About SideTracked Caches
This cache belongs to the SideTracked series. It is not designed to take you to a magical place with a breathtaking view. It's a distraction for the weary traveller, but anyone else can go and find it too. More Information can be found at the SideTracked Website
The SideTracked series of geocaches is fairly easy to find and can be found at or near train stations, ex-train stations or near miniature railways. The first SideTracked geocache was placed at Evesham, about 50km south of Birmingham in the UK, on the 10th August, 2007.
This year marks the 19th anniversary of the beginning of the SideTracked Series.
There are currently 6,397 Caches and 922,640 Found Logs, 60,225 Did Not Finds and 9,829 Cachers attending Events in the database. SideTracked caches are placed in 47 different countries, such as the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Belgium, France, Russia, South Africa, Israel, United Arab Emirates and in Zimbabwe. Even the Vatican City State has a SideTracked cache.
To help celebrate this milestone, come along and join me and other fellow cachers at a very appropriate location.
Details as follows:
When: Monday, 10th August, 2026.
Time: 7.30 am to 8.00 am.
Venue: The Banoon Railway Precinct
Parking: Suggested parking North from Breton Street along Troughton Road..
Banoon Station
Banoon Station actually has a nice quirky history behind it.
Before it was a station
The rail line through here — Yeerongpilly to Loganlea — opened back in 1885 as part of the original Beenleigh line, but there was no formal stop at Banoon for over 50 years. It sat exactly halfway between Coopers Plains and Sunnybank, and anyone wanting to get off there had to awkwardly negotiate between the train and the ground, since there was no platform at all. One recorded regular was a local named James Fordyce, who'd acquired over two acres of nearby land in 1923 and often hopped off the train at this exact spot.
Where the name comes from
"Banoon" is said to derive from what early locals called the southernmost branch of Stable Swamp Creek — "Banoon Creek," a name that's since fallen out of use entirely.
A proper station, finally
A formal stop was only established in 1937, built as part of duplicating the line between Sunnybank and Kuraby. The station buildings you'd recognise came later still — a precast concrete shelter shed and office went up in 1949, and in 1955 a stationmistress was appointed to run the place. A second timber shelter shed, a footbridge, and a stationmaster's house followed in 1956, with two more footbridges added after that.
Heritage recognition
The station has since been recognised for its heritage value — a 1997 Queensland Railway Heritage Places Study described it as a representative minor suburban station of the post-war period, notable for showing the continued viability of precast concrete construction in that era, and distinguished by having three separate timber footbridges.
Modern upgrade
The old buildings were eventually superseded — Banoon got a significant upgrade in 2008 as part of the Salisbury to Kuraby triplication project, which converted the western platform into an island platform and added a new footbridge with lifts.
Afterwards, we will continue down Troughton Road to grab a coffee at Bun & Expresso. As we walk, say hello in your imagination to the commuters scrambling off moving trains for half a century before anyone bothered building a platform. Period worker's dress, anyone?
So, no matter WhereUgo, or if your experience is a Mystery, or even if you prefer a more Traditional journey, you can be sure of an Adventure today.