The Don and Christine Burnett Conservation Area is a 4.17ha bushland reserve located in Sheldon and acquired in 1990.
Visit the reserve to enjoy:
- bushwalking and mountain bike trails
- bird watching in a quiet setting
- wildlife and threatened tree species
- natural conservation bushland.
Getting there
The conservation area lies south of Avalon Road and Ford Road, and north of the Neville Lawrie Reserve. Enter from the access point along Avalon Road, where parking is located.
The bitumen carpark offers space for about 20 cars. There is a trailhead shelter with map, seat, water tank, horse/dog trough and bike racks/horse hitching rail. There are currently no toilets.
The park reserve is open 4am-10pm daily.
Finding your way
The network of trails in the reserve is outlined on the Koala Bushland Coordinated Conservation Area map (Queensland Government).
Also see all Council trails and reserves on Red-e-map.
The Trailforks app (PC or mobile) also offers mapping and ‘current location’ capacity.
Trails in the park connect with surrounding bushland areas that include:
- Ford Road Conservation Area
- Venman Bushland National Park
- Daisy Hill Regional Park
- Kimberley Forest Park
- Neville Lawrie Reserve
- Brisbane’s Koala Bushland.
Some of these areas form the Koala Bushland Coordinated Conservation Area (KBCCA). The KBCCA is cooperatively managed by Redland City Council, Logan City Council and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
Tracks and features
Fire trails
- Plunkett Mallee Circuit
- Plunkett Mallee Circuit is a major fire trail named after the local, but rare Eucalyptus curtisii (Plunkett Mallee) tree.
More difficult trails
Tracks graded More Difficult are narrow in places and may have variable terrain and gradients, uneven surfaces, and natural or purpose-built technical trail features and obstacles. Tracks of this level include:
- Grasstree
- Grasstree is a more difficult level trail due mainly to its gradients rather than technical features. The trail weaves its way throughout a large population of Grasstrees. The trail has a number of entrances and connects to the popular Stone Henge/Wiry Panic trail, and the Glider trail (found in the bushland surrounding the park).
- Stonehenge (Wiry Panic)
- Stonehenge (Wiry Panic) is a 1.6km downhill single-trail with berms, turns, and timber sections that offer speed and excitement to more experienced riders. Stone Henge was originally named for the rocks found at the beginning of the trail. In 2005 it became the first trail constructed in the Redlands as part of the trailcare program. The trail was also known as Wiry Panic, describing both the barbed wire fence that used to flank the trail and the native grass (Entolasia stricta) that is also found along the way.
Wildlife and plants
In the reserve, you'll find significant animal and plant species, including:
- Plunkett Mallee (Eucalyptus curtisii) - a prolific flowering small rare tree that is threatened within Redland City
- stands of grass trees
- swamp wallabies
- red necked wallabies
- a variety of birds and other wildlife.
The conservation area is largely comprised of eucalypt regrowth, with significant remnant vegetation concentrated along the riparian corridor of Buhot Creek. This reserve is a significant bushland remnant.
History and heritage
- The conservation area is named after Don and Christine Burnett - long-time supporters of the Redland City environment. Don and Christine were also heavily involved in setting up a wildlife ambulance in the city to aid the rescue of sick and injured koalas.
- The first permanent settlers in the area arrived in the 1850s-1870s, and engaged in activities such as grazing, timbergetting, crop farming, gravel mining, and charcoal burning. Currently, there is no recorded evidence of European cultural heritage sites within the conservation area, but physical evidence is likely to be found on D&C and FR (portion 374a) of timbergetting, charcoal burning and small enterprises such as sawmilling. Some evidence of very early clearing and farming, such as fences, can also be found.