Kroombit Tops National Park, Nature reserve in Banana Shire, Australia.
Kroombit Tops National Park is a nature reserve featuring sandstone escarpments, gorges, and waterfalls in Queensland. The park contains subtropical rainforests and woodlands with various habitats spread across a high plateau.
Aboriginal people used the area for thousands of years before European settlers arrived in the late 19th century, when gold was found and mining, grazing and timber work began. In February 1945 a US B-24 Liberator named Beautiful Betsy crashed in what is now the park; its wreckage was found on 2 August 1994. The site became a national park in 2006.
Aboriginal people have used the Kroombit Tops area for thousands of years, and the park lies within the traditional country of local groups. From the late 19th century, after gold was found, European settlers took up mining, cattle grazing and timber cutting here. The three walking tracks and the 35 km off-road course are the park's present-day visitor routes.
Visitors need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to access the main loop road through the park. Those planning to camp should arrange permits in advance and check conditions before arrival.
The wreckage of the US Army Air Forces B-24D Liberator "Beautiful Betsy" lay undiscovered on the plateau for 49 years after it vanished in stormy weather on 26 February 1945 during a Darwin-to-Brisbane supply run. Eight servicemen died, six American aviators and two RAF Spitfire pilots. A National Parks plaque now marks the site, reached by a 700-metre walk.
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