Silver Valley, Queensland
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Silver Valley is a rural
locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...
in the
Tablelands Region The Tablelands Region is a Local government in Australia, local government area in Far North Queensland, Australia inland from the city of Cairns, Queensland, Cairns. Established in 2008, it was preceded by four previous local government areas ...
,
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. It is known for its mining in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In the , Silver Valley had a population of 145 people.


Geography

The
Wild River A wild river (United States, Australia, & New Zealand) or heritage river (Canada) is a :river or a Drainage basin, river system designated by a government to be protected and kept "relatively untouched by development and are therefore in near n ...
forms the western boundary of the locality. Although historically part of Silver Valley, the now-abandoned township of Coolgarra is just within the current boundaries of neighbouring
Mount Garnet Mount Garnet is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Garnet had a population of 532 people. Geography Various small communities populate the area around Mount Garnet. These ...
(). The
Kennedy Highway The Kennedy Highway is a highway in northern Queensland, Australia. It runs as National Route 1 for approximately 243 km from Smithfield, on the northern outskirts of Cairns, to the Gulf Developmental Road in the vicinity of Forty Mile Sc ...
enters the locality at its south-eastern corner ( Millstream) forming part of its southern boundary before passing through the south of the locality and then exiting to the south (
Innot Hot Springs Innot Hot Springs is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Innot Hot Springs had a population of 189 people. Geography Innot Hot Springs is south-west of Cairns via the Bruce ...
). The locality is mountainous, rising from an elevation of in Bulldog Gully in the south of the locality through to numerous peaks in the locality (from north to south): * Middle Ridge () * Mount Clotten () * Mount Nolan () * Breccia Hill () * Hammer Hill () * Mount Lancelot () * Mount Klaatsch () * Mount Missler () * Perrots Knob () * Mount Port Arthur () * Mount Wilson () * Mount Gibson () The land is relatively undeveloped apart from some areas now laid bare as the result of mining. The land use is predominantly
grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...
on native vegetation. Most of the residential use is along the Wild River in the south-east of the locality.


History

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 ...
is credited with the first discovery of
silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
at Silver Valley in 1880. By 1883, outcrops of silver,
lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
and
galena Galena, also called lead glance, is the natural mineral form of lead(II) sulfide (PbS). It is the most important ore of lead and an important source of silver. Galena is one of the most abundant and widely distributed sulfide minerals. It crysta ...
had been found in the area and it was named ''Silver Valley'' and mining commenced. It was also known as ''Newellton'' after a pioneer family. However, while the silver mines were initially productive (one yielding up to 150 ounces of metal per ton), after a few years the silver lode was exhausted and the mines abandoned. However, in 1895, three prospector George Harrod discovered two rich
lode In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fracture (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock. The current meaning (ore vein) dates from th ...
s of
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
and, with Hammond and White, established the Lancelot mine and, with Hammond, White and Daniels, established the Hadleigh Castle mine. In 1899 a German company (the German Lancelot Tin Mining Company) purchased the Lancelot Mine and proposed naming the area ''Lancelot'' after the mine and later proposed to establish a new town called ''New Frankfurt'' (although there is no evidence that this occurred). However, the German company did build a dam and a 5-head
battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...
. However, by 1910 the lodes were exhausted and diamond drills were used to search for new lodes, but without success. In 1911 the mines were sold to John Moffat. However, the popular story is that the Germans operated the mine up until the start of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
whereupon they suddenly disappeared overnight, but this story reflects the
anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is fear or dislike of Germany, its Germans, people, and its Culture of Germany, culture. Its opposite is Germanophile, Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment main ...
in response to World War I rather than actual events. Coolgarra Provisional School opened on 29 April 1901. On 1 January 1909, it became Coolgarra State School. In July 1916, it became a half-time provisional school in conjunction with Lower Nettles Provisional School (meaning a single teacher shared between two schools). However, Lower Nettles closed later in 1916 and Coolgarra was again a full -time state school. Coolgarra State School closed in 1934. The school was on a site bounded by Mary, Elma, Lucy and Elsie Streets (), now within the boundaries of present-day
Mount Garnet Mount Garnet is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Garnet had a population of 532 people. Geography Various small communities populate the area around Mount Garnet. These ...
. Lancelot Provisional School opened in 1905 but closed in 1906 when insufficient students enrolled. It reopened circa 1920 and closed in 1926. It was on site on the eastern side of Silver Valley Road (). Despite the apparent cessation of mining in the area, Silver Valley was described in 1912 as being "rich in minerals" with "beautiful scenery, fishing and shooting". The Silver Valley Hotel (licensee James Ramsay) could provide accommodation for 20 people for 6/- per day or 30/- per week. Like most old mines, there are occasional flurries of renewed activity whenever there were prospects of poorer ore lodes being profitably mined, usually in response to rising metal prices or more efficient extraction technologies, but generally such mining is short-lived as it is extremely price-sensitive.


Demographics

In the , Silver Valley had a population of 144 people. In the , Silver Valley had a population of 145 people.


Heritage listings

Silver Valley has a number of
heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...
sites, including: *
Coolgarra Battery Coolgarra Battery is a heritage-listed stamper battery at Coolgarra Station, Silver Valley, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1896 to 1901. It is also known as Coolgarra Old Furnace. It was added to the Queensland He ...
, Coolgarra Station ()


Education

There are no schools in Silvery Valley. The nearest government primary schools are Mount Garnet State School in neighbouring
Mount Garnet Mount Garnet is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mount Garnet had a population of 532 people. Geography Various small communities populate the area around Mount Garnet. These ...
to the south-west, Irvinebank State School in neighbouring
Irvinebank Irvinebank is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Irvinebank had a population of 113 people. Geography The Great Dividing Range forms the south-eastern and southern boundary of th ...
to the west, and Herberton State School in
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 ...
to the north-east. The nearest government secondary schools are Herberton State School (to Year 10) in Herberton, Ravenshoe State School (to Year 12) in
Ravenshoe Ravenshoe ( ) is a rural town and locality in the Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ravenshoe had a population of 1,332 people. Geography Ravenshoe is on the Atherton Tableland in Far North Queensland. It is ...
to the east, and
Atherton State High School Atherton State High School (ASHS) is a co-educational, state secondary school in Atherton, Tablelands Region, Queensland, Australia. Education TAFE and Atherton High School were linked through vocational education and training programs. Howeve ...
(to Year 12) in Atherton to the north-east.


References


Further reading

* * — provides a description of Silver Valley in 1883 * — vi
State Library of Queensland


External links

{{Tablelands Region Tablelands Region Localities in Queensland