Normanton is such a significant town. It’s at a crucial point on the Savannah Way at the intersection with the Matilda Way. Decisions: do we keep going and face the dirt to Burketown, or turn south and stick to the bitumen. It’s the doorway to Karumba and the Gulf.  It’s a town full of history.  And we could stay at Croydon on the way through. 

Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia

Getting there

Forsayth > Georgetown > Croydon > Normanton (343km) 

We stayed 2 nights at Croydon on the way.

Day 0 – Drive to Croydon

We were on the road at 8.30 wanting to get to Georgetown to have the puncture repaired. We found the tyre place – actually at the BP garage and roadhouse on the main road. We dropped the spare again and hauled it out.  

“Come back in an hour,” the tyre man said, “Very busy this morning”.

So we went to the big shop in town which is hidden in the other service station just around the corner on the road to Forsayth. 

Bought a few bits and pieces, then we drove down to an area where we had seen some signs in front of houses. These were the heritage building of the town, such as the Etheridge Shire Hall (1908) which is beautiful inside, and the mining wardens home (1884) which for some unexplained reason had a sign on it “Villa of Reduced Circumstances”.

We went around to the Tourist Information to give them feedback on the gravel roads we had been on. Whilst there we went through their display of rare gems, an amazing collection. There so many there it took some time to go through it quickly – a bargain at $5 pp.. 

Dare I say it – this was a little gem.

Back to the tyre man and he needs another 20 minutes which given his workload is not surprising. Eric the tyre man did a great job with the tyre.  He has operated this place for yonks (12 years from memory). He is from Singapore and his lovely wife who runs the grocery shop is from Malaysia. The stories he told us, while looking at some of the wrecks of tyres were amazing.  Coopers – THE BEST apparently, looks completely like retreads to me.  Another tyre had been inflated too high and simply blew apart….  Our repair seems simple in comparison.

Moving on to Croydon, the drive was again a section wonderful road with wide lanes each way, but then a section with a centre lane of bitumen and dirt either side. Luckily we did not encounter much traffic. About halfway to Croydon the road was brilliant – no centre strip and such a pleasure to drive on.

Croydon town

Croydon is a large pastoral holding first settled in the 1880s. The town’s name is derived from the pastoral run named from the original owner being born in Croydon, England. Gold was discovered in 1885 and by 1887, the town’s population had reached 7,000. Croydon Post Office opened in 1886 and the State School in 1889.

Gold was the main economic driver for four decades. During its heyday, Croydon was the fourth largest town in the colony of Queensland. However, the Mining Warden left in 1926 as there were too few miners left on the field.

Croydon is proud of its heritage and is the administrative centre for Croydon Shire Council. This covers an area of 29,577.8 square kilometres. The 2011 census recorded a population of 312 people.  The council consists of a mayor plus four councillors, each of whom represents the entire shire.  

The town is one of the termini for the Gulflander railway, opened for the gold rush in 1891 but now a tourist railway operated by Traveltrain. This historic train leaves Normanton every Wednesday and makes its way 150 km east to Croydon,

Croydon is also known for its Heritage buildings and displays, the iconic Gulflander train, True Blue Information Centre, Lake Belmore and lets not forget the longest continuous running general store in Queensland – the general store commenced trading in 1894.  A lot of very quaint things on display in half of the building, and an operating general store in the other – including ice-creams!

The van park is large and spacious and we were given a few site options to choose from. We selected one with a concrete slab under a large tree to provide shade – it is hot again.  There is a good pool, good facilities and it is about one third occupied. It is a short walk to the town. There is a dump point adjacent to the park. 

We reversed in OK but ended with the van at a slight angle to the slab but we can live with that. Kerry had been directing operations from the outside as we reversed in and got the van level. I had just started to let down the corner supports when I noticed that we could not open the awning as there was a tree in the way. So we got Mobi off the levellers, hitched up again, moved a metre or so forward, and then get back to levelling and unpacking the van. 

