Charters Towers

This morning was a very leisurely departure from the lovely campground about 40 kms north of Charters Towers. I tidied up in the Karavan and had a visit from a nearby camper who was interested in how I managed to get internet access in such a black spot. All I had used was an old CDMA phone antenna from one of my previous vehicles with an adaptor cable to fit into the Telstra dongle that gives me access to the internet. I had to have it propped against a window and if I even tried to get it to work somewhere else it would not. There was no service on the mobile phone, with a large antenna on the Bravo. Wonders of technology!

So I moved off about 1000 and it took about 45 minutes of driving to get to the Big 4 “Aussie Outback Oasis” Caravan Park. It is nice and shady with nice and clean amenity blocks. It seems to be very functional and the staff friendly. As I drove in, I recognised the vehicle in front of me and it was Paul and Robyn also checking in. They are only staying one night before they leave for Emerald.

After setting up the Karavan, I had an early lunch. Then I drove into the CBD of Charters Towers and was impressed with the old buildings many of which have been renovated or remodelled but have retained their original facade. It is not a really big town but it seems to have all the facilities even though it is not very far from Townsville.

My first visit was to the Visitor Information Centre. A very helpful fellow pointed out on the map the location of items of interest. My first stop, which was next door, was to the Stock Exchange Arcade. It is unique in that it actually had a stock exchange from 1890 and for a number of years due to the gold mining going on in the area. It has always been an item of interest to me from my school days. It has been wonderfully restored and looks as it was all those years ago. There is no stock exchange item there now. However, at the rear is the Assay Mining Museum which showed the articles used to measure the gold. There are also numerous stands that have audio and visual displays out lining the Stock Exchange. The building, as are nearly all the old buildings, is really beautiful and was all I expected it may have been.

Next I did a walk along the main street, Gill Street, taking in the beautiful buildings. The outside of most of the buildings really look as they might have a century or more ago. How the building use has changed, e.g., Subway is now in a building that was once a general store that used an old method of sending a carriage on a wire to the office so change could be given and then sent back to the relevant station. Sadly, that has now gone and the store has been divided in three. The ceilings are original and often the old Wunderlich metal sheeting. On my walk around I have a muggacino which has been one of the lower quality purchases. It was well presented in nice clean surroundings. I will not be going back there for coffee. I continued my walk around the CBD taking numerous photos of the buildings.

Next I drove up to the Towers Hill Lookout. It has a purpose built building with visual displays describing the history of mining in the area. Something that I was not aware of was that during the Second World War, the Americans asked to have the stack of the mine demolished as it may be a hazard to aviation and also a likely land mark for enemy aircraft. Another thing was the RAAF bunkers put into the side of the hill. This was a store for ammunition for the Base in Townsville. All bunkers did not face another for fear of explosions should one go off. They were covered with camouflage nets and material from the mines. They are all over the hill and are still very visible. Another thing is the seismic recording station to monitor for earthquakes in its region with the readings sent to Canberra and shared with America. 

After being at the lookout, I had found a lot of dirt tracks in the hill and drove on them to see if there was anything else to discover. On one track I saw my first brown snake for the year. It was quite large specimen! I am not walking around in that area in a hurry!

After that I made my way back to the Karavan and did a bit of reading. Later Paul came over and we had a good chat before we both decided it was time for dinner. There is some more to see around here which I hope to do over the next few days.