River of Gold. The Wild Days of the Palmer River Gold Rush.

Holthouse, Hector

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MINING AUSTRALIANA

217 p. : ill., maps ; 19 cm. #0721/040623 Gold mines and mining — Queensland — Palmer River Valley — History.  |  Palmer River Valley (Qld.) — History.

Little happened after Cooks initial landing until William Hann set out on his overland journey of exploration in 1872. The discovery of payable alluvial gold deposits at the Palmer river in 1873 by James Venture Mulligan, sparked a huge gold rush, drawing prospectors not only from Australia, but also from around the world.
The Queensland Government sent a representative to the Endeavour river to examine it as a potential site for the gold-field port.   Mr. G.E. Dalrymple arrived on October 24th, 1873 and camped in the exact spot Cook had selected 100 years prior. Although he had been sent by the Government to make a report on the port setting, the desperate need for facilities prompted the Government to forgo the report and they dispatched the A.S.N. Coysteamer ‘Leichhardt’ to convey Government staff to the Endeavour River.

Arriving one day after Dalrymple himself, they immediately started setting up the operation.  Among the staff about the ‘Leichhardt’ was the Gold Commissioner, an Engineer of Roads (sent to find the best route between the Palmer and Endeavour rivers), a lieutenant to survey the estuary, and a police party to keep law and order. Over seventy prospectors and miners also disembarked, all with dreams of becoming rich in these new gold fields.

The population of ‘Cooks-town’, as it was then known, was close to 4000 people by the middle of the following year.  The towns name was later changed to its present moniker of ‘Cooktown’ in June of 1874.

Gold flowed as freely as the water it was found in, and the population continued it’s increase, and by the turn of the century it was the second largest township in Queensland.  The population had reached in excess of 30,000 people, and the town was serviced by no less than 65 registered hotels, 20 eating houses, 32 general stores and a multitude of other businesses and outlets. People were drawn from far and wide, by the lure of gold, making a rich and complex tapestry of peoples.

Of the 2940 people reported to live in Cooktown by the 1883 census, 480 were Chinese.  The residents of Maytown (centre of the Goldfields) were listed at 481, and the maximum number of land-holders (people with legal title) during the rush was 1009.

Additional Information

AuthorHolthouse, Hector
Number of pages217 p. : ill., maps ; 19 cm.
PublisherAngus & Robertson
Year Published1993 reprint
Binding Type

Softcover

Book Condition

Very Good +

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