Croydon



An historic township in the heart of Gulf country and the terminus for the legendary Gulflander railway from Normanton 150 km to the east.

Location: 562 km west of Cairns; 125 m above sea-level.

Places of interest: Lake Belmore; Croydon Hotel; Croydon Historic Precinct includes surgeon's house (bottle museum), Court House (1887), mining warden's office, the Croydon General Store, the old gaol and butcher's shop, the hospital and Croydon railway station.



Gulflander Railway

The Gulflander railway was built to transport gold and people from Croydon to the port at Normanton. It arrives in town around 1.30pm on Wednesdays. At its peak it moved over 10 000 people each year. The railway was built to transport gold and people from Croydon to the port at Normanton. At its peak it moved over 10,000 people each year. This quaint little train can still be ridden on today. The Gulflander often stops for an impromptu morning tea supplied by the locals and for photo opportunities at Norman River Bridge.

Out on the Gulf the terrain is flat and harsh. The quietness is almost deafening and broken only by the squawk of a native bird or a wandering beast. An occasional Willy-Willy disturbs the landscape but otherwise time almost stands still. Then, from the silence, a soft groan becomes louder and a distinctive clackety-clack heralds the arrival of the Gulflander the Tin Hare.


Brief history
First settled by European pastoralists in the 1880s, gold was discovered in 1885 by WC Brown, the manager of Croydon Downs Station. This sparked a goldrush that saw the town spring up and peak with a population of over 6,500. The railway to Croydon was opened in 1891. It still runs, though it hasn't made a profit since 1907 when the gold began running out. Mining continued on a small scale until about 1923 and then there was no activity until the early 1980s when a processing plant was established at Tabletop at a cost of about $14 million.

Origin of name: named after Croydon Downs Station, a pastoral run operated by Alexander and William Chalmers Brown who reportedly were born in Croydon, England.







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