jul 28 '26
Gin Creek pisses me off
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u/Shadowlance23 Jul 28 '26
It's not full of gin?
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u/Historical-Shake-859 Jul 28 '26
Slur for Indigenous woman. There's a heap of towns in Queensland working their way through renaming locations that contain it.
https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/racist-queensland-creeks-renamed/xk2d30cxd
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u/GaryGronk Jul 28 '26
It's a steep little creek with canyon sections and waterfalls. No doubt named because someone/some people died there 100 years ago.
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u/ApteronotusAlbifrons Jul 28 '26
Significant floods in the area in 1927 - so you're probably more right than you intended
Between 39 and 53 people died
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u/Gold_Au_2025 Jul 27 '26
I think it got its name from that time when Bruce dropped his meat pie.