The Roman Catholic Church on the eastern approach to Richmond

Richmond
Rural service centre in outback Queensland.
Richmond is a small outback town of about 800 people which functions as a service centre to the surrounding pastoral community. The winner of the Tidiest Queensland Town award in 2001, Richmond is noted for its gardens of bougainvilleas, native trees and shrubs. It offers the traveler a range of accommodation from motels to a caravan park.

Situated on the banks of the Flinders River, Richmond is located 488 km west of Townsville (en route to Mount Isa) in an area first explored by William Landsborough who came through the area in 1862 looking for Burke and Wills. Landsborough's report on the area was such that within the next decade the area had been settled by pastoralists.

The discovery of gold at the Woolgar fields 113 km north of the town resulted in a rush to the area and Richmond became an important point for the Cobb & Co coaches which moved miners through the area. This historic link is recalled in Goldring street (the main street) with a superbly preserved Cobb & Co coach.

Richmond was surveyed in 1882. It was named after the Richmond Downs Pastoral Run, established by Bundock and Hayes, which was, in turn, named after the Richmond River area of NSW from whence they hailed.

In 1904 the railway reached the town thus making it the terminus and railhead for the Gulf country. For the next four years (until the railway pushed on to Julia Creek) cattle were brought to Richmond to be shipped out to the coast. The arrival of the railway meant the hasty demise of Cobb & Co.

Richmond Racecourse is a popular venue in the district, holding six race meetings each year. The biennial Fossil Festival features the World Moonrock Throwing Competition. It is held in even-numbered years.

Things to see:  

Kronosaurus Korner/Visitor Information
Richmond came to the attention of all Australians in 1989 when the skeleton of a 100-million-year-old Pliosaur was discovered near the town. It was the second major discovery of an important fossil in the area. The famous Kronosaurus queenslandicus was discovered at Army Downs north of Richmond in 1929 by a team of palaeontologists from Harvard University. The area is rich in fossils as it was once part of Australia's vast 'inland sea'.

Built around these finds is Kronosarus Korner - the town's marine fossil museum, which displays fossil finds from the cretaceous-era inland sea, which existed from about 97.5 to 120 million years ago. Fossilised remains include the Kronosaurus, which was a large Pliosaur (a full skeleton would be about 18 metres in length, including an elongated 3.2-metre head). Another fossil is the Richmond Pliosaur (known as Iever's crocodile), measuring 4.25 metres, with a long slender snout and interlocking teeth. These marine reptiles were fast swimmers feeding on fish and other aquatic animals.

Other marine remnants include those of the7-metre Plesiosaur known as Woolungasaurus (its remains indicate that it swallowed stones for ballast, as does the modern crocodile), the more shark-like Icthyosaurus (7 metres), a large turtle, fossilised squid, shellfish and other bony fish.

Featured land dinosaurs include an 80% complete ankylosaur called a Minmi (it is considered the most complete dinosaur skeleton to be found in Australia) and a brachiosaur. The centre has a cafe and souvenir shop, is fully air-conditioned and doubles as the town's Visitor Information Centre. The cost of entry to the museum displays, at December 1, 2002, was $8 for adults and $3 for children. It is located at 91-93 Goldring Street (the main street), tel: (07) 4741 3429 or email: mailto@kronosauruskorner.com.au.

Moon Rocks/Parks
Amid the green lawns of Lions Park (on Goldring street) is a strange monument made of different shaped limestone rocks positioned on top of each other. It looks like the sort of plasticine model that pre-school children make. In fact the rocks are a local phenomenon known as 'moon rocks' which can weigh many tonnes and which often have fossilised remnants of fish and shells inside. The monument, opened by Joh Bjelke-Petersen, celebrates the bitumen sealing of the Flinders Highway in 1976. Another item on display in Lions park is an old 'flood boat', used to convey stores across the river when it was in flood.

Bobby Murray Park is another patch of greenery ideal for a picnic or a play.

Historic Buildings/Cemetery
The Pioneer Heritage Walk takes in the town's old streetscape. The Roman Catholic Church on the eastern approach to Richmond is a remarkable example of a west Queensland timber church with stone pretensions. The old Strand Theatre, made out of corrugated iron and looking like a nissen hut, makes the visitor wonder what it must have been like going to the movies on a hot summer night in Richmond. And the Mud Hut Hotel, build from flagstone and adobe in the early 1890s, has a section of the original wall projecting out from behind the modern surface. The town's Pioneer Cemetery is also of interest.

Sandalwood Mill
The Santalum Sandalwood Factory and Mill is the state's only sandalwood mill, principally manufacturing incense and joss sticks for export to Asia. A guided tour can be organised.

Cobb & Co Coach
The discovery of gold at the Woolgar fields 113 km north of the town resulted in a rush to the area and Richmond became an important point for the Cobb & Co coaches which moved miners through the area. This historic link is recalled in Goldring Street, adjacent the mill, with a superbly preserved Cobb & Co coach which once conveyed people along a route which followed the Flinders River.

Cambridge Ruins
40 km north of town on the Croydon Road are the 19th-century ruins of an old Cobb & Co coach station, tel: (07) 4741 3429.

Gidgee Wheel Art and Craft Shop
The Gidgee Wheel Art and Craft Shop is located in the town's main street.

Fossicking
Kronosaurus Korner is a good place to get advice concerning where to go fossicking for fossils, tel: (07) 4741 3429.

Flinders River
Fishing for cod, bream and catfish are enjoyed in the Flinders River, along with bathing in its waterholes.

	Tourist Information
	Richmond Shire Council Offices 50 Goldring St Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3277
	Motels
	Entrikenšs Pioneer Motel 82 Goldring St Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3188 Rating: ***
	Midway Motel Flinders Hwy Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3192 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Federal Palace Hotel 64 Goldring St Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3463
	Richmond Hotel/Motel Goldring St Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3223
	Caravan Parks
	Midway Caravan Park Flinders Hwy Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3192
	Richmond Shire Caravan Park Richmond QLD 4822 Telephone: (07) 4741 3772