Croydon, Queensland

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Croydon
Queensland
Croydon
Coordinates 18°12′S 142°14′E / 18.200°S 142.233°E / -18.200; 142.233Coordinates: 18°12′S 142°14′E / 18.200°S 142.233°E / -18.200; 142.233
Population 312 (2011)[1]
Postcode(s) 4871
Elevation 116 m (381 ft)[2]
Location
  • 1,896 km (1,178 mi) NW of Brisbane
  • 529 km (329 mi) W of Cairns
  • 156 km (97 mi) SE of Normanton
LGA(s) Croydon Shire Council
State electorate(s) Mount Isa
Federal Division(s) Kennedy
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
33.9 °C
93 °F		 20.4 °C
69 °F		 731.6 mm
28.8 in

Croydon is a town with the Shire of Croydon in Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, the town and surrounding area recorded a population 312.[1]

History

The historic goldrush town of Croydon is located in the heart of the Gulf Savannah, 562 kilometres (349 mi) west of Cairns.[3] Croydon was a large pastoral holding covering an area of approximately 5,000 square kilometres (2,000 sq mi), when first settled in the 1880s. The town's name is derived from a pastoral run name, used by Alexander Brown and William Chalmers Brown, pastoralists, who reportedly were born in Croydon, England.[4] Gold was discovered in 1885 and by 1887, the town's population had reached 7,000. Gold was to be the main economic production of the area for four decades. The Mining Warden left in 1926 as there were too few miners left on the field. During its heyday, Croydon was the fourth largest town in the colony of Queensland.

In 1917, Dr. Elkington, Director of the Division of Tropical Hygiene, Commonwealth Department of Health, was concerned about health and hygiene of its growing population, contemplated conducting a statistical and social survey of the town, which did not eventuate. Elkington's interest in sociological surveys of gathering social and economic details on a population later developed into the 1924 Sociological Survey of White Women conducted from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Townsville.[citation needed]

Currently, Croydon has a much smaller population, having greatly decreased following the end of the gold rush. The population is now a few hundred people. The town is one of the termini for the Gulflander railway, opened for the gold rush in 1891 but now a tourist railway operated by Traveltrain. In early 2009, the close proximity of a receding cyclone ex-Cyclone Charlotte, caused torrential rain and Croydon to be flooded.[5] An estimated $5 million of damage was made to town infrastructure.[6]

Heritage listings

The heritage listed Croydon Town Hall, built in 1892

Croydon has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

  • Croydon: Homeward Bound Battery and Dam[7]
  • Gulf Developmental Road: Content Mine[8]
  • Gulf Development Road: Richmond Mine and Battery[9]
  • Helen Street: Croydon Station, Normanton to Croydon Railway[10]
  • Julia Creek Road: Croydon Cemetery, Queensland[11]
  • Normanton (Gulf Development) Road: Golden Gate Mining and Town Complex[12]
  • Normanton Road: Station Creek Cemetery[13]
  • Normanton to Croydon: Normanton to Croydon Railway Line[14]
  • Off Gulf Development Road: Chinese Temple and Settlement Site[15]
  • Samwell Street: Court House (former)[16]
  • Samwell Street: Croydon Shire Hall[17]
  • Samwell Street: Police Reserve Complex (former)[18]
  • Sircom Street: Croydon State Emergency Services Building[19]
  • Tabletop Cemetery[20]
  • West of the railway station: Old Croydon Cemetery[21]

Facilities

Croydon has a public library, swimming pool, golf course, lawn bowls, a museum, a tourist information centre, caravan park and a primary school.[22]

In popular culture

Croydon was mentioned in the 1950 novel "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute, as an example of a largely abandoned gold rush town.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Croydon (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 16 January 2014. 
  2. ↑ Bureau of Meteorology - Retrieved 2008-01-27
  3. ↑ "Croydon Shire Council". Croydon Shire Council. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
  4. ↑ "Place name details - Croydon". Queensland Government. Retrieved 16 January 2012. 
  5. ↑ ABC News (13 January 2009). "Qld flood disaster bill tops $25 million". Australian Broadcasting Corporartion. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
  6. ↑ ABC News (23 July 2009). "Flood-hit roads hampering livestock trucks". Australian Broadcasting Corporartion. Retrieved 15 November 2009. 
  7. ↑ "Homeward Bound Battery and Dam (entry 15214)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  8. ↑ "Content Mine (entry 320)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  9. ↑ "Richmond Mine and Battery (entry 16594)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  10. ↑ "Croydon Station, Normanton to Croydon Railway (entry 15215)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  11. ↑ "Croydon Cemetery (entry 19497)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  12. ↑ "Golden Gate Mining and Town Complex (entry 30728)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  13. ↑ "Station Creek Cemetery (entry 19496)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  14. ↑ "Normanton to Croydon Railway Line (entry 15171)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  15. ↑ "Chinese Temple and Settlement Site (entry 16815)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  16. ↑ "Court House (former) (entry 15212)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  17. ↑ "Croydon Shire Hall (entry 16414)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  18. ↑ "Police Reserve Complex (former) (entry 15925)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  19. ↑ "Croydon State Emergency Services Building (entry 15213)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  20. ↑ "Tabletop Cemetery (entry 1013)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  21. ↑ "Old Croydon Cemetery (entry 19495)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 2013-07-07. 
  22. ↑ "Croydon". Centre for the Government of Queensland. Retrieved 21 December 2011. 

External links

Media related to Croydon, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons

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