The pub at Palmer River Roadhouse en route to Cooktown

Palmer River
Remnants of one of north Queensland's most famous gold mining towns.
Looking at the solitary Palmer River Roadhouse perched on the hill above the famous river it is hard to imagine that in the 1870s tens of thousands of miners flocked to this area searching for gold. It is even harder to imagine that this influx of miners was the catalyst to the establishment of the ports of Cairns, Cooktown and Port Douglas.

Palmer River has got to be one of the most perfect examples of the transitory nature of mining towns. It is possible, if you go looking for artefacts, to find some suggestion that humans once lived here but it would be quite possible to drive through the settlement and be unaware that it was once a thriving town.

The rush was started by the explorer William Hann who, while exploring the interior of Cape York Peninsula in 1872, noticed evidence of gold in one of the rivers he crossed. He named the river Palmer after the Queensland Chief Secretary, Arthur Palmer.

The following year the prospector James Venture Mulligan led a party to the river and returned with 102 ounces. He received £1000 reward and his discovery led to one of the last great goldrushes in Australia. By 1877 there were 17 000 diggers on the field and the following year the Chinese, who had poured onto the goldfield, were involved in a bitter series of battles which became known as the Tong Wars. They were fought between the Macao and Canton Chinese. At the time there were over 7000 Chinese miners on the fields.

Things to see:  

Palmer River Roadhouse
Today all that is left of the roaring days are a few suggestions of where miners lived and dug. The publican at the roadhouse has a collection of related artefacts.

	Caravan Parks
	Palmer River Roadhouse and Caravan Park Mulligan Hwy Palmer River QLD Telephone: (07) 4060 2020
	Restaurants
	Palmer River Roadhouse and Caravan Park Mulligan Hwy Palmer River QLD Telephone: (07) 4060 2152