Gilberton is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Shire of Etheridge The Shire of Etheridge is a local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia in what is known as the Savannah Gulf region. Its economy is based on cattle grazing and mining. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government e ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Gilberton had a population of 4 people.

Geography

The old Gilberton township lies within a cattle station (privately owned by one family since 1869, which was established on the Ewamian Aboriginal land. The only remains of the town is the stone fortress that was built by the Martell family in 1869. The date palm on the northern side of the Gilbert River is the site of the Corbett store. The Gilbert River flows from the south-east to the north-west of the locality and then travels northward towards its mouth at the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary is ...

. Gilberton Station neighbors Rungullla National Park. The terrain is mountainous with the Newcastle Range in the north-east of the locality and Gilbert Range () in the east of the locality. There are a number of named peaks, from north to south: * Mount Moran () * North Knob () * Middle Knob () * Conical Hill () * Commissioners Hill () * Hanns Table Mountain () * South Knob () * Black Cap () * Mount Rous ()

History

The name ''Gilberton'' comes from the Gilbert River, which in turn was named by explorer

Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...

on 12 July 1845, after his expedition member John Gilbert who was killed near the Carpentaria coast on 28 June 1845. In the , Gilberton had a population of 4 people.

Heritage listings

Gilberton has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...

sites, including: * Forsayth-Agate Creek - Ortona (Iona) Station Road:

Ortona Mine and Battery Ortona Mine and Battery is a heritage-listed mine at Forsayth-Agate Creek - Ortona (Iona) Station Road, Gilberton, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1899 to 1908. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on ...

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* New Woolgar Road: Mount Moran Battery

Mount Moran Battery is a heritage-listed former stamper battery at New Woolgar Road, Gilberton, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1924 to . It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 22 September 2000.
Hi ...

* Joseph Morris Mine

Joseph Morris Mine is a heritage-listed former mine at Georgetown Mining District, Gilberton, Shire of Etheridge, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1903 to 1910. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 April 2004.
Histo ...

Education

There are no schools in Gilberton. The nearest primary school is Forsayth State School in neighbouring Forsayth to the north but it is a considerable distance away. There are no nearby secondary schools. Distance education

Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...
or boarding schools

A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
would be options.

References

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Towns in Queensland
Shire of Etheridge
Localities in Queensland}