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Date: May 2004
Location: Charters Towers, Queensland Australia
Charters Towers was once the second largest city in Queensland and site of a massive gold rush in the late 19th century. It's now the perfect place to go to recharge your batteries with some country-style R&R.
Charters Towers is just over an hour's drive (135km) south-west of Townsville on the Flinders Highway or around four hours from Airlie Beach.
A living gallery of beautifully-restored historic buildings is the legacy of Charters' gold rush days. The World Theatre, in the centre of town, is an impressive building built in 1891 which was once the Australian Bank of Commerce. It was converted into a theatre, cinema and public art gallery in 1996. The guided tour is well worth doing, and afterwards, treat yourself to lunch or dinner at the complex's Lawson's Restaurant, which offers delicious caesar salads, seafood, and as is to be expected, a great steak! Take home some local arts and crafts from the gift shop: prices are very reasonable.
Just down the road is the Stock Exchange building, which was hooked into the world via telegraph from 1890. The exchange is a great open thoroughfare and it is easy to imagine the stockbrokers busy at work in their offices, which have now been converted into shops. There is also a good mining museum here.
I chose the lovely old York Street Bed & Breakfast for a couple of nights. The cooked country breakfast set me up for the day, and the wide, shady verandahs were the perfect spot for a pot of tea. Another special experience is to stay at a working cattle station. There are a couple which welcome guests. Bluff Downs is an historic station set around the spectacular deep water lagoons of the Basalt River. The air-conditioned homestead was built in 1862, and there's also great value backpacker quarters.
Don't miss the Venus Gold Battery on the outskirts of town, which offers an insight into an amazing real-life gold rush in the late 19th century. Here, gold was processed from 1872 until 1972 and a guided tour gives an indication of the innovation, danger and hard work which went into the processing of gold. At its peak, Charters Towers housed 29 crushing mills, a population of 30,000 and a staggering 92 hotels to quench the miners' thirst.
Another ode to the gold rush days lies in Ravenswood, also about 130km southwest of Townsville. A modern gold mine still hums near the centre of town and the nearby crystal-clear Burdekin Dam is a great spot to toss a line for barramundi. The dam is stocked every year with barra and a variety of fish. There's also a beautiful camping site.
On matters sporting, the grand old Imperial Hotel in the main street has one of the best billiard tables in Queensland. Don't miss the chance to test your aim on the 105-year-old blackbean table. The owner has restored the billard room so it looks much as it did when the miners played for a pound or two, and a shilling on the side to make it interesting.
On the Australia Day Weekend, Charters hosts the Goldfield Ashes, which draws cricketers from all over Australia.
There's also an annual Charters Towers Country Music Festival.
For more information:
Charters Towers Visitor Information Centre
Tel +61 7 4752 0314
Tourism Tropical North Queensland
Tel +61 7 4031 7676
- By Sue Fuller
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