Mount Cuthbert Township and Smelter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Cuthbert Township and Smelter |
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Ruins, 2003
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| Location | North-West of Kajabbi Township, Three Rivers, Shire of Cloncurry, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1900 - 1914 (early 20th century) |
| Built | c. 1908 - c. 1925 |
| Official name: Mount Cuthbert Township and Smelter, Kalkadoon Mine and Winding Plant, Mount Cuthbert Mine and Smelter, Mount Cuthbert Township and Railway Formation | |
| Type | state heritage (archaeological) |
| Designated | 25 May 2004 |
| Reference no. | 601629 |
| Significant period | c. 1908-c. 1925 (historical) |
| Significant components | wall/s - retaining, objects (movable) - mining/mineral processing, slag pile/slag heap, oven, abutments - railway bridge, cellar, railway siding, smelter, magazine / explosives store, tank stand, fireplace, embankment - railway, mullock heap, chimney/chimney stack |
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The Mount Cuthbert Township and Smelter is an old mining town and copper processing site in Queensland, Australia. It is located north-west of Kajabbi Township, near Three Rivers in the Shire of Cloncurry. This historic site was built between about 1908 and 1925. It is also known by other names like Kalkadoon Mine and Winding Plant, Mount Cuthbert Mine and Smelter, and Mount Cuthbert Township and Railway Formation. Today, it is protected as a heritage site, added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 May 2004.
History of Mount Cuthbert
Copper was first found near Mount Cuthbert in 1867 by Ernest Henry. However, nothing much happened with it at that time. Later, in 1900, John Chapman checked out copper claims like Mount Cuthbert for investors from Melbourne. The copper from Mount Cuthbert looked the most promising.
Early Mining and Railway Challenges
In 1905-1906, the Queensland Government decided to extend the Great Northern railway from Townsville. This encouraged more people to look for minerals. By 1907, the Mount Cuthbert Company was formed. It owned several mines, including Mount Cuthbert and Kalkadoon. The company faced big money problems from 1909 because there was no railway to carry the copper. They had to reorganize their finances in 1912.
Building the Smelter and Railway
In 1915, the price of copper went very high. The company spent a lot of money (120,000 Australian pounds) building smelters. A smelter is a factory that melts ore to get pure metal. Before the Mount Cuthbert and Dobbyn railway reached the mine in September 1916, they had to send processed copper by horse teams.
William Henry Corbould, an expert in metals, designed the Mount Cuthbert smelter. Its completion was delayed because of World War I. The large furnaces finally started working in early 1917. In its first operation, the smelter processed over 25,000 tonnes of ore. This produced 1,804 tonnes of copper, which was worth over 200,000 Australian pounds. The company also bought new equipment, like a winding engine and large ore bins.
Life in Mount Cuthbert Township
The town of Mount Cuthbert was officially surveyed in 1916. However, people had been working in the nearby mines since 1908. This explains why the town was built so close to the mines and the smelter.
At its busiest, Mount Cuthbert was a lively town. It had two hotels, a soft drink factory, two stores, three fruit shops, a photographer, a butcher, a baker, and a shop selling fancy goods. There was also a hospital, a police station, and a boarding house. The town even had two railway stations, Mount Cuthbert and Dollubeet. A post office served the town from 1908 to 1927.
The mining company's officers lived in timber cottages. Most other people lived in tents or small shacks made of corrugated iron. These shacks often had dirt floors and stone fireplaces. A school opened in 1917 with 30 students. Sometimes, the town faced difficulties. In 1917, there were reports that the town was almost out of food due to problems with the railway.
Today, you can still see the remains of about 60 buildings in the town area. There are stone foundations and old fireplaces. A cellar, a cement floor, and a special baking oven show where a hotel once stood. This hotel was supposedly moved to Kajabbi and is now the Kalkadoon Hotel.
The Railway's Importance
The railway reached Mount Cuthbert in October 1915. It took two years to build the section from Dugald River. The railway line curved through narrow gaps and followed Six Mile Creek. It had earth banks (embankments), cuts through hills (cuttings), and bridges. Without the railway, it was very hard to transport copper because the costs were too high. There were two small railway stops: Mount Cuthbert and Dollubeet, which was the end of the line at Kalkadoon.
The Kalkadoon Mine
The Kalkadoon mine was part of the Mount Cuthbert mining group. It was located about 2 kilometers north of the Mount Cuthbert smelter. The first mining lease in the area was for the Kalkadoon mine in 1899. By 1906, this mine was already called the "old mine" and had produced 300 tonnes of high-quality ore.
The Mount Cuthbert Company developed the Kalkadoon mine further from about 1907. By 1916, its main shaft was 107 meters deep. Ore from Kalkadoon was processed at the Mount Cuthbert smelter from 1917. The processed copper was then sent to Britain. It is thought that the mine closed in 1920 when smelting stopped at Mount Cuthbert.
Decline and Closure
In 1918, there was a serious accident at the Mount Cuthbert mine. By 1919, the main shaft was 148 meters deep. The Mount Cuthbert smelters processed a lot of ore in 1918. However, they had to close in November when a part of the blower engine broke. They started up again in August 1919 and continued smelting copper until its price dropped in 1920. The smelters finally shut down on 19 June 1920.
The company tried to raise more money in 1919 and again in 1922. But they kept losing money, metal prices were low, and they had debts. So, the company was closed down in 1923. In 1925, the Mount Elliott Company bought the Mount Cuthbert properties and equipment for a secret price. It was much less than the 500,000 Australian pounds it was once worth.
