The National Hotel at Mt Molloy

Mount Molloy
Historic mining and timber town.
Mount Molloy is one of those towns where it is obvious that its moment of glory and importance has long gone. A huge pub, a rusting steam engine and a few shops which have been closed for decades are all that really exists of this once important mining and timber town. There's still a bakery, a general store and a petrol station but these do not hint at the thriving centre that sprang up here in the 1890s when the copper mine was at its height.

Compared to the lushness of Kuranda and the popular tourist haunts near the coast, Mount Molloy is a world away. 106 km from Cairns it is located in a dry area where cattle grazing is now the dominant industry.

Things to see:  

Steam Engine
The old steam engine which used to power the local sawmill now stands like a sentinel at the southern entrance to the town.

Cemetery
To the south of the town is a small cemetery in which James (Venture) Mulligan is buried. The new inscription on his tombstone (which also appears on a monument in the town's main street) beautifully captures not only the man but the times in which he lived.

'James (Venture) Mulligan 1837-1907. Born Rothfriland, County Down. Migrated in 1860, found Palmer River gold in 1873, Hodgkinson River gold in 1875 which led to the establishment of Cairns and Port Douglas. He mined copper at Mount Molloy in the 1890s, married in 1903, bought the Mount Molloy Hotel in 1905, and died on 24-8-1907 from injuries received when he tried to break up a fight in his hotel. He had no children.'

	Hotels
	The National Hotel Main St Mount Molloy QLD 4871 Telephone: (07) 4094 1133
	Caravan Parks
	The Kingfisher Van and Caravan Park Rex Hwy Mount Molloy QLD 4871 Telephone: (07) 4094 1263