Normanton used to be the port for the Croydon gold rush and today it’s still the largest town in the Gulf Savannah (everything is relative though – its population is 500). It is a colourful town, with some red soils and bright buildings along its main street, the famous Purple Pub, and the Big Croc and the Big Barramundi. Outside the town is the Normanton River where you can go on a croc cruise, and some wetlands, internationally renowned for large numbers of migratory birds. Here is some information about the town, and in the end of the page is accommodation and a Normanton map.
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Historical Gulflander Train Station Having been the port of the Croydon gold rush, Normanton is in the end of the historic Croydon Railway which is still trafficked by Gulflander train that shuttles between Croydon and Normanton. The old Gulflander Train Station is a beautiful Victorian building with a tea room and a souvenir shop, and you can buy tickets here if you want to go for a trip to Croydon – it’s a once-weekly trip departing from here every Wednesday and returning from Croydon on every Thursday. The Gulflander Train Station is in the southern end of the town on Matilda Street.
The Old Normaton Bank - Normanton Queensland Further north from here along the main street (Landsborough St) is the beautiful old Queenslander building housing the Westpac Bank. Built in 1886, it was one of the five banks in Normanton servicing the Croydon gold rush – today it is the only survivor. There are some old scales inside that were used for weighing the Croydon gold.
Statue of the Worlds Largest Crocodile Another pretty building north from here is the Carpentaria Shire Council Building – built in the style of a pub (although it has never been a pub). North of the Council Building is one of Normanton’s Big Things – the Big Croc. It is a life size model of the largest crocodile ever captured in the world, an 8.63 metre Saltwater Crocodile that was shot by crocodile hunter Krystina Pawloski in July 1957 in Normaton River.
Big Things, Old Nomanton Gaol - Normanton Queensland The other one of the Big Things, the Big Barramundi is in the southern end of the town. Just behind the Big Crock on Landsborough Street is the Old Normanton Gaol where the last hanging in the Gulf Savannah took place; and north of it is the historical Burns Philp building. It is one of the few original buildings of its kind that are left, and it used to be a merchants’ house. It has later been a supermarket and today it houses the town’s library and visitor information centre.
Normanton Accommodation and the Purple Pub Also on the main street is the famous Purple Pub. It is not easy to go past it without having a cold beer, and there are other few good drinking spots in the town such as the Albion Hotel and the Central. You can also stay at these pubs or you can stay at the Gulflander Motel or Normanton Caravan Park.
Norman River and Crocodile Habitats North of the town centre is Norman River with the old wharf from 1880s. It’s popular with firshermen today but it used to be a busy place with a prawn packing factory that packed the prawns transported from Karumba and sent them further south. The buildings were washed away in the 1974 floods and were never replaced. West of the old wharf is the boat ramp where the prawn vats used to arrive, and east of it is the Norman River bridge. You can go on a crocodile spotting trip on Norman River, which is full of crocodiles habitats.
Courtesy of Tourism Queensland
Birds of Normanton Queensland - Gulf Savannah Wetlands North of the Norman River are the famous wetlands, world renowned to attract lots of waterbirds such as brolgas and magpie geese, and also many migratory species. The dry season (June – September) is pretty quiet but during the Wet (November – March), bird watching is excellent. The road north through there wetlands will take you to Karumba.
Here's a map of Normanton Queensland, where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and 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.
