Howard District. Little Snippets of History
PACIFIC HAVEN… SNIPPETS OF HISTORY
Five thousand acres of dry sclerophyll forest, wallum country and small patches of riverine rain forest make up most of the Pacific Haven estate bounded by the Burrum and Cherwell Rivers. This semi-rural area has a colourful past.
One of the first known owners was a chap named Riley who owned 2700 acres. He eventually got behind in rate payments to the Burrum Shire (which later became the Woocoo Shire then Hervey Bay City Council and now the Fraser Coast Regional Council). His land was resumed by the Burrum Shire and put out to sale by tender. A young engineer at the Howard Power Station named Max Winders was the successful tenderer and eventual buyer for the sum of 350 pounds. Max cleared about 100 acres in the region of the present Richard's Road turnoff and, on the advice of John Kingston, planted it down to Rhodes Grass, Lotononis and Siratro for cattle grazing. The yellow flowered Lotononis persists to this day in the table drains along Pacific Haven Drive. Max also used the land for timber cutting.
Max Winders was approached by a Bernard Dowd of Hickory Hosiery fame (he was also one of the founder sponsors of the Miss Australia Quest) to purchase his land and is believed to have paid $97,000 to Max in ~ 1970. Dowd also acquired more adjoining land, in total 5000 acres, which included Brooklyn House.
This extra land of some 2300 acres was originally owned / leased by three old maids in England who were major shareholders of Queensland Collieries who owned and operated several collieries in the Howard-Torbanlea area. A William Rankin was brought out from Scotland to manage this Company and Brooklyn House was built as his residence. Queensland Collieries also set aside land for a golf course. The Company moved on and coal miners from Ipswich by the name of Rule Brothers acquired the land from Queensland Collieries. As far as we know they did very little except to kick out the golfers and close the golf course. We believe this land was resumed by Council at a later date allowing Bernard Dowd to secure the land bringing his total land ownership to 5000 acres. Dowd carried out substantial renovations to Brooklyn House which still stands today at the corner of William and Tambaroora Streets in Howard. Trouble in the undergarment business forced Bernard Dowd to put the properties on the market.
James William Baker bought the land from Dowd for what we are told "was a song". Jimmy Baker was a "wheeler and dealer" who later sold the property to Bunny Industries some time in 1979/1980. Jimmy kept 35 acres of land for a house block for himself where Jacqueline and Marina Drives now meet bounded by what were known as ‘Pizzey's Huts’ which was originally a rafting reserve for timber logs transported down the Burrum. The logs were then assembled into large rafts and towed by tug to the Maryborough saw millers. Jack Pizzey was elected the Member for Isis in 1950 and he (and others) built ‘Holiday Shacks’ on this reserve, the highest land on the Burrum River. When he became Premier in 1968 he made this reserve into a Special Lease. ‘Pizzey's’ now has only eleven 99 year leases remaining for holiday cabins. As the leases are surrendered they revert to the Council.
Bunny Industries was headed by Grant McGuiness and Ron Weakly, who had ties to the Mooney oil fields. Joh Bjelke - Petersen came to power after the death of Jack Pizzey in 1968 and it is credible that Jack had told Joh of the vacant land between the Burrum and Cherwell Rivers. . Woocoo Shire Council initially rejected the proposed subdivision of Pacific Haven on the grounds that the land was poor and flood prone, but the State Government (read Joh) overrode the Council's rejection. Joh was rumoured to be a silent partner in Bunny Industries. Grant McGuiness was married to Sir Leslie Thiess's daughter, and so Thiess Brothers constructed the roads and drainage of Pacific Haven. Sir Leslie Thiess was a close friend of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen (Premier of Queensland) who opened the Pacific Haven estate on 19th September, 1980
Surveying of Pacific Haven was carried out by J.F.H Murray employed by Bunny Industries. Once the road and power services were provided by Bunny's, Jimmy Baker subdivided his 35 acres on Jacqueline Drive into 15 Lots in 1981. The Surveyor was Kenneth Charles Ahern and Lot 1 was given over as a Reserve to the Woocoo Shire Council. In 1993 Tim Thornton bought the lot at Sandy Point, which Jimmy had put aside for himself, and this was gazetted as "The Point Nature Refuge" in 2004.
Bunny Industries started drawing up Plans to subdivide the Howard Golf Club site but news of this got out and later the Council acquired the land for rates owing and leased it to the Burrum Districts Golf Club for 30 years at $1.00 / year.
Bunny Industries advertised the Pacific Haven Estate Australia- wide (not sure of the West Coast) and would fly prospective buyers into the airfield, which they constructed at the corner of Pacific Haven Circuit and Marina Drive. These prospective buyers were taken to "The Lodge" on the Burrum River. If intending land purchasers signed a Contract(s) the flight was free. The Lodge had approval to become a marina and resort development. Bunny's also built a Sales Office in Howard which is today the Howard Post Office. Bunny Industries went into liquidation a short time later and the assets of the company, inclusive of the airfield and the lodge, were bought at auction by Matthew & Sandra Cheung in November, 1984. The airfield became known as the Cherrum Air Park. The "Lodge" was sold to Chris and Glenice Ballantyne in 1994 and gazetted a Nature Refuge in 2004. In 2011 the airfield was transferred to the then current lot owners of the airpark and is now called the Pacific Haven Airfield.
The first three houses to be built on Pacific Haven were those of the Finlay's, Kevin & Carol Burns and Roy & Gwen McKenzie, circa 1982.
Sources of Information: Rusty Joynson, Peter Pearson, Max Winders, and Ernie McAllister.
Authors: Tim Thornton & Chris Ballantyne. E&OE.
© Tim Thornton & Chris Ballantyne 2011