Page 12 - Port Douglas Magazine 43

“THERE’S GOLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!”

PAVED WITH
gold

BEFORE TOURISM AND BEFORE SUGAR CANE, THERE
WAS GOLD —THE SHINIEST PART OF THE DOUGLAS
SHIRE’S RICH HISTORY.

WORDS by Sara Mulcahy
IF YOU’D BEEN IN PORT DOUGLAS IN 1876, chances are you’d have Government offices, banks and a courthouse were established, and a
been listening out for the phrase that’s been attributed to Mark Twain, Dr lighthouse built on the Low Isles off the coast. It was a boom time, and Port
MF Stephenson and Bugs Bunny. Douglas quickly overtook Cairns as the main port for the goldfields.
Gold was first discovered in Far North Queensland in 1873, when explorer In 1878, Willnetts North Queensland Almanac lists the population of Port
William Hann reported finding deposits in the sandy bed of the Palmer Douglas as 400. By the early 1880s, it had swelled to 12,000. (The current
River about 200km southwest of Cooktown. When a follow-up expedition number of permanent residents sits at 3,500, for context.) The main street
of 110 diggers — led by prospector James Venture Mulligan — returned to was named Macrossan Street in honour of state MP John Macrossan.
Cooktown with their saddlebags packed with alluvial gold, the news sparked Dickson Inlet was named for the Colonial Treasurer James Dickson.
a rush of 30,000 European and Chinese gold diggers. As more businesses moved from the Cairns area to Port Douglas, William
Hard on the heels of the Palmer River proclamation, Mulligan established Henry Buchanan was issued with a liquor license for what is now the
a second camp on the Hodgkinson River, another 200km further south, in Courthouse Hotel.
June 1876. Four Mile Camp, now known as Craiglie, was set up as a village for the
Many miners relocated from the Palmer River goldfields to the Hodgkinson packers who loaded and packed goods for shipping, and the teamsters who
field in the hope of making their fortunes. By 1877, two towns were servicing drove the horse and bullock-drawn wagons up and down the Bump Road.
the new fields — Kingsborough and Thornborough — which were soon It is reported to have hosted as many as 1000 animals at a time, serviced by
home to a fast-growing population, along with multiple hotels and stores. blacksmiths, farriers and a saddlery. (Look out for the giant wagon wheels at
Wet season floods and clashes with traditional owners, combined with the the entrance to Teamsters Park, located along the Captain Cook Highway on
sheer distance made the journey between the Hodgkinson and the port at the southern approach into Craiglie.)
Cooktown treacherous. A new port was established at Cairns, however, The original St Mary’s Catholic Church opened in town and the Port Douglas
this was also a steep and difficult trip, so bushman and pathfinder Christy Hospital was built where the Beach Club resort now stands on Davidson
Palmerston was tasked with finding an alternative track from Thornborough Street. The schoolhouse on Murphy Street (it’s still there today and, at time
down the Great Dividing Range to the coast. of press, on the market) opened in 1879, welcoming 55 pupils.
Following ancient Aboriginal walking tracks, Palmerston mapped out That same year, the number of licensed hotels in the district rose to 21 — 18
the Bump Road (now a challenging walk known as the Bump Track) that in town and three close to the Bump Road.
became the main access from the Hodgkinson goldfield to the port facilities But behind all this prosperity, bitter competition was brewing between the
at White Island Point. The wagon journey took four days. Port Douglas and the Cairns railway leagues in their bids to become the East
White Island was officially renamed Port Douglas later that year, in honour of Coast rail terminus. The miners wanted a rail connection from the latest
the then Queensland Premier John Douglas, and settled as the port of entry inland mining town of Herberton to the coast, and Cairns and Innisfail
and exit for the Hodgkinson goldfield. The first stone jetty at Port Douglas pitched against Port Douglas for the privilege. In 1885 Cairns was chosen as
was constructed at the end of Wharf Street by the Queensland Government. the terminus, effectively killing off any further development of Port Douglas.

12 Port Douglas Magazine & Travel Planner