Gold City - Charters Towers

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Not far out of town, an Aussie Stockman moving his herd further along the Stock Route to continue grazing.
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With the weather being perfect for day-tripping, a few days ago Spice girl and I blew the cobwebs out of my Hyundai and headed south west to the gold fields - specifically Charters Towers. It was an easy 90 minute drive on a good highway (the Flinders) with the countryside much greener than we expected.. Charters Tower's population is approx. 8,300 and swelled to 30,000 in the gold rush of the late 1800's.

         

We thoroughly enjoyed some retail therapy at the boutique gift-ware stores and enjoyed visiting the heritage listed buildings. 

A stop to introduce ourselves to the local boys in blue was a must, one never knows when help may be needed in a strange town. And a quick pause at the ambulance centre in the event that serious injury was sustained requiring medical treatment..

Clever use of the old Excelsior Hotel

One of my favourites (above) the Australia Post building, formally known as the Telegraph Office.

I bumped into this old time local who was quite pleased to pose for the photo in front of one of the town's murals.  (He was wrong, he did not break my camera.) He called me 'missus', I called him 'sir', he tipped his well worn hat and through his tobacco stained moustache bid me a good day. I was in a fanciful mood and imagined his big pockets to be filled with gold nuggets.  Perhaps he was going to any one of the following places.

We were trying to fit as much as possible into a day visit so a stop at the Visitor Information Centre was essential. There we met more local characters who weighed me down with brochures and maps making it evident that a return visit is a must as we would not see all that this friendly and interesting town had to offer in one day. 

First built in 1891, the Australian Bank of Commerce underwent conversion in 1995 into a 660 seat performing arts theatre and cinema complex.  Unfortunately the theatre wasn't open for viewing that day.

           City Hall housed extensive WWII photographic displays honouring honouring our war heroes.

Wherry House, formally the Bank of NSW now houses various Government offices

Built as the Royal Arcade in 1888, it became the Charters Towers Stock Exchange and was connected to the world via telegraph. There is a mining museum and wonderful static displays - a ghostly reminder of the town's golden days when more than a 'touch' of greed echoed in these walls.

It was time to leave this 'gold city' with its fascinating history, delightfully maintained architecture, magnificent boarding schools catering to remote and rural families from huge cattle stations, and the friendly and welcoming locals.  A return visit?  Absolutely.

             One must return to see how the renovations progress on this old beauty

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