Drive into history at Charters Towers

Drive into the Outback 135km southwest of Townsville and discover Charters Towers, famous for its rich vein of history, heritage buildings, and green parks and gardens.

Gold was discovered near Towers Hill in late 1871. Charters Towers, then the second-largest city in Queensland, became known as The World. It had its own stock exchange and over 50 hotels. The Stock Exchange Arcade, the Assay Room Museum, and the World Theatre remind visitors of the gold-rush days, as does the Venus Battery, a historic gold-crushing mill on the edge of town. The Zara Clarke Museum and the Miners Cottage document life in the district, while The Northern Miner building is home to Queensland's second-oldest newspaper, first published in 1872.

Visitors learn that several airstrips and 15,000 American servicemen were based in Charters Towers during World War II. More recently, harsh Outback country near Charters Towers tested contestants in a German Survivor series.

Visitors can stay in a range of accommodation, including charming B&Bs and nearby farmstays. Experience working cattle stations at Bluff Downs, set against the deep Basalt River lagoons north of Charters Towers and offering historic homestead or backpacker-quarters accommodation, or at Plain Creek Farm Stay, south on the road to Clermont.

Approaching Charters Towers, turn off at Mingela and drive to the historic gold-mining town of Ravenswood, the centre of a gold rush which began in the late 1860s. Two century-old hotels, several heritage buildings, and the remnants of chimney stacks and mullock heaps are all that remain of a town that once had 48 hotels. Guided tours of the restored Courthouse provide a glimpse of the regions history; the Charters Towers Lease being granted here in 1875. The Victorian-style Imperial Hotel boasts a carved red-cedar bar, stained glass, and an impressively restored billiard table. Once a ghost town, gold mining has again brought life to the town, with facilities including a salt-water swimming pool and nine hole golf course.

From Charters Towers, drive west on the Flinders Highway to Hughenden and Mount Isa, or, on the Great Inland Way, south to Clermont and the gem fields or north to the Undara Volcanic National Park, known for its Undara Lava Tubes.

For more information:

Charters Towers City Council

Charters Towers Visitor Information Centre
Tel +61 7 4752 0314

Townsville Enterprise Online

Tel +61 7 4726 2728

Article courtesy of Tourism Queensland