Normanton, Queensland
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Normanton is an
outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...
town and coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. At the , the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,391 people, and the town of Normanton had a population of 1,326 people. It is the administrative centre of the Shire of Carpentaria. It has a tropical savanna climate and the main economy of the locality is cattle grazing. The town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton to Croydon railway line, which was built during gold rush days in the 1890s. The Gulflander passenger train operates once a week along the railway line. Two of Australia's big things are in Normanton: the "Big Barramundi" and "Krys, the Savannah King" (a
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...
). There are also many heritage-listed sites, reflecting Normanton's history. In the , the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,391 people.


Geography

Normanton is in the Gulf Country region of northwest Queensland, just south of the
Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
, on the Norman River in Queensland. It is a small
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
town and coastal locality, and administrative centre of the Shire of Carpentaria. The main street is Landsborough Street. An unusual feature southwest of Normanton is Bang Bang Jump Up, one of the few hills located in the middle of an expansive, flat grassland.


History

The town sits in the traditional lands of the Gkuthaarn (Kareldi) and
Kukatj The Kukatj are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula in the state of Queensland. They are to be distinguished from the Kukatja of Western Australia and the Luritja of the Northern Territory, who have also historically been k ...
people. The town takes its name from the Norman River, which was named in honour of William Henry Norman of the Victorian Naval Forces, who commanded the sloop HMCS Victoria in the search for the explorers
Burke and Wills The Burke and Wills expedition (originally called the Victorian Exploring Expedition) was an exploration expedition organised by the Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) in Australia in 1860–61. The exploration party initially consisted of nine ...
and also conducted
hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...
s of the Gulf of Carpentaria and the
Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, ˆzen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...
to identify
reef A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral, or similar relatively stable material lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic component, abiotic (non-living) processes such as deposition (geol ...
s and other marine hazards. An expedition to explore the Norman River and Bynoe River leading to the identification of a new town site on the Norman River in May 1867. The new town of Norman was surveyed by George Phillips in December 1867 and was officially gazetted on 8 August 1868. It was seen as an alternative to Burketown which had issues with fever and flooding. On 11 October 1868 the first land sale of 167 town lots of was held at the Norman Police Office. Norman River Post Office opened on 13 June 1868 and was renamed Normanton by 1872. Normanton State School opened in September 1882. In January 1976 a secondary department was added to the school. The school celebrated its centenary in 1982. The Burns Philp store, a general mercantile store and agency office, was opened in 1884. It is the oldest intact Burns Philp store in Queensland. Normanton grew slowly until the discovery of gold at
Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...
in 1885 provided a major boost, attracting people from a variety of cultures, including
Chinese people The Chinese people, or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with Greater China, China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by ...
drawn to the gold fields. Like other towns in the Gulf country Chinese men often supplied local vegetables from their market gardens. Some married locally to either white or indigenous women and many families were the result. Although Normanton appears to have had some "Chinese gardens" very early in its history with reference in 1873 to the "Chinese gardens, their houses, and live stock, have been swept away." According to historian Sandi Robb there were 6 families of mixed heritage in Normanton. The town prosperity was assisted by the completion of the Normanton – Croydon railway in 1889 which saw Normanton becoming the acknowledged gateway to north-western Queensland. The new link was to bring both people and wealth to the area. The population reached 1,251 by 1891. The gold boom at Croydon was short-lived and the completion of the Townsville – Cloncurry railway in 1908, reduced Normanton's relative importance as a centre. After the gold ran out and the mining industry grew to a halt in the early 1900s,
pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anim ...
became the main industry of the region. Some Aboriginal groups in the region were moved on to cattle stations to provide labour, while other groups were more or less extinguished. Many were moved to missions on Mornington Island and Doomadgee. Aboriginal camps were set up on the outskirts of the town, and the first
Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th ...
was gazetted in 1935; both were still in existence until at least 1976. By 1947 the town's population had declined to 234. In the 1960s there was a resurgence in Normanton's population as a gateway to the Gulf of Carpentaria with major industrial development taking place in the prawn fishing industry at nearby Karumba at the mouth of the Norman River. In 1965, the Carpentaria Shire Council erected a war memorial in the centre of Landsborough Street opposite the National Hotel (). It commemorates those who served in all conflicts. Gulf Christian College was established on 24 January 1990 by the Normanton Assembly of God Church. The Normanton library was opened in 2004. The Normanton Anzac Roll of Honour was unveiled on Tuesday 13 June 2017, as part of the First World War centenary commemorations. It lists the names of the
Anzacs ANZAC, ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion ( ...
(those who served in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
) from the Carpentaria Shire. It is located on Landsborough Street opposite the war memorial ().


