The Hodgkinson Mineral Area was a mining area near the Hodgkinson River about west of

Cairns Cairns (, ) is a city in Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. The population in June 2019 was 153,952, having grown on average 1.02% annually over the preceding five years. The city is the 5th-most-p ...

in the present-day

Shire of Mareeba The Shire of Mareeba is a local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, covered an area of , and existed as a local government entity f ...

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. It was the site of a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

in the 1870s.

History

Prospector

James Venture Mulligan James Venture Mulligan (13 February 1837 – 24 August 1907) was an Ireland-born Australian prospector and explorer. Early life Mulligan was born in Drumgooland, County Down and emigrated to Australia at the age of 21 in 1860. He settled a ...

discovered gold in the Hodgkinson River area in 1876. Mines were established and many towns developed: * Beaconsfield () * Glen Mowbray * Kingsborough * Merton * Northcote * Tinaroo * Great Western * Hodgkinson * Woodville * Wellesley * Union Town * New Northcote * Mount Mulligan * Montmunro * MacLeodsville * Littleton * Kingston * Stewartown * Thornborough * Tyrconnel * Watsonsville (not to be confused with

Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self- ...

near

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 855 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situa ...

) Many miners relocated from the

Palmer River The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in ...

goldfields to the Hodgkinson field. As the Hodgkinson field was too far from the port at

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the Endeavour, for repai ...

, a new port was established at

. However, it was a very steep trip up through the Barron Gorge to reach Cairns and so explorer Christy Palmerston successfully searched for an easier track (known as the Bump Track) down the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

to the coast leading to the creation of

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately 60 km north of Cairns. In the , Port Douglas had a population of 3,504 people. The town's population can often double, however, with the in ...

. In 1877, two towns - Kingsborough and Thornborough emerged in the area with a substantial population of thousand people residing in each town. Just five kilometres away from each other, the towns developed at a fast pace and were soon home to various hotels, retail stores and shops. Mining operations received a further boost with the inauguration of the Cairns-Mareeba rail line in 1893 which improved accessibility to the area. As with many gold rushes, after a few years, only a few people had made money and the others left, often to another promising new gold rush. There was a brief resurgence of interest during the economic depression of the 1890s as gold became more valuable. But eventually the mining came to an end.

Present day

Most of the towns have disappeared, apart from a few relics. The Tyrconnel Historic Gold Mine can be visited as a tourist attraction.

References

External links

* {{coord, 16, 49, 00, S, 144, 49, 59, E, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD, display=title Shire of Mareeba Mining in Queensland Economic history of Queensland