Air Adventure Australia

Destination Profile - Charters Towers, Queensland

More than a century ago, the discovery of gold triggered a massive gold rush to Charters Towers , which grew to become the second largest city in Queensland.

This city is outstanding among Queensland towns for its historic character and appeal and for its collections of 19th and early 20th century buildings and streetscapes. Charters Towers, once dubbed "The World" due to its cosmopolitan nature, today boasts many modern facilities including a magnificent theatre hosting live performances and two cinemas, great restaurants, a range of tours and accommodation options.

Landmark buildings, including the Stock Exchange and The World Theatre, have been carefully preserved within the historic mining precinct.

Designed by Sydney architect, Mark Day and built by Sandbrook Brothers of Sydney in 1888 as a prestigious shop and office arcade for local civic leader and business Alexander Malcolm, the Royal Arcade housed the Charters Towers Stock Exchange from 1890. It was Australia's only regional stock exchange, and needed to raise capital for the deep reef mines throughout the region. The Stock Exchange building was hooked into the world via telegraph from 1890, with three calls a day five days a week. The exchange is a great open thoroughfare and it is easy to imagine the stockbrokers busy at work in their offices, which have now been converted into shops. There is also an excellent assay mining museum here.

Gold was first discovered in Charters Towers in December, 1871 by Aboriginal stockman Jupiter at the rugged site of Towers Hill. Today, the pink and grey grandiorite rises 420 metres above the plain, dominating the skyline behind the town. Since the discovery of gold, the hill's three peaks have been subject to much use, including as a mining site. The early telegraph route to Cardwell passed overhead, and the valley below was used for ordinance storage during World War II.

On the outskirts of town, the Venus Gold Battery offers an insight into an amazing real-life gold rush in the late 19th century. The battery is of national cultural significance as the largest surviving battery relic in Australia and oldest surviving battery in Queensland. Constructed in 1872, it was a public or custom mill in its heyday and became a State battery in 1919 to provide ore crushing facilities for small miners long after other mills had closed. It ceased commercial operations in the early 70s, after a century of service.

This destination is part of the Islands in the Sun and Cape York Outback Paradise Australian Adventures.