Croydon is located on the Savannahway drive and is a historic centre in Tropical North Queensland’s Gulf Savannah. Once a thriving mining centre, today Croydon is a small, isolated community but with a rich cultural heritage. A popular place to visit is the Chinese Temple Site, which is a short drive from town on the road to Lake Belmore. This is the site of the original Chinatown and location of the 1904 Temple, which was restored as a part of the Centenary of Federation project. The remains of the original temple are complemented by the Chinese Heritage Trail and interpretive signage. A visit here will provide an interesting insight in the golden era of outback development. Entry is free.
Don’t be fooled by its name, Hell’s Gate is on the fringe of the spectacular eastern escarpments of the Barkly Tablelands and provides amazing views over the flood plains of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Its name relates to its somewhat ‘bloody’ history. It was at Hell’s Gate that the area’s original Aboriginal inhabitants made a stand against the arrival of European settlers. The conflict was fierce and many settlers thought twice about passing through the area, to reach the rich pastoral lands that lay beyond. The Waanyi, Gungalita and Gawara people are the traditional people of the area and the caves around Hell’s Gate are the natural galleries for these people, their walls recording their histories through rock art.
Everything in the outback is BIG: the distances you have to travel, the size of their wet season, the open plains and the wildlife. An example of just how big the critters in the Gulf can get is conveniently on display in the LEW Henry Park, behind the Council Chambers, in Normanton. Believe me, you can’t miss this! This large, life size model of a saltwater crocodile will pretty much guarantee you behave with water safety first and foremost in your mind during your Gulf of Carpentaria visit. “Krys” the crocodile measures nearly 9m long and 4m wide! He was shot in the 1950s by a local lady called Krystina Pawloski.
The Morning Glory Clouds are a rare meteorological phenomenon that appear in the Gulf of Carpentaria between September and October, rolling in over the township of Burketown. These amazing clouds can be up to 1,000 kilometres long (longer than Britain), stretch from horizon to horizon and travel at speeds of up to 60km per hour! Cloud height varies, but can be between one and two kilometers high. Often accompanied by sudden wind squalls and intense low-level wind shears, the Morning Glory Clouds attract cloud enthusiasts and gliders from around the world. Please note though, patience is a virtue when waiting for a Morning Glory: they are not daily and do not keep a schedule.
Cemetery’s may not rank highly on your list of places to visit, however, they are free and they definitely provide an interesting insight into a region’s history. Indeed, I bet you did not know that the Burketown Cemetery is believed to be the home to the largest mass grave in Australia. Eerie. Australia did not suffer the plaque, but its outback gold fields were hit with ‘Gold Fever’ disease in the 1800s: thought to be typhoid or malaria, ‘Gold Fever’ swept across the Gulf Savannah at the height of the gold rush, leaving many miners dead in its wake. Tombstones in the Burketown Cemetery date back to the 1860s and the names provide a historical of those who came seeking their fortunes.
