Thread: Gazetted road access in Qld.

Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

SNIP

We found people actually growing cane on declared roads when I worked in the sugar industry yonks ago.

SNIP.

There's a nice crop of pineapples on a "road" near my in-laws. The road is not only on the map, it's on both popular GPS formats. Pity the two bridges that would be required (one to get in and one to get out) have never been built. Not even a Land Rover could drive that "road."

On the original question, my bush lawyer opinion is that if the road is surveyed, declared and accessible then it's fair game. A current cadastral map showing the road and an absence of gates should, IM(v)HO be a reasonable defence.

Every so often my family makes the trek to a family historical site up in the ranges east of Warwick. While most of it is all "road" and some is bordered by state forest we still ring ahead & let the farm owner know we'll be heading up there, out of courtesy mostly.
Obviously that doesn't solve the problem of uncertainty, but if possible you can at least get in contact with surrounding farmers and explain/ask, especially if you plan on travelling that way multiple times, they're less likely to point a gun at you or make a fuss with authorities if they know who you are & what you're doing. (e.g. not nicking cattle or growing pot in a remote location)

I've followed "roads" on the GPS before that ended up at someone's front door. I can tell you he wasn't a happy chappy. I think it was the case that no one used it as a road for so many years, the land owner assumed it was his driveway.

I for one love exploring unpaved roads & obscure tracks, but have been hesitant to do so recently for fear of being diverted from the road onto private property, or just plain upsetting land owners.

Also,
Some councils, for instance the Toowoomba Regional Council, has a handy on-line mapping system that gives you access to all the local assets/infrastructure. You can shade all the road reserves, even see easements, declared waterways etc. It's useful for more that that, but if you're unsure of a road in the shire you can look it up. Maybe print it off as proof if you get asked what you're doing.

AS above.
Thanks, Dave.

Sooooo...

I asked my Main Roads "contact"; "Where does one find out which roads are real, current, open, etc?". He said: "Oh, theres a Lands Dept or something like that...", I asked, "Yeah but where are they now?", "I dunno, I'll ask around".

He asked one of his contacts; "Where does one find out which roads are real, current, open, etc?". The reply started with a chuckle; "He(that is me), actually thinks some one has all the records of that stuff?"

So I don't know if there is a definitive answer, but from my asking around I think your best bet is to contact the relevant council, and even then they aren't always up to date, as my contacts contact finds the council plans can be out of date too.

I know that's not awfully helpful, but I tried!

I can find a few maps (including gov. departmental, VICmaps etc) that include a 'road' going through my folks place.
Certainly on private property and certainly not for public use.
Built from scratch as the original driveway about 30 years ago.

So on the map is not an excuse.

Originally Posted by SuperMono

...So on the map is not an excuse.

Very true.

I don't know the specifics of your parents place, but if the "road" is on a surveyed land parcel owned by the state & declared a road, it is a road.

Again, (not speaking specifically of your folks place), I think a lot of old "roads" were surveyed & made state land, however I'm guessing they were never really used as roads or haven't been in so many years that the owners of the surrounding land have assumed it's part of their lots.

Unless one was to do title searches ($14 per search) on all the land parcels they would want to travel to see if they're still road or resumed etc, you can't be 100% sure. Don't ask me how you check roads though, as road land doesn't get unique numbers like lots (as far as I know).

I know this is QLD specific, but it's informative: Roads (Department of Environment and Resource Management)

Especially: "Land designated as road is an area set aside for the present or future use of the travelling public. ... Sometimes the term 'road reserve' is incorrectly used to refer to land set aside for a road but not constructed. However, such land is actually a road whether constructed or not and extends from property boundary on one side to property boundary on the other side."

Originally Posted by SuperMono

I can find a few maps (including gov. departmental, VICmaps etc) that include a 'road' going through my folks place.
Certainly on private property and certainly not for public use.
Built from scratch as the original driveway about 30 years ago.

So on the map is not an excuse.

Agree. Google maps has a road and now a nursery incorrectly shown on my place.