HERITAGE

Experience the life of a shipwrecked castaway, seek out the treasures which inspired Australia's last great gold rush, explore the rich fusion of cultures and stories which give this region its eccentric character.

Essential experiences include:

Cooktown

Has over two centuries of rich history, starting with Captain James Cook's landing in 1770 and then the gold rush in the 1870s. Explore Cooktown's history and culture by walking through town and visiting its monuments, museums and gravesites. Each year the town celebrates its colourful history with a re-enactment of Cook's landing, over the Queen's birthday weekend in June.

Palmer River

Goldrush memorabilia at roadhouse and caravan park. Now little more than a roadside stop, this was one of the last great goldrushes in Australia sparked by James Venture Mulligan. His grave lies just south of Mt Molloy. Mulligan migrated to Australia in 1860, found Palmer River gold in 1873, and Hodgkinson River gold in1875, which led to the establishment of Cairns and Port Douglas.

Old Mining Villages

Get off the beaten track and take time to explore the old gold, tin, coal and copper mining villages, full of charm and interesting characters. Settlements steeping in mining heritage include Mt Mulligan (coal), Tyrconnell (gold), Herberton and Irvinebank (tin).

Atherton

The Hou Wang Miau Chinese Temple is the last surviving structure of Cedar Camp, Atherton's Chinatown established in the mid 1880s. The temple and meeting hall were built in 1903, when there were about 1,000 Chinese living at Cedar Camp. Chinese had lived in the Atherton area from the early 1880s. They were timber getters and pioneered tropical crops in Tropical Australia.

Malanda

The historic Malanda Hotel is the largest wooden structure in Queensland. The Malanda Majestic Theatre is the longest running theatre in Australia and is another attractive historic building in town.

Ravenshoe

Learn about the difficult birth of rainforest World Heritage listing at the Ravenshoe Visitor Centre. Other displays feature early European settlement and the influx of thousands of soldiers based here during World War II.

Charters Towers and Greenvale

Discover the ghosts of gold in outback North Queensland. Charters Towers is a living monument to the historic gold rush era. Once the second largest city in Queensland at the height of the gold rush, Charters Towers is now renowned for its historic character and for its collection of beautifully-preserved 19th and early 20th century buildings and streetscapes.

Ravenswood

Ghost town. A historic goldmining town with unique architecture, historical hotels, cemeteries and the home of legendary friendly ghosts! Look out over Open Gold Mine, visit historical pubs and drive five minutes to the White Blow Environmental Park 300-million year-old Quartz Rock outcrop.

Paluma and Ingham

Enjoy the remains of the tin mining industry and don't miss the historic stone art bridge at Crystal Creek. View the historical 5.7km Lucinda jetty (sugar loading jetty) the longest in the Southern Hemisphere at Lucinda. Discover the quaint historic Trebonne Post Office and the historic Noorla Hotel.

Cardwell

Visit the Cardwell Historic Post Office and Bush Telegraph Heritage Centre. Tour the historical building (1870) and learn about the development of communication services, local government, police and judicial systems. Visit Girringun cultural centre to observe the local indigenous groups history.

Innisfail

View the architecture of the Art deco buildings of Innisfail and visit the Lit Sing Gung - Chinese Temple (1940), built by the shire's Chinese population.

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