Stopford Way Lookout

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When you are travelling the Burnett Highway following the winding Mount Morgan Range from Rockhampton to Mount Morgan, you can find this lookout on your left-hand side, not far from a tiny town called Bouldercombe. This section of the Burnett Highway, once known as Poison Creek Road was renamed Stopford Way in January 1938 by none other than James Stopford, a trade unionist and politician. The is offering spectacular views of the Mount Morgan range and the valleys beneath, while Rockhampton can be seen in the distance.



As you stop at the lookout, there are information boards about an informal introduction to Mount Morgan's rich history and the lookout's architectural design, as well as about James Stopford and his career.





James Stopford was born in Rockhampton in 1878 and moved as a two-year-old to Mount Morgan with his family. He went on to work at the mine after school, qualified as an engine driver and became an active unionist. In 1916, the Ryan Government passed the Industrial Diseases Act to cover occupational illnesses and the act was in response to Stopford's earlier agitation.



The lookout is designed to honour Mt Morgan's proud history and to replicate an iconic mineshaft named the Linda Incline (one of the shafts at Mount Morgan Mine). The architectural structure was kept as square as possible to minimise costs, while the roof pitch was centred on the walkway of the lookout rather than the picnic area to add an extra slope and dynamic to the design. The architect and the structural engineer cleverly incorporate the unstable slope that falls at a steep angle below by spanning the lookout out over the slope and anchoring it at the level ground below.



This small and isolated structure is truly something interesting, unique and certainly different to anything else you will find within the Central Queensland region that for sure attracted the attention of those passing. It's a place for locals and tourists to stop and relax, and enjoy a coffee or picnic - using a table under a shelter- surrounded by the panoramic vista. The only thing is the car park won't fit a camper trailer.



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