While Kerry had reception on her Telstra mobile, there was no Optus signal. This has been the case now for 9 days. But with the Telstra plan there is sufficient data for us to periodically use it as a hot spot. 

We caught up with some shopping and kept cool in the pool. In the evening we went to the Club Hotel for dinner. It was hot and it was busy. We decided to play a game or two of pool. The rest had one of its little legs broken off which presented a bit of a challenge. No-one could get the lights over the table on and dusk was descending. Playing in one direction meant having the sun shining directly into your face – couldn’t not see a thing and had to ask your opponent to stand and provide shade. And a couple of kids came through and pushed around a couple of the balls on the table.  And the food was pretty ordinary as well.  A memorable night for all the wrong reasons.  But the lady serving the bar was a hoot!!!

 

Day 1 (in Croydon)

We walked around the heritage area and it is excellent.  The True Blue Visitor Information Centre provides a map of the town including the Heritage Precinct. The Club Hotel boasts an establishment date of 1887, but it was the many other building that intrigued us.

The Matron Morrow Hall (formally the Hospitals men’s ward) is a lovely building. It was built from the estate of John Angus McDonald who left 40,000 pounds to the hospital and 1 shilling to his wife. There has to be a story there.

The actual Heritage Precinct consists of four heritage buildings  – the Police Sergeant’s Residence c. 1898, the Police Station and Gaol c. 1896, the Court House c.1887 and the Croydon Town Hall c.1890.  The buildings are open and free for visitors to enjoy, containing many relics from the past that help us understand life  all those years ago.

The heritage-listed Courthouse is the oldest building in Croydon. The last court held was in 1926. Near the front door were 4 books with photocopies of documents from the past, many from the newspapers of the time.  

I liked this one from 1902: “ Matrimonial Notice:  I herby give notice that if my husband Edward Baxter, miner, who has deserted me for the last 10 years does not return to me within three months from this date I intend to get married again.  Maud Baxter.”

Behind the court house is the former Goldfields Administration Office. It also includes a simulated classroom with a paper written by Adam Yates who was at the school from 1913 to 1917. I like this bit – quite suitable for the climate:

There were no school uniforms. Boys wore stiff button up collar and stud.  Mum dressed my brothers and me in a bodice with buttons on the trousers and a long sleeve jacket. I can’t remember any of the children wearing shoes although there were lots of burrs about.  The trousers did not have a buttoned fly on them but some sort of flap that were on the inside trousers.

 

The police buildings were modified over the generation as the population expanded, then shrank, then grew again and then dwindled quickly.  Photographic displays and museum artefacts tell the story of Croydon and the Police Station with the Gaol directly behind it. This even includes a fake prisoner!  Snoring loudly.

The Town Hall is a lovely building. Today it is used as a Picture Theatre, Dance Hall and Live Music and Travelling Show venue.

During the gold rush, the streets were lit by kerosene lamps. Four originals forged in Croydon and replicas of these lights line the sandstone-kerbed streets around the heritage precinct area and throughout the rest of the town.

We also visited to the famous Croydon General Store, which has continuously traded since 1894. Many aspects of the store are unchanged.

And of course there is the railway station.

We also visited the Chinese temple archaeological site just out of town. The site records the area of the original chinatown  – well away from the European settlers –  and the temple is marked out.  Plaques around the site tell stories of some of the Chinese people who lived in the area.

We drove out to Lake Belmore which must be a great asset being so close to the town in such a dry area. 

We leave Croydon having really enjoyed our time there. The town had done a fantastic job in preserving and presenting their heritage – congratulations to then. So on your way through, stopping and have a look to show your appreciation.

Day 2 

 We leave Croydon on a 155km section of very good road. No more bitumen strips – yeah! As we head west the landscape quickly changes to flat, flat, flat. But it’s an easy drive. 

To pass the time we counted the number of RV vehicles and non-RV vehicles passing us in each directions. Coming towards us were 16 non-RV vehicles and 9 RV vehicles, and most of those were close to Normanton. Going our way we only had 2 vehicles going past us, both RVs.

