The Hodgkinson Mineral Area was a mining area near the Hodgkinson River about 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 ...

, in the present-day

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 ...

in Queensland, Australia. It was the site of a

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

in the 1870s.

History

Prospector

James Venture Mulligan James Venture Mulligan (13 February 1837 – 24 August 1907) was an Ireland-born Australian prospector and explorer. Early life Mulligan was born in Drumgooland, County Down and emigrated to Australia at the age of 21 in 1860. He settled at ...

discovered gold in the Hodgkinson River area in 1876. Mines were established and many towns developed: * Beaconsfield () * Glen Mowbray *

Kingsborough Kingsburgh may refer to: * Kingsburgh, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Kingsburgh, Skye, Highland, Scotland * Kingsburgh, California, former name of Kingsburg, California Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California, United States. Kingsbu ...

* Merton * Northcote * Tinaroo * Great Western * Hodgkinson * Woodville * Wellesley * Union Town * New Northcote * Mount Mulligan * Montmunro * MacLeodsville * Littleton * Kingston * Stewartown * Thornborough * Tyrconnel * Watsonsville (not to be confused with

Watsonville Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 at the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self-designated sanctua ...

near

Herberton Herberton is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Herberton had a population of 895 people. Geography Herberton is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is situate ...

) Many miners relocated from the

Palmer River The Palmer River is a river in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873. Course and features The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in the Suss ...

goldfields to the Hodgkinson field. As the Hodgkinson field was too far from the port at

Cooktown Cooktown is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Cook, Queensland, Australia. Cooktown is at the mouth of the Endeavour River, on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland where James Cook beached his ship, the '' Endeavour'', for ...

, a new port was established at

. However, it was a very steep trip up through the Barron Gorge to reach Cairns and so explorer Christy Palmerston successfully searched for an easier track (known as the Bump Track) down the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

to the coast leading to the creation of

Port Douglas Port Douglas is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Douglas, Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns. In the , the locality of Port Douglas had a population of 3,650 people. The town's population can often double, however, ...

. In 1877, two towns - Kingsborough and Thornborough emerged in the area with a substantial residing in each town. Just five kilometres away from each other, the towns developed at a fast pace and were soon home to various hotels, retail stores and shops. Mining operations received a further boost with the inauguration of the Cairns-Mareeba rail line in 1893 which improved accessibility to the area. As with many gold rushes, after a few years only a few people had made money and the others left, often to another promising new gold rush. There was a brief resurgence of interest during the economic depression of the 1890s as gold became more valuable, but eventually the mining came to an end.

Present day

Most of the towns no longer exist, apart from a few relics. The Tyrconnel Historic Gold Mine can be visited as a tourist attraction.

References

External links

* {{coord, 16, 49, 00, S, 144, 49, 59, E, type:landmark_region:AU-QLD, display=title Shire of Mareeba Mining in Queensland Economic history of Queensland