Native title

After seeking rights since 1996, in November 2012 the
traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...
, the Gkuthaarn and
Kukatj The Kukatj are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Cape York Peninsula in the state of Queensland. They are to be distinguished from the Kukatja of Western Australia and the Luritja of the Northern Territory, who have also historically been k ...
people, lodged a claim for native title over an area around Normanton stretching . On 2 July 2020 an Indigenous land use agreement was signed, and they were granted rights to fish, hunt and perform their
ceremonies A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
on the land.
Pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The anima ...
are still able to run cattle on the
cattle station In Australia and New Zealand, a cattle station is a large farm ( station is equivalent to the American ranch), the main activity of which is the rearing of cattle. The owner of a cattle station is called a '' grazier''. The largest cattle stati ...
s in the area, and the Aboriginal people assist with management of the land (such as pest and weed control) and cultural heritage sites. They are already monitoring and counting of migratory seabirds, with many participating as Indigenous rangers in the Normanton Land and Sea Ranger Group. Some land in the southern part of the claimed area has been determined as "native title extinguished".


Demographics

In the , the town of Normanton had a population of 1,100 people, of whom 60% identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In the , the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,257 people, of whom 750 (60%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, while the town of Normanton had a population of 1,210 people, of whom 743 (62%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In the , the locality of Normanton had a population of 1,391 people, of whom 774 (55.6%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. The town of Normanton had a population of 1,326 people, of whom 766 (57.8%) identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.


Heritage listings

Normanton has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: * Burke and Wills Camp B/CXIX, Burke and Wills Access Road (Private Road) * Normanton Cemetery, Burke Developmental Road * Normanton Gaol, 27 Haigh Street * Burns Philp Building, corner of Landsborough Street and Caroline Street * Westpac Bank Building, Landsborough Street * Normanton railway station, Matilda Street * Normanton to Croydon railway line, from Normanton to Croydon


Climate

Normanton has a
tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Aw'') with two distinct seasons. There is a hot, humid and extremely uncomfortable
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
from December to March and a hot and generally rainless
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
usually extending from April to November. During the wet season most roads in the area are usually closed by heavy rainfall, which on several occasions has exceeded in a month or in a day from
tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...
s. On occasions, as with all of Queensland, the wet season may fail and deliver as little as between December 1934 and March 1935 Temperatures are uniformly hot, ranging from in November just before the wet season begins to at the height of the dry season in July. In the wet season, temperatures are marginally lower, but extremely high humidity means conditions are very uncomfortable and
wet bulb temperature The wet-bulb temperature is the lowest temperature that can be reached under current ambient conditions by the evaporation of water only. It is defined as the temperature of a parcel of air cooled to saturation (100% relative humidity) by the ...
s averages and can reach . In the dry season, lower humidity, cloudless days and cool nights provides for more pleasant conditions.