Normanton town history

Did you know that Normanton was once the third biggest city in Queensland? 

The town takes its name from the Norman River, which was named in honour of a Victorian naval officer who searched for the explorers Burke and Wills.

The site for the town was selected because Burketown was abandoned owing to fever and flooding. In the early years there was a large Aboriginal population. Some of these were moved to Mornington Island and Doomadgee in the early 20th century. Settlers moved into the town in 1867. Normanton attracted people from a variety of cultures, including Chinese, drawn to the gold fields.  

Norman River Post Office opened in 1868 and was renamed Normanton by 1872. The town contains the longest intact and operating Burns Philp store in Queensland. The general mercantile store and agency office was opened in 1884.

The population reached 1,251 by 1891 but the gold boom was short-lived. By 1947 the town’s population had declined to 234.

Today Normanton is a small cattle town in the Shire of Carpentaria. In the 2016 census, Normanton had a population of 1,210 people of whom 743 were Indigenous Australians.

The town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton to Croydon railway line. The Gulflander motor train operates once a week.

The Van park

Another large park with a variety of sites.  We are shown the layout map and told to take any site around the perimeter – only 2 were occupied. So we picked a site with good tree cover and also so that we could turn into a camp road, and reverse straight back. 

It has a great 25m pool and often we are the only ones in it. The other facilities are fine – not modern but clean and they all work. There is a great camp kitchen, one of the best we have seen so far.

After we set up, we went directly to the Tourist Information Centre which is in the  historic Burns Philip building. We want to talk the staff about things to do in town and up at Karumba.

We also want  to talk about getting to Lawn Hill NP, our next point of call. We don’t know if we can take Mobi all the way in to the camping area at Adels Grove as the road from Gregory Downs, only 88km or so, does not have a great reputation. So we have 3 options: 

1. leave Mobi at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse on the Matilda Way  – 194km from Normanton with 143km to go to Gregory Downs, so only towing for around 200km –  and take a cabin in Adels Grove
2. leave Mobi at Gregory Downs and drive in and take a cabin in Adels Grove
3. take Mobi all the way in – towing for 425km.

So we got lots of advice on what to do for the couple of days we are in Normanton, although it’s the weekend meaning that many things will be shut. It’s also a long weekend in Queensland. The Labour Day weekend.

Re the Lawn Hill questions, they strongly recommended that we ring Adels Grove.  

They then opened up the Philip Burns building so we can have a look, which is just amazing. This is a large, warehouse-style building which was built in 1884.  It is divided into three bays of varying width, each with a gabled roof and valley gutters running the length of the building. Its construction and success in generating a greater income than the larger centre of Townsville in the mid-1880s, is indicative of Normanton’s regional importance as the major port in the Gulf at that time. Bay 1 is currently used as a tourist information centre and library. 

Back at the van park I rang the Adels Grove and was told that the road was generally OK and fine to take a van in, but there were a couple of spots that were a bit rough. Their advice was to “drive to the conditions”.

I also put a questions on the Caravaners Forum on the road conditions and received several responses advising us to take Mobi, but just drive very carefully where required. 

When I talked to Adels Grove, they surprised us with the news that there were no powered sites. So another rethink. I put another question to the Caravaners Forum about how energy self-sufficient we could be, given that we have 2 x 150W solar panels, a 3 way fridge and a 200W solar blanket to keep the fridge in the car going. The answer was that we should have no worries. 

So decision made – take Mobi all the way to Adels Grove and be very careful about what energy we use. 

Day 3

We went to Karumba to see what that was all about, and to see the Gulf. Leaving town we crossed the Norman River and see another bridge to our right with little shaded areas. We quickly realised that these were shaded fishing spots. Clever. 

It’s a 72km drive, and the landscape is dead flat. Not so far up the road we get to the bridge over Walkers Cr (the Phil Schaffert Bridge) and stop to have a look.  There is a weir/river crossing just up river of the bridge with a good flow over the top. Looks very dramatic. We see a caravan parked there, obviously camping, but what about the crocs we ask each other.  And shudder.