The population of Mount Cuthbert grew from 50 people in 1908 to a peak of 1,000 in 1918. It then dropped to 750 in 1920 and 400 in 1924. After the Mount Elliott Company bought the mine and plant in 1925, Mount Cuthbert became a ghost town. In 1942, Mount Isa Mines bought the Mount Cuthbert smelters for 900 Australian pounds. The plant and other machinery were moved to Mount Isa for their new copper smelter. The Kalkadoon mine was worked again for a short time in the 1960s before being abandoned.
What Remains Today
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The Mount Cuthbert site covers a large area in the Six Mile Creek valley. You can find many interesting features spread across about 1 kilometer from east to west and 2 kilometers from north to south.
Mount Cuthbert Smelter Remains
The smelter area is very impressive. You can still see three tall steel chimneys, part of the blast furnace frame, and elevated iron flues (pipes for smoke). There are also bins where dust from the smelting process was collected, and two copper converters (machines that turn molten copper into blister copper). The smelter floor is a raised earth platform with strong concrete walls. The blast furnace itself has been removed, but its steel frame is still there.
North-east of the smelter floor, you can see the concrete foundations of the power house. There are also footings for storage hoppers near a railway line that ended close to the smelter. This area allowed two railway lines to meet, separated by a raised concrete platform. Some concrete pillars and supports from an elevated railway line are still standing.
Mount Cuthbert Township and Railway
The old railway line that led to Mount Cuthbert generally followed Six Mile Creek. You can still see parts of the railway formation, including earth banks and cuts through the hills. Some sections of the old railway line are now used as the main access track. You might even spot old timber railway sleepers in some places. No bridges are still standing, and all the rails have been removed. However, you can see timber piers and stone supports from several bridges, including the one over Six Mile Creek.
The railway line curves around the town site as it approaches Mount Cuthbert. The town itself is on a small hill east of the smelter. You can find evidence of about 60 building sites, including stone fireplaces, stone-lined floors, retaining walls, and tank stands. The commercial area is clear, with groups of cement surfaces near the railway on the eastern side of the settlement. As mentioned, a cellar, cement floor, and a ships tank bake-oven show where a hotel once stood. You can also see signs of a blacksmith's shop and stone yards, along with more than six stores. Many smaller homes, some with stone fireplaces, are on the western side of the town hill, looking over the mine and smelter. The area where the company officers lived is located north of the town, in a small valley near Six Mile Creek, between the smelter and the Kalkadoon mine.
Kalkadoon Mine and Winding Plant
The Kalkadoon mine is on a hillside north of the Mount Cuthbert smelter. It overlooks the Dollubeet railway siding and the end of the railway line. The mine workings show signs of different periods of development. You can see two open-cut workings and an open tunnel (adit) and shaft.
The remaining equipment includes a winding engine on a concrete base, next to a Cornish boiler. The winding engine still has its asbestos-covered steam pipes. Another Cornish boiler is nearby, but not in its original spot. An air receiver tank (shaped like an egg) is located between the winding plant and the old main shaft.
The area around the mine has been changed by bulldozing in recent times for drilling. You can also see piles of waste rock (mullock dumps) extending east from the old main shaft. A stone fireplace and a cement surface are located between the mullock and the railway line. A stone building for storing explosives (magazine) is situated north of the mine, near a former railway siding.
Some of the surviving equipment at the Kalkadoon mine includes:
- A Cornish boiler (no brand name)
- Another Cornish boiler (not in its original place, no brand name)
- A two-cylinder, twin-drum steam winding engine (no brand name)
- An egg-shaped air receiver tank (no brand name)
- Three safety cages (not in their original place).
Why Mount Cuthbert is a Heritage Site
Mount Cuthbert Township and Smelter was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 25 May 2004 because it meets several important criteria.
Showing Queensland's History
This site is important because it shows how copper mining towns quickly grew and then disappeared almost overnight between 1915 and 1925. The Kalkadoon mine was one of the first and most productive parts of the Mount Cuthbert mining operation. It was connected to the Mount Cuthbert smelter by the railway.
Unique and Rare Features
The design of the blast furnace, flue, and dust collectors at the Mount Cuthbert Smelter, created by W.H. Corbould, seems to be unique among similar smelters in North Queensland. The winding plant at the Kalkadoon Mine is also very rare and mostly still complete.
Learning About the Past
Because the town is in a remote and isolated area, it has stayed mostly untouched. This means it has great potential for archaeologists to find information that can help us understand Queensland's history.
Showing Mining Town Characteristics
Mount Cuthbert township and its railway clearly show how closely connected the mine, smelter, railway, and town were. While other mining towns also show this pattern, the way these elements are grouped together at Mount Cuthbert is very close and visually appealing.
The Mount Cuthbert Smelter is the largest and most impressive remains of an early smelter in North Queensland. It was the last smelter built in the Cloncurry area during its early phase (1916-1920). Even though it wasn't the most successful, it has left the most structural evidence. This is true even after parts of its furnaces were taken to equip the new Mount Isa smelter in the 1940s. The site clearly shows its connections to the company's mines and the nearby town and railway. The variety and concentration of features here are unmatched.
Beautiful and Important Scenery
The way the smelter, slag dump, railway, and town are grouped together is unique. The natural beauty of the Six Mile Creek valley is a very important part of the site, giving it a picturesque setting. The place offers wide views of the remains of early industry and settlement. Seeing the smelter as you approach along the old railway line reminds you how isolated early mining towns were in remote parts of Australia. The current access to the town through the scenic railway alignment helps visitors appreciate this large-scale early mining project in the wilderness.
Creative and Technical Achievements
The design of the blast furnace, flue, and dust collectors at the Mount Cuthbert Smelter, created by W.H. Corbould, appears to be unique among similar smelters in North Queensland. This shows a high level of creative and technical skill for that time.
