Normanton
An historic township in the heart of Gulf country and the terminus for the legendary Gulflander railway from Normanton 150 km to the east.
Location: 562 km west of Cairns; 125 m above sea-level.
Croydon has quite a history, mainly involving gold mining. The 15-minute historical audio-visual presentation at True Blue is certainly one of the more informative and entertaining that we have seen. The most striking thing about Croydon is its historical precinct. Make sure you check out the old jail and play the short tape at the courthouse. Buildings are left as they were in the late 1800s and many have historical displays. The town cemetery is also interesting to visit with graves going back to 1885.
The Croydon General Store, built in 1894, is the oldest continually operating store in Queensland. You are taken back to those early days when the shelves were high and full of stock. No self-service here. Part of the store is now a museum of 'everything'. Entry is free, but hopefully you will purchase something from the shop.
Head out to the Chinese temple dig site on the way to Lake Belmore. You will also pass Diehms Lookout, which gives a good view over the town and countryside. This is a great place for a sunset photo, only a couple of kilometres from the van park. Lake Belmore is about 4km from the van park and has a picnic and barbecue area where you can swim and launch a boat, but keep a lookout for the freshwater crocs. There is good barramundi and sooty grunter fishing here.
About 1km west of town is the old Iguana Console mine containing the original ore battery in operating order and other mining equipment. You will also find the historic Bing Chew family home there. It is not well-signposted, but is listed on the town map, available at the information centre and the van park.
Places of interest: Lake Belmore; Croydon Hotel; Croydon Historic Precinct includes surgeon's house (bottle museum), Court House (1887), mining warden's office, the Croydon General Store, the old gaol and butcher's shop, the hospital and Croydon railway station.
The Guldlander railway was built to transport gold and people from Croydon to the port at Normanton. It arrives in town around 1.30pm on Wednesdays. At its peak it moved over 10 000 people each year. The railway was built to transport gold and people from Croydon to the port at Normanton. At its peak it moved over 10,000 people each year. This quaint little train can still be ridden on today. The Gulflander often stops for an impromptu morning tea supplied by the locals and for photo opportunities at Norman River Bridge.
Out on the Gulf the terrain is flat and harsh. The quietness is almost deafening and broken only by the squawk of a native bird or a wandering beast. An occasional Willy-Willy disturbs the landscape but otherwise time almost stands still. Then, from the silence, a soft groan becomes louder and a distinctive clackety-clack heralds the arrival of the Gulflander the Tin Hare.
About 20km west of Georgetown, you'll find the Cumberland chimney, which was built in 1889 to disperse smoke from the steam-driven ore batteries. You can camp overnight beside the nearby lake, which attracts many birds. You pass two offroad camping areas beside the Gilbert River and the western side gives direct access to the river. We had smoko there, and enjoyed watching the antics of the whistling and black kites.
First settled by European pastoralists in the 1880s, gold was discovered in 1885 by WC Brown, the manager of Croydon Downs Station. This sparked a goldrush that saw the town spring up and peak with a population of over 6,500. The railway to Croydon was opened in 1891. It still runs, though it hasn't made a profit since 1907 when the gold began running out. Mining continued on a small scale until about 1923 and then there was no activity until the early 1980s when a processing plant was established at Tabletop at a cost of about $14 million.
Origin of name: named after Croydon Downs Station, a pastoral run operated by Alexander and William Chalmers Brown who reportedly were born in Croydon, England.
