Charters Towers

I decided to drive out to Charters Towers about 100 miles west of Townsville. The train from Mount Isa had stopped briefly at the station in the early morning but there was not much to be seen from the train.

 Gold was discovered here in 1871 and a town quickly developed. Over 200 tonnes of gold was produced in the town's heyday and the population exceed 30,000 people. There was a Stock Exchange and over 80 pubs. The locals used to refer to the town as 'The World'. Everything you needed was in Charters Towers.

The World shrank when recovering the gold became uneconomic and the population dwindled. Fortunately because of the hot dry climate, many of the old buildings survived.

The Stock Exchange and the Town Hall.

The draper's shop which has been taken over by Target.

Absolutely magnificent glass display cases. If these were in a big city like Sydney, they would be celebrated.

Stan Pollard was the draper.

We saw something like this in Gawler, South Australia where Target had rescued an old building with architectural significance and given it new life. It's a wonderful idea.

 Post Office.

 Police Station.

 I wandered down the main street and came back on the other side. As I passed the Police Station I noticed the paint scheme. This would look good in Alsace.

 Huge gutters to deal with the occasional downpour.

 Old pub.

Entry to the Town Hall.

The Stock Exchange housed an arcade.

Museum of early gold digging implements.

I happened to arrive just as they rolled out an exhibit that was supposed to give the viewer an idea of how the stock exchange worked. My presence undoubtedly had an effect on the underlying technology because it refused to work. Of course it was the first time it had not worked. Ever.

 It really was a lovely arcade.

Charters Towers reminded me very much of Maryborough with all of its old buildings. Fortunately many of them are heritage listed so they won't be knocked down as occurred in so many other towns where new buildings were a sign of progress.

Before I drove back to Townsville, I drove to the top of the hill that overlooks Charters Towers. There is an excellent new lookout.

This hill was where the gold was originally discovered and there are signs everywhere warning of hidden shafts and various other dangers.

I believe it was near that structure on the dirt road (now a seismic station) that the gold was originally found.

Magnetic Island

My father grew up in Townsville and he was very fond of Magnetic Island which lies a few miles off the coast from Townsville. Captain Cook named the island when he sailed past in 1770 after the supposed 'magnetic' effect on the ship's compass. Nobody has been able to duplicate this magnetic effect so it remains a mystery.

 One of the catamaran ferries that takes passengers out to the island. A return ticket costs $29.

 The ferry terminal.

 View of the town dominated by Castle Hill.

 Townsville is a port city and it acted as a hub for all transport in the region and to the far west with the train line to Mt Isa.

 Of course, not all vessels are large.

 Wake of the catamaran as we leave the harbour and head off to the island.

 And there it is in the morning mist about 8 am.

 Cat going back to the mainland.

 The island is very hilly and rocky. The highest point is 1631 feet.

 The harbour at the island near the ferry terminus.

Cyclones = Hurricanes = Typhoons.

 Banyan trees are very popular on the island.

 The Esplanade at Nelly Bay.

 Somebody's garden.

 There are some huge rocks and boulders scattered all over.

 Palm trees everywhere.

I decided to walk to Picnic Bay and went past a back packers establishment called Xbase. Along with the tents they had small A frame huts. When we were young, probably about 10 for me, my father took the family for a drive up to Townsville. We stayed a couple of days and one of them was spent going to Magnetic Island. I seem to remember that we took the ferry to Picnic Bay and then walked to this beach near where Xbase is today. Of course I could be wrong and if Anne or Clare have better memories, I will update this section.

 It's quite a climb to pass over the ridge from Nelly Bay to Picnic Bay, but there are good views.

A shortcut track for pedestrians makes the journey shorter than keeping to the road.

Most of the houses on the island are modern but there are still some of the old weekenders made of fibro.

Picnic Bay. The ferry used to come here and so this was the traditional place to go on Magnetic Island.

School holidays had ended and I had the whole foreshore virtually to myself.

The jetty where the ferries used to dock at. Now it is closed for repairs but the ferries won't be returning.

 The water is very clear.

 Somebody was being taught how to snorkel.

When the road from Nelly Beach to Picnic Beach was constructed they must have blasted though this rock.

By the time I got back to the ferry, I was very thirsty and consumed a 600 ml bottle of Kyneton Spring Water. I really needed it.

I could only imagine what a wonderful place this island would have been for my father when he was a boy. Back in the 1920's there would have been very limited development and nothing would have been off limits. I could tell that he loved the place whenever he talked about it.