Chillagoe–22 to 24 August 2011

From Cooktown we drove to Chillagoe, stopping at Lakeland for a coffee and to wash the dust and seeds from the Landcruiser and the Bushtracker before proceeding further south to Chillagoe.  We stopped for coffee at the coffee shop near the Caravan Park which has excellent local coffee, and sometimes hot Date Scones.  This is your last espresso till Weipa if going North.

Chillagoe is a “tidy town” winner. According to 'The Hub" tourist information centre as best as can be discovered it was named from a nonsense word in the Sea Shanty, “Jimpsy Dru Majibbity Hoy, Jobbity Hory Pory, Hikey, Pikey, Psyche, Crikey, Chillagoe Wabaredory".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of this area was covered by an inland sea and the karsts are the remains of fringing coral reefs. As they are mostly limestone there are caves with lovely formations within.  Erosion has also given us the balancing rock. National Parks conducts tours of three caves, Donna, named for the Madonna figure one can see, Trezkinn and the Arches. There are three more that one is allowed to explore. All others are off limits.  Bats live within the caves and some beautiful fossil remains can be found in the limestone.

 

The mining boom in North Queensland opened the area to settlement by Europeans.  Chillagoe had deposits of copper, silver, lead, mica and some gold,  most requiring smelting to extract the minerals.  This was initially done on a small scale using blast furnaces but the completion of the railway from Mareeba to Chillagoe enabled the large scale, innovative Chillagoe Smelter to commence operations.

This smelter operated almost continuously from 1901 to 1943, with fluctuating fortunes and was bought by the Queensland government in 1919. It never made a profit but enabled development of this area by providing jobs, railways, shops and associated services like Hospitals and Schools.

In 1943 smelters were built closer to current ore producing areas such as Mt. Isa.

There is a really interesting collection of old Ford Cars and BP memorabilia owned by Tom Prior who is now classified as an “Australian Living Treasure”.  We spent a fascinating two hours talking to him and viewing his many old Fords, including Model T, Ford GT 351, Mustang and various trucks and a Ford built Jeep from WWII.   Trish quite liked the sign “MEN – They’re Like Tires.  It Never Hurts to Have a Spare!”

The cemetery seems empty but there are many unmarked graves, here delineated by gravel and grave markers. The locals have put up a rotunda containing a list of all the people they know of who are buried there. In country like this people can die at private  mine workings or on the road and not be found for a long time if ever. Often there is nothing to indicate their identity so there is a list of grave markers for unknowns also.

The Chillagoe Tourist Park has a great swimming pool, up to Tricias neck at the shallow end. She had a happy half hour lap swimming.