Economy

The major industry is cattle grazing with a number of homesteads in the locality, including: * Glenore () * Inverleigh () * Magowra () * Milgarra () * Mutton Hole () * Shady Lagoon ()


Tourism

Tourism has recently become an important part of the economy of Normanton, with the Gulflander a significant draw-card. Among Normanton's most notable features is a
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...
of an long
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats, brackish wetlands and freshwater rivers from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaland to northern Australia and Micronesia. It ha ...
named Krys, the largest ever taken, which was shot by Krystina Pawlowska in July 1957 in the Norman River. "The Big Barramundi" was constructed in 1995. It is long. Barramundi and threadfin salmon can be caught in the river. There are a number of reminders of Normanton's history and development that visitors to the area are still able to see today.  These include the Normanton cemetery which dates from 1867, the railway station and the station building both dating from 1891, as well as the former Burns Philp & Co. store. Normanton railway station is a railway museum and the terminus for rides on the Gulflander (). The tourist information centre is located in the Burns Philp Building ().


Education

Normanton State School is a government primary and secondary (Prep–10) school for boys and girls at 6–12 Little Brown Street (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 132 students with 23 teachers and 24 non-teaching staff (16 full-time equivalent). It includes a special education program. Gulf Christian College is a private primary and secondary (Prep–9) school for boys and girls at 24-30 Brown Street (). It offers Prep, Primary (1–6) and Middle (7–9) School education. In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 96 students with 9 teachers and 14 non-teaching staff (11 full-time equivalent). There is no secondary education to Year 12 available in or nearby Normanton. The options are
distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...
and boarding schools. Many of the students of Gulf Christian College attend Senior (10–12) School at Nambour Christian College. TAFE Queensland operates a technical college campus in Normanton ().


Facilities

The Carpentaria Shire Council's offices are at 29–33 Haig Street (). It also has offices in Karumba. Normanton Police Station is at 55 Haig Street (). Normanton Hospital is a public hospital on Hospital Road (). Normanton Fire Station is a rural fire station at 57 Thompson Street (). The Normanton SES Facility () and the Normanton Ambulance Station are co-located with the fire station. There are two cemeteries in Normanton: * Normanton Cemetery on the Burke Developmental Road () * Aboriginal Burial Grounds off the Burke Developmental Road on the west bank of the Norman River () which is not open to the public Normanton Solar Farm () generates solar power to provide greater reliability to the town, which is supplied via long lines from distant power stations. The Centrelink office for government payment and services is at 5 Old Croydon Road ().


Amenities

The Normanton branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms in Landsborough Street. Bynoe Hall is a public hall at 15 Balonne Street (). Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church is at 26 Dutton Street (). It is within the Gulf Savannah Parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cairns. The Aboriginal and Islander Christian Fellowship operates the Normanton Christian Centre at 46 Dutton Street (). There is a boat ramp with a floating walkway and jetty on the south bank of the Norman River (). It is managed by the Carpentaria Shire Council. Normanton public library and visitor information services are located in the historic Burns Philp Building at the corner of Caroline and Landsborough Streets. There are a number of sporting facilities: * Normanton Bowls Club () * Normanton Golf Club () * Normanton Gun Club () * Normanton Racecourse and Rodeo Ground () * Normanton Sport Centre ()


Transport

The
Gulf Developmental Road Gulf Developmental Road is an Australian highway linking the Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and Normanton, Queensland, Normanton regions in northern Queensland, Australia. It is the only sealed (Asphalt concrete, asphalt) road linking these two reg ...
, part of the Savannah Way tourist drive, commences south of the town. The Gulflander passenger train operates weekly on a remnant of the Normanton to Croydon historical railway. The Normanton railway station features a large steel frame with an open canopy to provide shade. Normanton Airport is on Airport Road (). There are services from Normanton to destinations including Cairns, Burketown, Doomadgee and Mount Isa. There are a number of airstrips within the locality at: * Magowra homestead () * Mutton Hole homestead () * Inverleigh East homestead () * Sawtell Creek Station ()


See also

* Normanton Airport


References


External links

* * *
Normanton page from Carpentaria Shire Council websiteAnnual reports Normanton Hospitals Board
State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

At our table: Normanton digital story
State Library of Queensland {{Authority control Towns in Queensland North West Queensland Gulf of Carpentaria Populated places established in 1867 Shire of Carpentaria 1867 establishments in Australia Localities in Queensland