Cruice Park | Woodford

Cruice Park is located 4km west of the township of Woodford along the Kilcoy-Beerwah Road. It's the perfect spot to pull over and revitalise from your day tripping around the Moreton Bay Region.

The park has a soft fall playground perfect for toddlers and primary school aged children. They will love climbing the spider ropes and sliding down the slide. The playground has natural shading from the near by gum trees throughout the park.

Free overnight camping

It’s easy to lose track of time and find yourself needing to pull over for the night to revitalise for the next day of adventure and discovery when your holidaying. Cruice Park is a free overnight camp spot for stays no longer than 20 hours. Pets are also allowed, although there are restrictions around the playgrounds.

Toilet facilities are cleaned daily.

With it's looping 'in-park' paved road, Cruice Park is a convenient overnight stop for large caravans and trailers. Just pull up and enjoy the sun as it sets over the ranges of Bellthorpe National Park.

Facilities at Cruice Park

  • Playground
  • Picnic Tables
  • Bins
  • Toilets with disability access
  • Lots of parking for large vehicles and rigs
  • Mobile phone coverage
  • No drinking water on site
  • Free 20hr camping

Ludwig Leichhardt Memorial - Early Australian history at Cruice Park

Located at Cruice Park is The Leichhardt Memorial. Ludwig Leichhardt is most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.

In his day, Leichhardt was celebrated as a national hero and lauded as the 'Prince of Explorers', but tragedy was to befall him - he mysteriously disappeared at the age of 35 during an expedition from the Darling Downs in southern Queensland bound for Western Australia's Swan River Settlement. His disappearance remains one of Australia's oldest and earliest cold cases.

The memorial reads:

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, naturalist and explorer, was born at Trebatsch in Prussia in 1813 and arrived in Australia in 1842.

In June 1843, Leichhardt travelled overland to Moreton Bay. Here he made friends with the Archer brothers and travelled to their homestead 'Durundur' which was located just north of this park. This he used as a base for journeys throughout south-east Queensland throughout late 1843 and the early months of 1844.

The earlier route to the Gympie Gold Fields passed through Durundur Station.

The erection of this monument is the result of a generous donation from Mr Douglas Jolly of Brisbane.

An additional plaque was unvieled by Professor Michael Schuetz Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany on 26 October 2013. The plaque commemorates the explorations of Leichhardt and his visit to Durundur Station on the 200th anniversary of his birth.

Durundur Homestead Monument

Also located at Cruice Park is the Durundur Station Memorial, a sandstone monument in tribute to 6 of Queensland's early settlers - the Archer brothers. The explorers and pastoralists who've a number of locations throughout Queensland either named by them or in honour of them.

Who were the Archer Brothers?

The Archer brothers were the sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant. 6 of the 7 brothers played a major role in the colonisation of Queensland, with the first of the brother's, David, arriving in Sydney in 1834. He was soon joined by William and Thomas in 1838. The brothers had planned to seek out pastoral lands on the Darling Downs, but this initial plan did not come to pass as all the best pastoral land had been staked out already by the time William and Thomas arrived in Australia. Instead, they turned their attention to the Stanley River region and established Durundur Station which is now the site of Cruice Park near present day Woodford.

Durundur Station - Early Australian History at Cruice Park

The Archer brothers named their station 'Durundur', which is the aboriginal name for the Moreton Bay Ash (Eucalyptus tessellaris). with the ambition to use the land for sheep breeding. However, the property proved unsuitable for sheep, so instead, Durundur became a base camp for travellers and pioneers.

Naturalist and explorer Ludwig Leichhardt stayed at Durundur for several months in 1843 and 1844, as he explored south-east Queensland. The property also became a popular stop for miners looking to strike it lucky at the Gympie Gold Fields.

Dates to note in the diary

Woodford is home to the famous Woodford Folk Festival, so Cruice Park is very busy during the festival period in December and January annually.

For a family fun weekend, visit Cruice Park. Share your adventure #visitmoretonbayregion

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Acknowledgement of Country - We would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands and waterways of the Moreton Bay Region, the Kabi Kabi/Gubbi Gubbi, Jinibara, and Turrbal people and pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise the ongoing connection that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to this land and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the original custodians of this land.