Cracow is a rural town and locality in the

Shire of Banana The Shire of Banana is a Local government in Australia, local government area located in the Capricorn region of Queensland, Australia, inland from the regional city of Gladstone, Queensland, Gladstone. The shire was named after the first townsh ...

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. Historically, Cracow is a

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

mining town A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry. Historical mining communities Australia * Ballarat, Victoria * Bendig ...

, with some recent mines opening. In the , the locality of Cracow had a population of 114 people.

Geography

The town is located on the Eidsvold–Theodore Road, by road north-west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Cracow has the following mountains: * Mount Edwards (Mount Bannister) () * Mount Elvinia () * Mount Irving () * Mount Steel ()

History

The town was named after a pastoral run, which was in turn named by pastoralist John Ross, in 1851, for the Polish city of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, which had recently been the centre for a fight for Polish national independence. Gold was first discovered in Cracow in 1875 by itinerant fossickers and a further discovery of a nugget was made by an Aboriginal stockman, Johnny Nipps in 1916. In 1931, the Golden Plateau mine was established and it operated continuously until 1976. As of 1977, of gold had been extracted from the mine. Cracow Post Office opened on 1 October 1932. Cracow State School opened on 12 June 1933. It was found to be too small with a few months so it was relocated and extended with an annex. It closed on 12 December 1997. It was at 11-17 Third Avenue (). At its gold mining peak, the town included five cafes, barber shop, billiard saloon, two butchers, a picture theatre and a soft drink factory. The closure of the mine led to Cracow becoming almost a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

with many deserted houses and shops. Fred_Brophy

Circa 2000, Fred Brophy and wife Sandi purchased the Cracow Hotel. He operated his famous boxing tent as an annual event in Cracow. In 2004, Newcrest Mining reestablished gold mining in the town, leading to hopes the town may recover. This mine is now operated by Aeris Resources. The 2019 horror-comedy film Two Heads Creek was filmed on location in Cracow.

Demographics

In the , the locality of Cracow and the surrounding area had a population of 196 people. In the , the locality of Cracow had a population of 89 people. In the , the locality of Cracow had a population of 114 people.

Facilities

The Cracow Hotel at 30 Third Avenue (corner Tenth Avenue, ) is the only remaining business in the township, as it attracts a lot of tourists due to its array of antique and unusual artifacts adorning the ceilings and walls. The Cracow community centre is at 57-63 Tenth Avenue () and is operated by the Banana Shire Council. There is also a caravan park located at 11 Third Avenue, next to the old court house which has been turned into a mining museum.

Education

There are no schools in Cracow. The nearest government schoola is Theodore State School in Theodore to the north-west; it provides primary education and secondary education to Year 10. There is no nearby school providing secondary education to Year 12; 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 school.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Towns in Queensland Mining towns in Queensland Populated places established in 1931 1931 establishments in Australia Shire of Banana Localities in Queensland