Ravenswood
Queensland is an interesting outback town.
The little Ravenswood
between Townsville
and Charters
Towers has been an on and off mining town for the last one
and a half centuries.
There is a whole lot of interesting mining
history, as well as a working gold mine.
The town by robstephaustralia via Flickr.com
History of Mining in Australia
The first rush started in 1868 when local pastoralists found gold, and
the first crushings were very rich but the success of the mine was over
by 1872. In 1893, the mine manager A. L. Wilson managed to convince
British investors to the mine. They used new processing methods that
proved incredibly successful. Ravenswood’s population grew to 5000 and
boasted over 50 pubs! After producing about 12½ tonnes of gold, the
rush was over again in 1917.
Museum by John Skewes via Flickr.com
Miner's Cottage in Remote Australia
There is an old miner’s cottage at the entrance of the town. It’s hard
to imagine how the owner John Stuffard lived here with
his wife and 10 kids. The rooms are dark and tiny, the floor is bare
earth, the ceilings and doorways are so low that anyone taller
than five feet could not stand straight inside the house. Outback
winters are
freezing cold, the shower is outside, and the corrugated iron walls
stand up without a nail in
them. Nothing but a lot of gold would get anyone to live in these
conditions.
Modern Mining in Australia
Today, the mining is back in Ravenswood. With new methods producing
gold is viable again and so in 1987, 1994 and 2000, new mines opened.
But today’s miners fly in and out so this hasn’t changed the town’s
population of 100.
Old building by robstephaustralia via Flickr.com
Buildings of Classic Outback Towns
Other things to see in town are the Courthouse Museum in Macrossan
street, St Patrick’s Church, a school, an old railway station, a
cemetery, an old post office,
the ruins of the Marble Mill, and six chimney stacks from the old
mining days.
The Town's Two Pubs
Two historical pubs remain, both with a nice old bar, and hotel rooms
upstairs. Imperial
Hotel is most impressive but is said to be haunted and
gets
noisy during the weekend nights, so if you prefer to be left alone, try
Railway
Hotel instead. There is also a caravan park and a
camping
ground in town if you
prefer camping.
Imperial Hotel. by robstephaustralia via Flickr.com
Here's a map of Ravenswood Australia -
you can
double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places
closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the
satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand
corner.
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Tell us where you went and what you enjoyed. Or if there was anything you didn't enjoy.
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What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
Correction It wasn't john stuffered who lived in the cottage it was a man named George butler born about 1890 he did have the 10 kids who used to scratch around for …
Ravenswood as life I live in Ravenswood and alot of people think that all of the gold has been taken away from here.
In fact that is wrong I am a part time prospector …
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