Charters Towers QLD

About Charters Towers

Charters Towers is arguably the most beautiful inland city in Queensland. It may not have the range of domestic architecture that makes Ipswich so distinctive but in terms of public architecture it is unrivalled. Like Kalgoorlie, Cue and Coolgardie in Western Australia it is a city built from the huge profits of gold-mining and, as such, the city fathers (a quixotic band of nouveau riche miners) were determined to flaunt their wealth. Today the city is beautifully preserved and the best of the buildings are concentrated on Mosman Street and Gill Street (sourced from the Aussie Towns website – click for more).

The Roadtrip

The trip to Charters Towers from Airlie Beach had a little bit of drama thrown in courtesy of our (3 year old) Toyota Landcruiser’s GPS. There are basically 2 ways to get to Charters Towers but our brilliant Landcruiser discovered a 3rd one which, after 47kms, ended on the worst corrugated dirt road you could ever imagine. Check out the route map – it’s the bit in the middle, which added 94kms to our trip and broke Merrisa’s favourite scotch glass! Looks like we’re off to an opp shop to find a replacement.

The primary reason for going to Charters Towers was to catch-up with Merrisa’s sister, Catherine and her family. Catherine’s husband, Steve, is a geologist in the gold mines nearby. It was great catching up and thanks to Catherine & Steve for inviting us into their home and showing us around the town.

Our Caravan Park

We booked into the Big4 Aussie Oasis Holiday Park which was a great choice (maplink). There are 3 pet barramundi in the pond out the front of the office; one is a metre long. Friday night (our arrival) is pizza night (woohoo) but it was unfortunately cancelled due to Covid19 regulations. Damn! Looks like we will have to return.

A bit of history & a look around Town

Charters Towers has a lot of history. The town was founded in the 1870s when gold was discovered by chance at Towers Hill on Christmas Eve 1871 by 12-year-old Aboriginal boy, Jupiter Mosman. Jupiter was with a small group of prospectors including Hugh Mosman, James Fraser and George Clarke. Their horses bolted after a flash of lightning. It is still an active “gold town” but not as prosperous as it was back then – read more here

Towers Hill Lookout

A trip up to the Towers Hill Lookout is a must as it provides a fantastic vista of the town and it’s surrounds. It also shows how flat it is out here (maplink). The area has lots of WWII bunkers, some of which have video displays depicting what it was like in the war.

Charters Towers Sunset

I’d heard that you can witness a great sunset from the Towers Hill Lookout so I ventured up there just before 6:00pm and got these fantastic photos.

Burdekin Weir

The Burdekin Weir Park is about 17kms out of Charters Towers (maplink). We ventured out to have a look and should have taken our lunch with us as it was a lovely place for a picnic. The weir is the primary source of water for Charters Towers. Would love to be here when the river is in flood, it’d be pretty spectacular.

Ravenswood day trip

We took a day trip to Ravenswood to check it out. This town is full of history and was really worth the 175km round trip from Charters Towers.

Gold was originally discovered here in 1868 and the population grew to over 50,000; now it is just 255. Gold is still being mined here and while we were there we checked out the new primary school, where Merrisa’s sister works, built by the mining company as they are about to begin open cut mining at the old school’s location. No expense seems to be spared here as the new school is absolutely beautiful.

Lunch in the Imperial Hotel (best burger ever!) chatting with some of the locals and then a look around the town and surrounding district. There are lots of chimneys from old smelters

Just out of town is the White Blow which is a massive milky quartz outcrop. Quite amazing sitting out in the middle of nowhere (no gold there though).

On the way back to Charters Towers we stopped at the Macrossan Bridge, over the Burdekin River, to check out the flood marker pole. It is extremely hard to understand how much water has flowed through here in floods over the years. The 1946 flood was the highest at 21.79 metres.

We also came across a bit of Aussie humour where someone has built this massive steel boat but there’s no water. Check out the funny photo below.

We took a day trip to Ravenswood to check it out. This town is full of history and was really worth the 175km round trip from Charters Towers.

Gold was originally discovered here in 1868 and the population grew to over 50,000; now it is just 255. Gold is still being mined here and while we were there we checked out the new primary school, where Merrisa’s sister works, built by the mining company as they are about to begin open cut mining at the old school’s location. No expense seems to be spared here as the new school is absolutely beautiful.

Lunch in the Imperial Hotel (best burger ever!) chatting with some of the locals and then a look around the town and surrounding district. There are lots of chimneys from old smelters

Just out of town is the White Blow which is a massive milky quartz outcrop. Quite amazing sitting out in the middle of nowhere (no gold there though).

On the way back to Charters Towers we stopped at the Macrossan Bridge, over the Burdekin River, to check out the flood marker pole. It is extremely hard to understand how much water has flowed through here in floods over the years. The 1946 flood was the highest at 21.79 metres.

We also came across a bit of Aussie humour where someone has built this massive steel boat but there’s no water. Check out the funny photo below.

Longhorn Cattle Ranch

Plenty of people we met along the way, plus a lovely lady named Deanne strongly recommended we take the Texas Longhorn Tour at ‘Leahton Park’ 10km out from Charters Towers (maplink).

This is a really great experience. Our host, Linda, took us through how they perform AI (artificial insemination) on their heifer’s, as there are no bulls on the property – any bull calves are neutered or sold off after birth.

Then we all jumped into some Polaris 4×4’s and Linda escorted us around the property to show off their magnificent longhorn cattle. JR has the longest horns measuring over 3.1 metres (11 feet) wide. He had the world record for a while but has now been out done by a longhorn in Colorado USA.

Summing up…

• Accommodation – Big4 Aussie Oasis Holiday Park was the best one in town – well we thought so
  • Cost per night – $40.00 (@ 14-Aug-2020)
  • Facilities – A bit basic but clean and tidy
  • CP Location – on the highway (away from noise). You need to drive into town for supplies (maplink)
  • Our rating/score – 7/10
• Was it a nice town to visit? – Yes. Lots of history
  • Would we return? – Yes
  • Overall Score – 8/10
• Activities
  • Lots to do in Charters Towers. It was also handy having family here to show us around
  • So many beautiful old buildings in the town to check out
    the lookout is also a definite must do
  • The trip to Ravenswood is totally worth it. You can also book tours with Raven Tours
  • The Longhorn Cattle ranch is a must do – cost was $69.50 per head (seniors) book through the Texas Longhorns website
  • Tourist info centre? – 74 Mosman St, Charters Towers (website)
• Summary – A great visit and will certainly come back.