Discovery of Charters Towers, 1871
It is now a little over 76 years since
gold was discovered on Charters
Towers, which later became famous as
a reefing goldfield. Before its discovery there were both alluvial
and reefing
gold fields. in the Kennedy electorate.
The field embraced an area nearly as
large as Victoria and at the time was
represented by only
one member of Parliament. In the latter part of 1871 Mosman
and party discovered gold but it was not till the 2nd January, 1872,
that the fact was reported to the Gold Commissioner then stationed at
Ravenswood and a prospecting protection area and four, men's
ground was obtained from Comissioner Charters
.
The report by Mr. Mosman of the discovery by his party of
rich reefs near the "Towers Mountain" (Towers Hill), which he
named the North Australian, General Wyndham and Washington, soon
brought about
a great influx of people to the
locality of the new rush and a gold
field was immediately proclaimed under the name of the CHARTERS
TOWERS GOLDFIELD, so called out
of compliment to the then Commissioner
of Ravenswood, Mr. W. E. S. M. Charters. As to the first part of
the name,
the other part being intended to designate the mountains which
resembled the hills or mountains called tors or towers
in many parts of England. Many of
those who 'came with the rush expressed
the opinion that it was no good, that
the stone was white and hungry and that
all the gold in the stone could be seen.
Results have shown the fallacy of that opinion, yet some of those who
made this assertion took up claims which gave them handsome returns.
Had it been an alluvial find on the same scale, its rapid development
would have caused no surprise, for diggers flock more eagerly to where
gold, is easily obtained and returns quicker than to where capital and
machinery is required. Within four or five months after the
prospecting area had been granted, a large population had
settled on the field and a town and stores, hotels, banks and
other businesses had sprung into existence, the buildings
would, not have shamed the old established towns of the colony,
which Queensland was at the time of the discovery.
The number of the reefs which cropped on the surface were
legion, most
of them showing gold, which was the main factor. The extraordinary
progress of the field, the alluvial lead found to the east of
Millchester called the DEEP LEAD was discovered in July, 1892, the town
being first laid, out in this locality on account of it being the
only creek then available for water, but later on the superiority of
the site now occupied .by the present town caused the population
to settle down here.
The first store and- hotel built on the Towers was called the Royal. It
was on the ground the present Royal Hotel occupies and was owned
by men of the name of Owen and Woodburn. They previously kept a store
at the Cape,
