It’s just a kilometre or two off the New England Highway at East Greenmount and easy to miss if you don’t know it’s there, but Steele Rudd Memorial Park is a must visit attraction for locals and tourists.

Arthur Hoey Davis, better known by his pen name of Steele Rudd has certainly left a legacy, not just for the our local area but for the whole nation as his fictional work ‘On Our Selection’ has helped shape Australian culture.

On the way to the park you may like to call into Rudd’s Pub in Nobby where visitors will be overwhelmed by the Steele Rudd memorabilia hanging from every wall and ceiling in the historic pub.

However, to experience a glimpse of the hardships of pioneer life a visit to Steele Rudd Memorial Park is a stark reminder of the courage, determination and resilience of the early settlers such as Arthur Davis and his family.

The park itself sits on the crest of a hill on Steele Rudd Road and passing through the gate entrance the visitor can press a button to begin an audio introduction to the buildings contained within the park.

The centrepiece of the park is the replica shingle slab timber hut where the Davis family endured the cold Toowoomba weather in a one room hut with a dirt floor and too many openings for the icy winter winds.

Children will no doubt be shocked by the lack of basic creature comforts with no running water and heaven forbid no electricity means no TV and no internet!

Other buildings include a small timber animal shelter and a variety of basic farming implements scattered around the beautifully maintained grassed area.

It’s not difficult in this setting to allow the imagination to picture Rudd’s fictional characters of Dad, Dave and Mabel carrying out their daily duties.

A public toilet and gas barbecue are available for visitors.

A visit to the park is not only an enjoyable experience but an educational one, so if not for yourself then visit the park for your children.

This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 13 October 2022.