The Giant Olympic Torch in Lotus Creek, QLD, on the Old Bruce Highway was built to commemorate the torch bearers for the 1956 Summer Olmypics, held in Melbourne.
Although every Olympics commences with a Torch Relay, none was as frought with peril as the relay that opened the Melbourne games. The relay started on November 9, 1956 from Cairns, QLD, at the peak of the rainy season. Runners battled to keep the torch lit as they were battered by tropical storms, floods, and oppressive humidity.
Originally the Northern Queensland leg of the relay route was supposed to go from Sarina through to Saint Lawrence, and on to Mackay before culminating in Rockhampton. Unfortunately, due to severe flooding in Saint Lawrence it was rerouted at the last minute. Officials in Melbourne, unaware of the horrendous weather conditions that the torch bearers were facing, pressured them to run faster as the relay had fallen behind schedule.
Somehow the torch bearers managed to muster up enough energy to get the relay back on schedule, and the Olympic Cauldron was successfully lit on by Australian Junior Mile World Record Holder, Ron Clarke, on November 22, 1956.