Piece of Sunshine Coast history turns to stone

A little piece of Sunshine Coast history will find a permanent home this week when a massive foundation stone is lowered into the grounds of the new Glass House Visitor and Interpretive Centre.

The stone will be used to mount an historic plaque that announced the opening of the Bruce Highway in 1936.

The plaque has been looking for a new home since it was removed from a park near Mt Tibrogargan due to redevelopment of the railway line. Since then, local businesses got together to find a way to bring the stone back to the Glass House community.

The Glass House and Beerburrum Business and Tourism Association harnessed the support of the local quarry to donate the stone, a local towing company to transport it to the site and even a donated crane to lower it in place.

The basalt stone, weighing two tonnes, will be fixed in place under council supervision in the park outside the soon-to-be-opened visitor centre at 11am on Wednesday.

The official opening of the Glass House Visitor and Interpretive Centre, to be conducted by Division 1 Councillor Anna Grosskreutz, is planned for Saturday 9 May from 10am.

Cr Grosskreutz thanked local businesses for their efforts in restoring the stone to its rightful place in the Glass House township.

The plaque reads that the Bruce Highway was opened on 15 December 1936 by the Honorable H. A. Bruce, the then Minister for Works.