News
13 May, 2025
End of road for Cruice campers
SIXTEEN long-term residents of Woodford’s infamous Cruice Park have been given two weeks to move on, including a family of five who have been living at the rest-stop for two months.
The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) issued notices on May 6 to all people who had stayed at the park for longer than 20 hours, the legal timeframe allowed for camping at the park.
According to a spokesperson for TMR, the decision was made due to safety concerns.
Anyone handed a notice who does not move on by May 20 could face over $6,000 in fines (20 penalty units), as well as be forcibly removed by the State Government with the help of Queensland Police Service (QPS).
According to the notice, if forcibly removed, any items remaining will be disposed of.
One of the people given the move on notice is a family of five: mum Tina, dad William, kids Jack, Layla and Grace, and their two dogs.
The family claim to have found themselves homeless two months ago after moving out of their Bribie Island rental and have not been able to afford a new rental big enough for the family.
William and Jack are completing a traineeship at the Bribie Island Saddle Club, with Grace and Layla attending Beachmere State School (BSS), while Tina works as an NDIS carer.
The traineeship in Bribie was allegedly the first job William was able to get after two years, due to a back injury, making just over $600 per week.
The family has refused to move further away due to the extensive support they have received from BSS, especially since Grace is deaf, and because of Jack’s chance to get an apprenticeship after his course.
“It’s just left us in a state of anxiety and stress because we’re trying to keep a normal routine for the kids after moving here just two months ago and now need to find someplace to go that is big enough for us and accepts pets,” Tina said.
William added they would be happy to pay a $200 per week fee to able to remain at the park and not have to uproot their lives again.
According to William and Tina they don’t qualify for housing assistance as they are New Zealand citizens, while also not being able to stay at most caravan parks in the area due to them not accepting pets or having a limit on stay time.
“We just don’t know what we are going to do now,” William said.
Tina added they could not have hoped to find a better spot to set up, claiming the community and friendships of the park have been crucial in helping their mental health.
“We all look after the place, the kids ride their bikes around and we don’t have to worry about their safety and we all look out for each other and know each other,” William said.
One neighbour includes 29-year-old Ethan, who has been living at the park for the past four weeks, next to the family’s camp.
Ethan claims to have found himself homeless after not being able to afford his rental in Petrie anymore, and has been unofficially adopted by the family.
He said he broke down on Tuesday, after being given the move on notice.
“We’d be happy to pay to stay somewhere, but it has to be affordable,” Ethan said.
“We’ve helped the day-trippers that come by many times, towing them out when they’ve gotten bogged or just giving them directions.
“I’m really worried about people’s mental health, because this is probably literally their rock bottom and then the government’s coming in and making it worse.”
Cruice Park resident of over three years, James Roberts Bell, said this is the first time since he’s lived there he has been given a notice to move on.
James said he has declined housing offers previously made to him by the Department of Housing (DOH) due to safety concerns.
“I’m 83 years old and when I went looking at the history of the places offered and the social housing I found all these reports of elderly people taken advantage of or accosted on the street and I’m not going to put myself in that position,” he said.
James is one of several long-term residents who claim to have helped maintain the park, mowing the lawn, digging trenches to divert flooded rain water, and even cleaning toilets.
“We get some bad eggs or druggies every now and then but they never last,” he said.
“Those of us who want to stay here look after each other and look after the park, which is our home.”
James now intends to downsize his trailer and temporarily live at the showgrounds until finding a possible longer-term solution.
He added the fine threatened in the move on notice was “absurd”, saying he’s never had $6,000 in his life.
Michael is another long-term local, having lived at the park for over two years.
He said on top of losing his friends and neighbours, the move on notice is only scattering people experiencing homelessness further.
“A lot of these people are going to be dispersing to different areas where the Council and State Government won’t know where to find them and keep track of them,” he said.
“I’m lucky because I have a caravan, but for many of these folks they need to pack up all their tents and camp gear only to be setting it up again somewhere else, sometimes for only a day before having to move again.”
Michael claimed when DOH and Encircle visited the park, they couldn’t offer him permanent or temporary accommodation, alleging his only offer was to be added the social housing waitlist.
“If they offered me a place to live I would accept it but the solution is to only be put on a list and wait, so what’s the point,” he said.
Rachael and Mick were campers who arrived just two days before the notices were given, after being recommended the park by travellers they met on the Sunshine Coast.
They allegedly filled out all the paperwork to go on the social housing waitlist six months ago, only to find out on the day of the notices there was a problem with the application and it supposedly never registered in the system.
“It was a real shock to have been handed a notice, because it was the first time we’ve ever received one and we got recommended to come here by travellers,” Rachel said.
“We’ve learned not to stay anywhere for too long to avoid trouble with the government, so now we just move from site to site or just sleep at servos in the car if we need until this hopefully sorts itself out.”
Mick added Cruice Park was one of the best rest stops he has seen across Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast, saying “it’s a real shame we couldn’t stay longer”.
“Everyone keeps to themselves, it’s very tidy and looked after,” he said.
“Unlike some other places we’ve been, we actually felt safe here with no fights or screaming happening.
“It’s a real shame”.
A TMR spokesperson acknowledged the challenges of homelessness and displacement in the community is “a complex and sensitive matter”, but added illegal camping “is not an accommodation option”.
“Cruice Park is a rest area provided for the travelling public to manage fatigue, with overnight stays permitted for up to 20 hours,” they said.
“Concerns have been raised with TMR about antisocial and illegal behaviour of some campers who have long overstayed the 20-hour limit, and QPS intervention has been required at the site.
“We have a responsibility to ensure rest areas beside our roads are safe for all members of the public to use as intended, primarily to manage road user fatigue while travelling.”
The spokesperson added TMR is “working closely” with the Department of Housing and Public Works, which they say is “providing accommodation assistance” with other support services, as well as the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
According to the TMR spokesperson, QPS undertakes compliance activities if needed.
A spokesperson from the Department of Housing and Public Works said the department’s Critical Response Team (CRT) conducts weekly co-responder outreach to Cruice Park with Encircle, a state-funded specialist homelessness service.
They last attended the park on Thursday, May 8.
“CRT will continue to engage with individuals residing in the park while others have declined engagement or assistance,” the spokesperson said.
“The department works in partnership with state-funded specialist homelessness services to deliver crisis or transitional accommodation and other support services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”
According to the spokesperson, this financial year, the department provided more than $11.9 million to seven organisations to provide specialist homelessness services in the Moreton Bay region.
State Member for Glass House, Andrew Powell, has defended the State’s actions, adding the park “is intended to be a rest area for motorists” and the decision was made due to safety concerns.
“Cruice Park has recently been used by several people overstaying the allowed time, preventing motorists from using the rest area,” he said.
“Of greater concern, Cruice Park has become a site for serious anti-social behaviour causing risks to community safety and requiring police intervention.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) made the decision to move long-term campers on in the interest of safety.”
Mr Powell re-stated the TMR has engaged with state agencies and local government on this matter and will continue to do so, claiming campers have been referred to support services.
Anyone in the Moreton Bay Region who requires housing assistance can contact state-funded Specialist Homelessness Services, including Encircle 24/7 on 3465 3276 or The Salvation Army on 3832 1491, or visit or call the Moreton Bay Housing Service Centre on 5432 0700.
