RATHDOWNEY Rathdowney may be only 30k from Beaudesert, but from a visitor perspective may as well have been a 1030. Hardly remote, but the loss of all telephone signals tells the full story. Rathdowney, though is a very small town and the last (or first) Qld town before entering NSW. It is on the Mount Lindesay Highway 32 km south of Beaudesert at the base of the McPherson Range. It is located in the Scenic Rim Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Rathdowney had a population of 198. The town was named after Rathdowney, Ireland. The Beaudesert railway line was extended to Rathdowney in 1911 (although, at that time it was a tramway - the cross-border railway line, passing approximately 3 kilometres outside town, was not completed for another twenty years). Timber clearing was the first major industry in the area. Cattle grazing and dairy farming are now the main industries. It is also close to some of the areas of greatest biodiversity in Australia, and a gateway to various National Parks such as Border Ranges National Park and Mount Barney National Park with a variety of lush rainforest, eucalypt forest, mountain heath and other habitats. Currently the small town has a police station, a small shop, a pub, a service station, a post office, memorial grounds, information centre, a bowls club and a small school. Rathdowney also has three congregational churches. All different, but nonetheless interesting. Especially the Anglican and Catholic, each atop their own steep hill. The Rathdowney Museum is a static display near the War Memorial. Rathdowney in the end surprises, so if on route can be a consideration for a stop over, but there is insufficient to make the diversion. Heritage diary