Hodgkinson
Goldfields were one of the richest in Cape York.
Although not
quite as rich as Palmer
River
Goldfields, Hodgkinson was also big and is very
interesting to discover.
It is best reached from BDR
in
the south, although there is another, slower road from a
road
junction from Mulligan Highway.
The road from Dimbulah is easy and at least in the dry season done in
two wheel drive.
A short distance north
of BDR you come to the road junction where
turning right takes you to Tyrconnell
and Kingsborough,
and turning
left takes you to Mount
Mulligan.
Tyrconnell
Mine
Tyrconnell
is a very nice looking place with restored old buildings and relics of
old mining equipment.
It
was one of
the richest gold mines in the famous Hodgkinson Goldfields.
While Thornborough
and Kingsborough
(with their
remaining cemeteries) were towns were miners lived, Tyrconnell
was the
mine itself.
And it is not a heap of
ruins like most historical mining sites.
This site
is
beautifully done up and restored so you
can see the buildings and equipment the way they were.
Kingsborough
and Thornborough
Kingsborough
used to
be the largest town in the Hodgkinson goldfields with about 1000
inhabitants.
But since
the gold ended, the
towns faded away, many buildings were
moved, and today, there is not a lot left except a private residence,
and an old cemetery.
Back at the road junction, turning
left takes you past the old
Thornborough Cemetery
to Mount
Mulligan.
Thornborough used to
be a town of 20 pubs and a population of 1500.
Today, the ruins of the
town
are about 1km after the Mount
Mulligan -Tyrconnell / Kingsborough road junction.
The
cemetery
is not hard to see on the right hand side of the road to Mount Mulligan.
Mount
Mulligan
Mount
Mulligan is
our favourite of all
the old mines in the Cape York area.
Although it was the site of a
sad mining disaster,
it is a beautiful place
in front of a large
rock face, and all the ruins are signed, easy to find and very
interesting to discover.
It is in Cairns outback, just
south of the actual Cape York peninsula, more exactly it is part of the old Hodgkinson
Goldfields, reached via Dimbulah.
And it is an interesting one. It
was a coal, not a gold mine; and it is mostly
known as the site of Australia's worst mining disaster.
If you have been to museums in Mareeba
and elsewhere in the area, you have most likely already seen displays
on this place, and read the stories of the September
day
in 1921 when 75 miners were killed in an underground explosion in what
became to be called the
Mt Mulligan
mining disaster (if not, do it - they are interesting
stories!).
So once
you get here you are
prepared for the monument
and more
information on the
accident - but what I wasn't prepared for was the beauty of the place,
and the excellent ruins.
It is not
a few relics
scattered in the bush like in many old mining
sites.
It's a whole town,
AND
the whole mine
- perfectly signed street by street and building by building.
Ok, most
of the buildings are of course no longer here, and the ones that are,
are in ruins.
But
the ruins are interesting to discover since you know
from the signs what building it was; and you get a pretty good
picture of the whole town the way it was.
On
top of that, the natural
beauty of the place is amazing.
The
rock face behind the town is
sometimes called "Queensland's Uluru" and it's not altogether that much
exaggerated.
UPDATE
2019 - there is now a luxury lodge, which now also owns Tyrconnell, all detail is in the
Destination Guide.
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It
contains information that helps you getting started with planning of your trip.
You get to make early-stages desicions such as when to go, how long time you
should take, how to get
there and get
around, where
to stay (general info), what
will it cost..
and a short insight to what is there to see and do in Cape York.
This complete 300 pages
travel guide is all you need before and during your trip. Besides the
background chapters on the peninsula's history and wildlife; and the comprehensive detail about all
the places (down to prices, opening hours and full contact
detail), it has invaluable information on at least 10 four wheel drive tracks,
at least 30 guaranteed FREE
camping spots on the Cape (and at least 150 on your way to
the Cape), at least 40 best
swimming holes, all mapped; as well as practical things -
from fuel, roads, wireless internet and mobile phone reception,
how to deal with the national
parks booking rules; and Aboriginal land entrance and camping permits
and alcohol restrictions - to vehicle preparation and accessories and necessary recovery
gear by my vehicle-recovery-guy partner).
Not to mention locals'
tips on how to spot that croc and palm cockatoo ;-)
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This site uses British
English, which is the English we use in
Australia.
Disclaimer:
Although
best efforts have been made to ensure that all the information on this
website is correct, this site is not to be blamed should there be a
mistake.
This is the ORIGINAL Cape York Travel Guide run Locally on the Peninsula.