Cardstone is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Cassowary Coast Region The Cassowary Coast Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Far North Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, south of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns and centred on the towns of Innisfail, Queensland, Innisfail, ...

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. In the , Cardstone had "no people or a very low population". It is south-west of Innisfail.

Geography

Cardstone is a long thin locality following the valley of the

Tully River The Tully River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Tully River rises in the Cardwell Range, part of the Great Dividing Range on the northern boundary of the Kirrama State Forest. The river flows generally n ...

. The northern part of the locality is mostly bushland, but the southern part is farming land. Cardstone village was built near the Tully River to accommodate workers and families of the

Kareeya Hydro Power Station The Kareeya Hydro Power Station near Tully in Queensland, Australia is a hydroelectric power station that began generating power in 1957. It has a capacity of which is fed into the National Electricity Market. The power station is owned by C ...

. The village and was less than in area. Cardstone was mostly surrounded by the rainforest of the

Tully Gorge National Park Tully Gorge is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 1,338 km northwest of Brisbane. The park forms part of the Wooroonooran Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports populations of a range o ...

which forms part of the World Heritage-listed

Wet Tropics of Queensland The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km2 of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range. The Wet Tropics of Queensland meets all f ...

History

Construction of the

on the Tully River commenced in 1952 and the power station commenced operation in 1957. The staff and families were provided accommodation in a small village called Cardstone located about downstream from the plant. The power station was instigated jointly by the ''Card''well Shire Council and the John''stone'' Shire Council and the name ''Cardstone'' is an amalgamation of those two names. Although it was desired to have a post office in Cardstone in 1954, no local person could be found to carry out the duties. Cardstone Post Office did not open until 11 January 1955. It closed in 1990 when the village closed. Cardstone State School opened on 18 February 1957. From 1959 to 1967 it was downgraded to a Provisional School and was closed on 14 December 1990 when the village closed. During Cyclone Winifred in late January 1986, rainfall of was measured at Cardstone along the

In about 1990, the power station became fully automated and could be operated from

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

, making many of the Cardstone operating staff redundant. As only a small number of maintenance workers would be required to visit the station, it was decided to close down the village and relocate the maintenance workers to Tully. As the area was in the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

, the village's buildings, then comprising 29 homes, a single men's barracks, a school and a post office, were sold for relocation. All evidence of the village was bulldozed and the site was replanted with local native species so that it would revert to its natural state. Mature coconut palms and pine trees grown at the village were chopped down during the environmental rehabilitation as they were not local species. There had been a proposal that the village be retained and used as tourist accommodation, but the Cardwell Shire Council opposed the idea believing it would not be cost-effective.

Demographics

In the , Cardstone had a population of 17 people. In the , Cardstone had "no people or a very low population".

References

{{authority control Cassowary Coast Region Localities in Queensland