A train, a plane and abandoned underground World War II ammunition bunkers you can stay in … there are plenty of reasons to head to the unique Possum Park Caravan Park in the Queensland bush.
Where is it?
Located just off the Leichhard Highway, a short 15-minute drive North of Miles or a four-hour drive from Brisbane along the Warrego Highway, Possum Park makes for a great weekend escape or an ideal detour as you head inland on an outback Queensland caravanning adventure (Roma is just under two hours further west along the Warrego Highway).
What makes Possum Park worth the trip?
We arrived at Possum Park Caravan Park not long after sunset. It was winter, so the evening sky was already inky black, bespeckled with glittering stars. Imagine my surprise the next morning when I pulled up the blinds in our cabin and looked out the window to see a TAA plane. We were literally in the middle of the bush!
In front of the TAA plane
During WWII, the 360-acre site was a former military base, RAAF Kowguran. Soldiers built 20 concrete underground bunkers into a hill, designed to be temperature controlled. Inside these bunkers 2500 tonnes of bombs and ammunition were stored. Kowguran was the main ‘explosive storage facility’ for the Brisbane line (in the event of a Japanese invasion, the plan was to abandon Northern Australia above this ‘line’).
There were also 25 timber accommodation and administration buildings. Located halfway between Brisbane (350km west of the river city) and the US Air Force base in Charleville, both bases were meant to be secret. Quite a challenge I’d imagine in small towns where everyone knows what’s going on.
In 1957, the base was decommissioned. Everything apart from the underground bunkers and two small brick buildings were sold, then removed. The site sat vacant for 30 years, the only visitors were vandals, who graffitied the bunkers. Julie and David Hinds, farmers with a grazing property in the area, considered the bunkers an ideal place to store hay. They purchased the property in 1985 and quickly realised the distance to their farm was too far.
One of the disused bunkers
The couple decided to move onto the property. They cleaned and re-built the place to open as self-contained accommodation and a caravan park, renamed Possum Park in 1986. Julie Hinds, 80, and husband David, 79, continue working seven days a week at Possum Park. They’re not slowing down just yet.
A unique place to stay
Julie and David have a knack for acquiring the unusual. In 2013 they purchased the wrecked shell of a VH-TVL Vickers Viscount TAA plane. Placed in storage in 1969, it was sold to the Toowoomba aviation museum in 1971, then moved to a scrap metal company in 1978. By the time the Hinds purchased it in 2013 it was in a dilapidated state. When I asked Julie why they took on such a project, she said it was David’s vision to offer a ‘unique’ accommodation experience in their park — a night in a plane! Ten years on they’re still working on that. So far, it’s only been friends — who’ve helped with restoring the old girl — who have slept in the relic from the past.
Julie took my traveling buddy Fiona and I on a personal tour through the lovingly restored plane. Fiona’s father was a pilot. As we stepped inside, she said: “The smell of aviation fuel takes me right back to my childhood with Dad.” The interior is a step back in time. Julie, David and her team of helpers have restored a piece of history to be enjoyed.
You can stay iside the restored plane
Possum Park has an artist in residence, Chris Osborne. He came to stay at the park in 2021. “That was the best $20 I ever spent,” he said. “I came for two nights and ended up staying three and a half years so far. I love being out here because it’s so quiet.”
He set up an art gallery in the end train wagon. His captivating artwork captures wildlife and scenes from the region. “There’s over 100 species of birds at Possum Park, it’s the perfect place for twitchers, like me,” says Chris. We admired his artwork inside the restored carriage, including some moody photos of the original WWII 17-strand perimeter fence that still surrounds Possum Park.
When we were planning our road trip Fiona exclaimed: “We’re not staying in any boring motels.” Quirky, comfortable, peaceful and affordable, if you’re enroute to Charleville, Windorah, Birdsville and beyond, consider stopping at Possum Park. It’s far from boring.
Fiona and Chris Osborn in the Railway Gallery
Accommodation options at Possum Park
Powered sites:
- Four powered sites with ensuite, 19 powered sites
- 20 underground bunkers, three converted to accommodation
Unpowered sites:
- Accommodates 50 campers in safari area (Oval) plus 12 caravans or camper trailers
- Seven ensuite cabins with carports
- Six railway carriages, four converted to accommodation
- One family igloo with double carport, one queen bed, five king singles, three singles and one baby cot
On-site amenities
- Modern ablution facilities (hot showers, flushing toilets, baby change area)
- On-site dump point
- Laundry facilities
- Undercover kitchen
- Large barbecue area
- Communal fire pit
- TV room
- Library
- Bush chapel
- Souvenir shop
- Resident artist
Further information
To find out more about Possum Park Caravan Park, head here.
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