Gold Commissioner, George Elphinstone Dalrymple was the first explorer to record traversing the Julatten area in 1873. Land was opened up in Julatten around 1920, and settlers began moving in to establish dairy farms.

Julatten was known as Bushy Creek until the district’s name was changed in 1926. The Railway Department asked the local progress association for suitable names and the name chosen means ‘small creek’ in Aboriginal. This name was given to one of the railway sidings which opened on 7th December 1926 and closed on 30th April 1964.

In 1924, ten Julatten farmers, led by Bill and James Mildren each put in ten pounds to build their own butter factory near ‘Bushy Creek’. Cobb & Co ran coaches through this area to Atherton and the southern part of the Tableland. The climb from the coast at Craiglee to Julatten was very steep and is still known locally as the Bump Track.

Julatten State School began with 16 pupils in 1924. The school was founded in a room of Mr. Bill Mildren’s house which he loaned to the Education Department until Bushy Creek State School was built. Crowleys built a shop across from the Julatten School in about 1932.
Public Estates Improvements began road works in the Julatten area about 1938; it was a government scheme to provide some local employment. Timber cutters and teamsters cut timber in the Julatten area for the Mt Molloy sawmill.

Douglas Shire Councillor, R D Rex, agitated for a better road to serve residents of Julatten Tableland. In 1946 a bulldozer was railed to Rumula and was walked to the top of the range to push a service track along a surveyed line that is now the Rex Highway.


Text taken from:
1. ‘Julatten’ by Peter Justice, 6 pages.
2. Julatten State School http://julattenss.eq.edu.au/wcms/