QUEENSTOWN TASMANIA
WILD WEST MINING HISTORY AND DRAMATIC SCENERY
Queenstown is the gateway to the west coast of Tasmania and has
a rugged mining history and was once the worlds richest mining town. Copper
mining and logging in the early 1900’s has created a surreal rocky moonscape which
adds to the charm of the ramshackle historic town.
The mountainous area was first explored in 1862. It was long after that when alluvial gold was discovered at Mount Lyell resulting in the formation of the Mount Lyell Gold Mining Company in 1881. In 1892, the mine began searching for copper and later the company was renamed as the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company. Early in 1895 a Post Office was opened at the Queen River fork and crossing, about a kilometre north of present-day Queenstown on the road to Strahan. In the 1900s, Queenstown was the centre of the Mount Lyell mining district and had numerous smelting works, brick-works, and sawmills. The area at the time was heavily wooded. The town in its heyday had a collection of hotels, churches and schools that have largely disappeared since the demise of the Mount Lyell Company.
The Gold Rush Inn is a small older-style motel on te edge of town that was clean and neat and provided all that was needed.
When in Queenstown
The View On The Way In
Visit Horsetail Falls
Walk The Historic Township
Take the West Coast Wilderness Railway to Strahan
Visit the Railway Station
Walk up to Skion Kop Lookout
Have lunch at the historic Empire Hotel
No comments:
Post a Comment