We had not been to Charters Towers before. But for some reason it became the focus of this trip. We loved this town – so much to see and experience. We saw so much in this town that this post is a lot longer longer than most.
We arrived at Charters Towers on 10 Jun 2024 and left on 13 June, heading to the coast.
Getting There
From Clermont, Charters Towers is about 373km with a stopover at Belyando Crossing for fuel and a break – about half way. The only fuel stop on the way.
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
History
First Nations
For tens of thousands of years, the ancestors of the traditional owners, the Gudjal people (pronounced Goodjal), lived on country in this Region. For the First Nations community, the land has always had a spiritual meaning.
Gudjal people lived across the Region, especially along the Burdekin and Broughton Rivers, around the basalt country and its lagoons and west to the magnificent White Mountains National Park.
Whilst Gudjal people have always lived in the Region, many other Aboriginal people have lived in the area and travelled widely within the Region concerned with not only the physical land, but also its spirits throughout history.
Gudjal country shares borders with the Gugu Badhun, Yirandali and Jangga people with whom strong connections still exist. The country throughout the Charters Towers region historically supported, through its rich country side and permanent waters, a significant indigenous population prior to European settlement.
Whilst at Springsure I found some excellent informations panels about the first Nations people in that area including Emerald and Clermont. To read about these people, and particularly their use of plants for food and medicines, click here.
As well, the way of life of the First Nations people can be read here in the first 5 or so pages. This is a generic assessment, not one specific to the Charters Towers area.
Colonial Times
Ludwig Leichhardt was the first explorer to pass through the Clermont area in 1845, but it was the discovery of gold in 1861 that was responsible for the establishment of the town, close to what was Babbinburra clan land. The town reserve was proclaimed on 25 March 1864, although a gold field was declared in the area in 1862.
Clermont is named after Clermont-Ferrand in France; Clermont-Ferrand was the ancestral home of Oscar de Satge, one of the first European graziers who took up the Wolfang Downs pastoral run.
To read the history of colonisation of the area, click here.
Today, Charters Towers is arguably the most beautiful inland city in Queensland. It may not have the range of domestic architecture that makes Ipswich so distinctive but in terms of public architecture it is unrivalled. Today the city is beautifully preserved and the best of the buildings are concentrated on Mosman Street and Gill Street
At the 2023 census, the locality of Charters Towers had a population of 12,013 people.
Day 1 – Monday 10 June 2024 – To Charters Towers
This felt like a drive much longer that it actually was. Maybe because the road was so rough and bouncy. We had been warned by some travellers heading south that this section of road was one of the worst for a sealed road they had experienced.
The landscape was the usual mix of wooded areas, agricultural areas and a mine or two, occasionally flat as can be, but increasingly with hills and mountains on the horizon. The only fuel is at Belyando Crossing, 176km away with an outrageous cost – I recall $2.69/L
At a rest area two 4-carriage road train were just starting up as we pulled in. To begin with they were well in front of us but then we gradually caught them up. Then the first one we came to indicated for us to overtake. Just a bit scary. The we caught the other on and again the driver indicated for us to overtake. Check out our video for this post – click here.
Lots more signs for rough surfaces and some pretty bad road surfaces forcing our speeds down to 70kpm to 80kpm.
We were very relieved when we got to Charters Towers, especially as it had an excellent van park – the first one you come to as you reach town. That night we were entertained by a poet/comedy artist. Really enjoyed that.
The dump point was different.
Day 2 – Tuesday 11 June – Towers Hill
On the way to investigate Towers Hill I saw a lovely home. Then I walked up the hill – it is very steep in parts. I took Kerry up there later.
The exhibits on the hill are excellent, especially those in the Bunker.
The bunkers are WWII vintage – a lot of the Battle of the Coral Sea was fought from here – with lots of American Airman involved. There are a number of audio visual displays to view. We had not realised that Charters Towers played such a significant role in WW2. And that Australia used a voucher system to recover after the war. Fascinating. It was a coupon system – my parents told me about it years ago – you needed a coupon for everything – whether a loaf of bread or a yard of material to make a skirt.
Further along the hill top are all that remains of Pyrite works, a technique to better recover the gold from the rocks. I don’t know what the large black deposits are at the bottom of the hill – spoil of some sort I guess. And some tiny tiny wallabies – I think they’re Agile Wallabies. So very cute.
After lunch we walked around the town – such an amazing diversity of buildings in such a small area. It really contains some of the best heritage buildings in Queensland if not Australia. There are far too many photos to include in this post so I have included a few that follow to whet the appetite. If you want to view all of the photos, click here. A detailed description of the main buildings can be found here.
Day 3 – Wednesday 12 June 2024 – Poppet Head, Weir
We first went to Poppet Head Park. A poppet head is used to smash recovered ore so as to extract the gold. It is a big structure. The one on display at Poppet Head Park is massive – as you would expect.
The park is done well – wouldn’t it be nice if we found a nugget the size of the three pretend ones on display there. Historically, the Charters Towers goldfield was renowned as Australia’s richest, with an estimated production totalling in excess of over 200 tonnes. Throughout its lifespan between 1872 and 1917, the fields recovered 6.1 million tonnes of ore, at an average ore grade of 38 g/t. The grade represented the largest gold producing field in Queensland, comprising 36 percent of the state’s total gold production. It has been estimated that the quality of the gold ore grade from the Charters Towers mines was almost double that of Victorian mines and almost 75 percent higher than grades of Western Australian (Kalgoorlie) goldfields of that time.
The display also includes The World – this was prepared as a striking tribute to a bygone era when Charters Towers was known as “The World”. Seven meters in height and four meters in diameter this solid structure is anchored on a granite base adorned with the tales of the Town.
Nearby is a series of mosaics that presents the Charters Towers Wall of History 1872 – 1922. This is a series of mosaics on the walls of one of the buildings. One closeup is presented here to indicate the extent and quality.
On another wall is another mosaic in tiles – that is brilliant.
After all of that we went out to the Burdekin Weir, some 17kms from town. This is the source of the City’s water supply which is pumped to the reservoir on Towers Hill. There is a large picnic area with barbeque facilities, children’s play facilities and public toilets. No camping is allowed.
Then it was back to the town and we went through the museum. We were commandeered by one of the volunteers who showed us everything from the original slot machines and one armed bandits, to memorability from the wars – check out the video. He was a lovely elderly gentleman, obviously very passionate about history.
We finally came to the Court House.
All in all we loved Charters Towers – one of the best places we have visited.
To see photos for this post click here
To see video for this post click here