Calcifer is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in the locality of

Chillagoe Chillagoe is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Chillagoe had a population of 214 people. It was once a thriving mining town for a range of minerals, but is now reduced to a small ...

in the

Shire of Mareeba The Shire of Mareeba is a Local government in Australia, local government area at the base of Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, inland from Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. The shire, administered from the town of Mareeba, Queensland, Mare ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia.

Geography

The town is located west of

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

, and southeast of Chillagoe. It is near Calcifer Creek.

History

The town's name was derived from a combination of the words ''calx'', ''cuprum'' and ''ferrum'', the Latin words for "limestone", "copper", and "iron" respectively. The town was established in 1894, when John Moffat established a copper smelter on the site. At its height in 1898, the town boasted stores, a branch of the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by royal charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

, a cricket team, and five hotels. An accident at the nearby Hobson mine in 1903 killed three men; and by 1907 smelting operations had moved to Chillagoe, and the site was all but deserted. Today, all that remains are the foundations of the smelters and a small cemetery with five graves.

References

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External links

Ghost towns in Queensland Shire of Mareeba Populated places established in 1894 1894 establishments in Australia {{authority control