Looking back towards Cloncurry from the area near the Great Australian Mine

Cloncurry (including Duchess)
Quiet outback township with a number of interesting and unusual attractions.
Located 766 km west of Townsville and 189 m above sea-level, Cloncurry owes its existence to the discovery of copper and its subsequent status as the most important transportation centre in Western Queensland. Indeed the first copper in Western Queensland was discovered here. The first regular Qantas flight landed at Cloncurry and John Flynn established his first Flying Doctor Base in the town.

In spite of these important historical milestones Cloncurry's development has been stunted due to its proximity to West Queensland's largest centre, Mount Isa. Its continuing existence derives from its location at the junction of the major roads from Townsville, the Gulf, Winton, Longreach, and Mount Isa.

The first Europeans in the area were Burke and Wills who passed through the rugged country between present-day Cloncurry and Mount Isa on their way to the Gulf of Carpentaria. A monument at the side of the Flinders Highway between the two towns records that they were in the area on 22 January 1861. Burke named a nearby river after his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry and this was extended to the town when it was surveyed and gazetted in 1876.

The search for Burke and Wills brought the explorer John McKinlay to the area. He noted traces of copper but it was the pastoralist and prospector Ernest Henry who, in 1867, discovered the rich deposits of copper upon which the settlement of the area was based.

Ernest Henry was a hugely important figure in the early history of Queensland. At the age of 23 he accompanied George Dalrymple on his exploration of the Burdekin River area. He subsequently owned property on the Upper Dawson River and later he established the station which he called Hughenden, after his mother's birthplace in England.

Henry is Cloncurry's founding father. Not only did he find the first copper in the area but he also established the Great Australian Mine, which operated continuously until the 1920s when the bottom fell out of the copper market, ending over 50 years of growth for the town.

By 1879 a hospital had been built. In the 1880s a school was erected and the local newspaper, the Cloncurry Advocate, was established. A further substantial copper deposit was discovered in 1883. The success of the mining operations was accompanied by the development of the area as a major pastoral region.

The railway from Townsville arrived in 1908 making the town a vital transportion centre for the pastoral interests which lay to the west and the north.

Cloncurry has much to appeal to the visitor, including a number of interesting museums and some important relics of the early copper-mining days.

Things to see:  

The Great Australian Mine
It is still possible to visit the site of the mine. It is located to the south of town across the railway line from Schaeffe Street. Beyond the railway line the road diverges into a myriad of tracks and it is wise to seek clear instructions. Most people have two or three attempts before they find the site.

John Flynn Place
Perhaps Cloncurry's most important museum is that dedicated to Rev. John Flynn (Flynn of the Inland). It was at Cloncurry that the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established in 1928. Flynn's choice of Cloncurry was based on its proximity to the mining camps and scattered pastoralists, all of whom were poorly served by any kind of medical services.

John Flynn Place, a Bicentennial Project, is an excellent overview of the Flynn legacy. It moves progressively from an image of outback conditions at the turn of the century to the history of Flynn himself. The display includes some interesting personal memorabilia and explanations of how the whole Flying Doctor system worked in the early days. There is something enormously appealing about Flynn's story. It is the triumph of an unceasing commitment against huge odds. The result of his labours is still in evidence today when, even with modern technology, the Royal Flying Doctor Service is still in operation due to the isolation of the outback areas of Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is even said of the small opal mining community of Yowah in south-west Queensland that they don't want a telephone connection because they feel that it might jeopardise their access to the Flying Doctor.

Flynn's vision is neatly summed up on the Flynn Memorial which stands over 600 km to the west (at the Three Ways near Tennant Creek). The dedication observes: 'Flynn saw that only radio and fast efficient transport would really overcome the inland's vast distances. At a time when his ideas seemed wild and revolutionary, he developed a scheme which combined aircraft, radios and medicine to provide a mantle of safety for inland people. The establishment of the Royal Flying Doctor Service was mainly due to his vision and energy. The first Flying Doctor base was established in 1928 at Cloncurry. Today there are 20 such bases serving some 2200 radio and outstations scattered over some 70 per cent of Australia's land area.'

The museum is open from 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on weekdays, year round. From May to the end of September it is also open weekends from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., tel: (07) 4727 7500.

An old steam engine at the Mary Kathleen Park and Museum

The Mary Kathleen Memorial Park and Museum
Entering Cloncurry from the east, the first place to catch the eye is The Mary Kathleen Memorial Museum and Park. When the uranium mining town of Mary Kathleen (q.v.) folded and its contents auctioned off, the museum obtained a number of buildings and some important relics from the site. The sign, which once stood on the road into the town, is prominantly displayed. It proclaims: 'Welcome to Mary Kathleen. This town was built by MK Uranium Ltd for the mining of the uranium deposit discovered by Walton McConickie Prospectors syndicate to produce uranium oxide. The town mine treatment plant and Lake Corella were completed between April 1956 and May 1958 and the project is under the management of CRA Ltd.'

The museum also houses an excellent collection of rocks from the area. Its prize possession is Robert O'Hara Burke's waterbottle. Located in McIlwraith St, it is open from 8.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on weekdays, year round. From May to the end of September it is also open weekends from 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m., tel: (07) 4742 1361.

Historic Sites
The town's post office (1885), courthouse (1898) and Chinese and Afghan cemeteries are all of interest. The so-called Afghan Cemetery, on the fringes of the town's old cemetery, contains only one marked grave (with the headstone pointing towards Mecca) and a number of unmarked graves which are indicated by numbers.

Duchess
132 km to the south of the town is the small mining community of Duchess. Copper was discovered here in the late 1890s but it wasn't mined until 1904 when it became the richest mine in the area producing considerably more copper than Cloncurry's Great Australian Mine. The town eventually went into decline. However, it was revitalised when phosphate was discovered to the south in the 1960s. Today it is nothing more than a very isolated mining town.

	Tourist Information
	Cloncurry/Mary Kathleen Memorial Museum and Park McIlwraith St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 1361
	Motels
	Wagon Wheel Motel 54 Ramsay St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 1866 Rating: **
	Hotels
	Leichhardt Hotel/Motel 5 Scarr St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 1389
	Oasis Hotel/Motel Ramsay St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 47421366 Rating: **
	Caravan Parks
	Cloncurry Caravan Park Oasis McIlwraith St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 1313
	Gilbert Park Cabins Matilda Hwy Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 2300
	Great North West Caravan Park McIlwraith St Cloncurry QLD 4824 Telephone: (07) 4742 2300