Description

The sandstone Gray Rock is said to be part of the Doncaster member of the Wallumbilla formation which was laid down in the lower Cretaceous period (about 125 million years ago) on a small marine shelf. About 60 million years later, severe weather conditions cauterised large areas of inland Queensland, this area included. Gray Rock is linked closely with pioneering families who came to this vast sheep and cattle grazing country. On the eastern side of the rock can be found some Aboriginal Rock Art. Gray Rock, situated on a spur of the Great Dividing Range approximately 35km east of Aramac, was a logical choice for the establishment of a hotel, better known as Wayside Pub where the Cobb and Co coaches would call for the night en-route from Clermont to Aramac before the railway line was completed. The railway, snaking from Rockhampton, reached Jericho on 2 June 1885 and Barcaldine on 7 June 1886.