FERNVALE

The once quiet, sleepy town of Fernvale is now bustling with activity, boasting a new shopping center and many housing estates. As Fernvale is only 30km north west of Ipswich or an hour's drive from Brisbane it makes for a perfect escape from the city life, either for a day-trip or more permanently. Fernvale boasts convenience while also maintaining it's country charm.

Originally two towns called 'Stinking Gully' and 'Harrisborough' made up the area now known as Fernvale. In the 1860's the area was the center of cotton farming in the Brisbane Valley but floods soon made the industry obsolete. According to Ruth S. Kerr's book, "Confidence and Tradition - A History of Esk Shire", the majority of the town has always been on the one side of the road with the park, real estate, railway and public buildings on the other.

Nowadays the town is very well favoured on a Sunday morning when people make the drive from Ipswich or Brisbane to grab a bargain at the Fernvale Markets. The country town is a great place to visit for the day. Boasting many tourist attractions such as various fishing, swimming and boating spots along the Brisbane River and Wivenhoe Dam. Wivenhoe Dam also has camping facilities and is a perfect spot to use non fueled boats.

If water sports aren't your thing then you should check out the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail. The old railway has now become a fantastic walking, cycling and horse riding trail which will eventually connect Ipswich to Blackbutt. The trail will be 148km long and is due to be completed around 2012. Access to the 8km Fernvale to Lowood section of the trail can be found behind the Fernvale Futures Complex in the main street of our town.

One of the latest additions to our town has been the Fernvale Futures Complex. Residing next to the Fernvale Memorial Park, this complex has been designed with the community in mind. The building provides our very loved tourists with information about the area while also giving the locals access to a conference room where many community activities such as parenting and art classes take place.

DN Technologies have set up this website in conjunction with the Fernvale Futures Complex to inform both visitors and locals about our beautiful and exciting town. Take a look around the site and feel free to email us any questions you have or pop into the Fernvale Futures Complex. We hope you will benefit out of using this site and enjoy our lovely town.