Queenstown

Alluvial gold was discovered near Queen River in the 1880s. From “Let’s Talk About Queenstown, put out by the then Tasmanian Visitor Corporation:

The news of the rich gold reef was welcomes by Pieman River diggers who found it hard to make a living from the worked out creeks, and many walked down to F.O. Henry’s store at Long Bay (Strahan) to get stores and mining implements before going up the King River.

The going was very rough. After reaching the navigable part of the King River there were rapids to be negotiated at frequent intervals, and often the boat had to be towed from the banks. The land journey was worse — through almost impenetrable jungle, packs had to be carried on men’s back. Incessant rainfall soon turned tracks in quagmire, stinking with rotten vegetation — a trap for man and later for horses used on the trail.

A couple of years later, the Iron Blow was discovered and worked as a gold mine.

For nearly ten years miners toiled on the Mt Lyell ore to extract a few ounces of gold a day, but they ignored the millions of copper in it.

Bowes Kelly, a mining investor, bought the Mt Lyell gold mine in 1891 and then formed the Mt Lyell Mining Company in Melbourne. However, in that year gold mining at Mt Lyell came to an end, although gold has always remained a welcome product.

A small town, Penghana, grew up near the smelters, even though another town site had been surveyed on nearby Queen River. There doesn’t seem to be any photos of Penghana, although I’m wondering about this one. Unfortunately, in 1896, the little town was wiped out by a bush fire.

I found a notice about the fire in a New Zealand newspaper.

The Penghana Fire
Hobart, December 15
One hundred and sixty five houses, huts, and tents were destroyed at Penghana. The Government is sending relief.

After this, it was decided to make use of the river site after all.

Queenstown, 1897

Former Queenstown Hotel, built 1896.

The Galley Museum was originally the Imperial Hotel, 1898

The best summary of Queenstown’s development I found on the Dept of Environment’s Heritage Photo Database, which says:

The west coast of Tasmania is an isolated rugged area only opened up for settlement by mineral discoveries from the 1860s. When the shanty town of Penghana associated with the Iron Blow copper mine was destroyed by fire in 1896, the population moved to the government’s preferred town site, Queenstown. The growth of the town of Queenstown was dramatic in the early years, being associated with the success of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company Limited. By May 1899 Queenstown had 1300 dwellings and 5000 people.

In the 2006 Census, the population was 2100. Not quite the dramatic rise and fall of Zeehan. Queenstown is the biggest town on the West Coast, with at least twice the population Rosebery & Strahan. Along with continued mining on Mt Lyell, there also a respectable tourist trade. The major attraction (after the mountains) is probably the recently restored West Coast Wilderness Railway.

A rack & pinion railways has a toothed centre rail so the train can get up mountain slops. The West Coast railways is also known at the Abt Railway, because it uses the Abt system. The centre rail is prominent in some of the older photos and here

The mountains: the trees were cut down to fuel copper smelters and sulphur produced by the smelters contributed to the loss of vegetation and also encouraged bushfires, and then the rain washed away the soil.

The park there at the front has this long memorial sculpture thing.

This is one end, under the roofed bit.
Down from there are a series of small plaques commemorating significant events.

Empire Hotel, 1901.
Inside.
Lyell District Municipal Band Room
The football oval is sand/gravel.
Post Office, built 1892.I think Mt Lyell must have been photographed by everyone in the early 20th century. Also many internal shots too and even some inside the office.

Of Queenstown itself, there less of a choice, and not many actually interesting, except this one (there’s the post office) and this one for a different reason. This butcher’s shop must be from that time too. And one last to have a look at, even if you don’t look at any of the others.