Gazetted road opens up historical goldmine

FOUR-wheel-drive enthusiasts and history buffs wanting to visit the Maytown ruins, where James Venture Mulligan found payable gold in 1873, can now finally do so in relative ease and safety, using White’s Creek Road south of the Palmer River Goldfields Roadhouse.

The road from Laura to Maytown, the Old Coach Road, is not maintained and is a four-wheel-drive-only track.

Over the years, a section of the White’s Creek gazetted road to Maytown had changed alignment, and crossed into private property.

Laura Police officer-in-charge Senior Constable Glen Delai said the property owner had padlocked gates and erected fences to keep people out.

“We regularly received complaints from travellers prevented from using the road, and trespassing complaints from the owner.

“The old station owners had no problem with the road being used, so people were going there and running into confrontation with that owner.”

Roads were put in place that led nowhere, causing confusion, and nail spikes and fence posts were found buried in the road, Sen Const Delai said.

Cook Shire Mayor Peter Scott said the shire had been fighting for the past ten years to have the road reopened to the public.

“In the end we had to go to compulsory acquisition…we had to go out with the police and cut the locks and bolts and open it up,” Mr Scott said.

He said the council had put a lot of work into the road, which is accessible to two-wheel-drive vehicles.

“Coming from the Palmer River Roadhouse side it’s a beautiful road in now,” he said.

“It’s about 100km into Maytown. Its so worth the trip in there, it’s a fabulous place, it’s just full of history.

“Its got the granite channelling like we have in Cooktown, and you can still see the old baker’s oven.

“There were probably half-a-dozen pubs there, and you can still see the cemeteries and old gold mines and the Chinese water races and things. It’s a fascinating part of the world.”

However he said the area was fragile, and old mining equipment should be left alone.

“Around 20 or so years ago a chap called John Hay from the Palmer River Historical Society went out there and tidied up the old town of Maytown, which used to be the capital, more or less, of the Palmer River Goldfield.”

Mr Scott said visitors could get local information on road conditions from Palmer River Goldfields Roadhouse proprietors Jack and Cheryl Fitzgerald.

Sen Const Delai said business owners in Laura, Lakeland and Palmer River would be happy to see movement through the area again.

“That access is essential to them,” Snr Const Delai said.

“From a police perspective, hopefully now with this road open it will end the confusion surrounding the positioning of the road.

“People driving the Old Coach Road from Laura to the Maytown ruins can now exit on the western side, and drive south through Mount Mulgrave and take the Burke Developmental Road through to Mareeba, Chillagoe, and on to Normanton.”

He said the entrance to the public road was 4.3 kilometres north of Palmerville Station on the Palmerville–Laura Road.

The GPS coordinates are 144.0862 longitude and 15.9731 latitude.

Snr Const Delai encouraged 4WD enthusiasts to use the road, and to report any “hazards” to Laura police on 4060 3244.

Issue 491 Nov 26th 2010