After that the landscape changes dramatically. Gone was the bush – the low level trees on either side. Instead we have a horizon to horizon view with only grasses to look at. Closer to Karumba a number of shallow wetlands appear on either side of the road.

 The birdlife is incredible – from ducks to brolgas to even a few jabiru. Got some good photos – luckily there was little traffic so we could stop at will for photos.

 

We went to Karumba Point first up. Lots of caravan parks which looked pretty busy. We quickly see that everything here is focused on barramundi fishing. From boat ramps to fishing shops to boats and their trailers.  But we are not fishers. Even though Dave from Mission Beach gave us a rod to take with us and some introductory lessons, it is very hot and there are croc signs everywhere, so we resist the almost irresistible pull to the water to fish. 

But we do take photos of the Gulf. It’s hard to work it out as the Norman River is so massive where it meets the sea, but we are sure its the real Gulf we are photographing.

We moved on to the town proper but there is not much there for the non-barra fishers.  We has a look around grabbed something to eat and then headed back to Normanton. But first we went to the Fisherman’s market at the Point and got some prawns – banana they assured us – and some fresh Jewel fish. Home and a  lazy afternoon around the pool. 

That evening we went to the Purple Pub for dinner. Despite the fact it is screaming for attention, its not such a good place. We decided to have a game of pool, then ordered seafood basket for me, and Des had Barramundi. The pub didn’t have much going for it.

Day 4

It’s Sunday (6th May) and we know most things will be closed, but nevertheless we walked around to check out the heritage buildings. First stop was the Shire Council Chambers, which is just oh so pretty. The main building was done in 1890 in the style of the hotels of the time. Would loved to have seen inside. 

Next on our walk was the model of “Krys” the Savannah King – the biggest estuarine croc in the world at 8.63m long. Awesome to think you could meet his brother anywhere up this way. Scary!

We made our way to the old Goal, which was very disappointing – just a group of completely uninteresting looking buildings that we could not look into as the windows were covered. We can’t help but compare this to the great exhibition of a similar building and heritage we saw at Croydon.  

We checked out the Albion Hotel – built in Croydon in 1880s and relocated in the early 1990s – and the Central Hotel – built in the 1890s – but they look fairly ordinary. 

The beautiful current Westpac Bank was originally built in 1886 by Normanton’s oldest bank, the Bank of NSW. Not only does it look great but is also has an ATM which Kerry makes good use of.

In the middle of the massively wide main street stands the original town well which was in use as recently as 1965. Next to it is one of the original  lamp standards, actually made in Croydon and the same as those we saw there. The lights were fuelled by kerosene from the early 1880s.

Finally, and I think we did indeed save the best until last, Normanton railway station. What a lovely place this is. Built in 1889, it is wonderfully preserved, and set in beautiful gardens. Such a welcoming place. The Gulflander was in residence – it goes to Croydon on each Wednesday and returns on the Thursday, and is a very popular trip. It was great to wander around the old station and read and look at its history. 

In the afternoon we stocked up on a few things as we were free camping for the coming few days. We went around to the drive-in behind the Purple Pub, but to our shock, it was closed – after we were told it would open all weekend. So we went to Albion which advertised a bottle shop. But you actually have to order at the bar. I asked the barmaid what she had in shiraz. So she went to a fridge and brought out 2 options – both cold. I select one and asked for 3 bottles. 

“Do you want them all chilled,” she says. 

No, was my slightly aghast reply.

“How about 1 cold and 2 not cold,” she says. 

Hard to argue with that.

Then we went to fill up with fuel. One of the shopkeepers had warned us off the cheaper place ($1.49/L), so we went to the more expensive BP ($1.61/L). We know we will have to pay much more than that in more remote places – and we don’t have to wait long for that to happen.  The lady in the bakery had warned us about the cheap fuel – water in it, thats why its cheap…. I guess better to be safe than sorry (although we do have an extra fuel filter that is supposed to do something with water – but who knows what!)

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