The airfield was established in 1942 as part of Australia 's defences during World War II and known as the Toogoolawah airfield . After the war , the airfield was no longer needed for defence purposes , the buildings were removed and the land was used for grazing . In the early 1980s , the desire for recreational airfield facilities resulted in a group of recreational pilots re-establishing the runways and taxiways , and reopening the airfield in 1990 as the Watts Bridge Memorial Airfield . The name '' Watts Bridge '' is a reference to a nearby bridge that crossed the Brisbane River connecting Silverleigh Road in Cressbrook to Cooeeimbardi Road in Lower Cressbrook and was named after local dairyman James Robert Watts . Having survived many floods of the Brisbane River , the bridge was washed away in the 1974 Brisbane flood and not replaced
1974 Brisbane flood
1974 Brisbane flood
Cressbrook, Queensland