Mount Cuthbert, Queensland
| Mount Cuthbert Queensland | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Mount Cuthbert | |
| Coordinates | 19°59′22″S 139°55′7″E / 19.98944°S 139.91861°ECoordinates: 19°59′22″S 139°55′7″E / 19.98944°S 139.91861°E |
| Established | 1917 |
| Postcode(s) | 4824 |
| LGA(s) | Cloncurry Shire Council |
| State electorate(s) | Mount Isa |
| Federal Division(s) | Kennedy |
Mount Cuthbert was a former copper mining town in Queensland, and is now a ghost town.[1]
History
Mount Cuthbert was one of a string of mining towns created in north-west Queensland (other examples being Duchess and Selwyn) by Melbourne investors eager to profit from high copper prices in the early 20th century. A railway had been opened to the town and copper smelters were operating by 1917, and by 1918 the population was recorded as 750 people. Some of the workers in Mount Cuthbert at the time were Russian and affiliated with the Industrial Workers of the World.[2][3]
A fall in the world price of copper in 1920 badly affected the local economy, and by 1921 only 267 people remained. By 1927 the settlement was a ghost town,[4] and the railway line was closed in 1949.[3]
Mount Cuthbert Post Office opened by June 1910 (a receiving office had been open from 1908) and closed in 1927.[5]
External links
References
- ↑ Fynes-Clinton, P. N. (1966). "Ghost towns of Queensland Part I : The Cloncurry Copperfield" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Historical Society of Queensland 8 (1): pp144–154.
- ↑ Windle, Kevin. "Murder at Mount Cuthbert: A Russian Revolutionary describes Queensland life in 1915-1919". Journal of the Australasian Universities Modern Language Association (110): pp53–71.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Queensland Places: Mount Cuthbert". University of Queensland. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ "North Queensland's Mining Heritage Trails" (PDF). Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, Queensland Government. p. 21. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.