The fascinating little Ravenswood half-way between Townsville and Charters Towers in the real Australian outback of north Queensland, is one of the most classic outback towns in remote Australia. It has been an on-and-off mining / ghost town for the last one and a half centuries. Here is some information about the town, its two pubs and in the end of the page is a map of the area.
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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 12˝ tonnes of gold, the rush was over again in 1917.
Miner's Cottage in Remote Australia There is an old miner’s cottage at the entrance of the town from these days. It’s hard to imagine how the owner John Stuffard lived here with his wife and 10 kids. The rooms are dark and tiny, there is no floor but bare earth, the ceilings and doorways are so low that anyone taller than 5 ft could never stand straight inside the house. Winters are freezing cold here, yet the shower is outside, the house windows have no glass, 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 processes 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. Even pubs are quiet as mines today have very strict drinking restrictions.
Buildings of Classic Outback Towns Other things to see in town are the Courthouse Museum in Macrossan street, St Patrick’s Church, a school, a cemetery, an old post office, the ruins of the Marble Mill, and six chimney stacks.
Real Australian Outback Pubs And then of course, there are the pubs. There are two of them in town, 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 let alone, try Railway Hotel instead. There is also a caravan park in town if you prefer camping.
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.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
