Mount Perry Powder Magazine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Perry Powder Magazine |
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Mount Perry Powder Magazine, 2008
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| Location | Sandy Camp Road (north of Magazine Road), Mount Perry, North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1874 |
| Official name: Mount Perry Powder Magazine | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 10 June 2011 |
| Reference no. | 602782 |
| Significant period | 1874-1891 |
| Builders | Queensland Department of Public Works |
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The Mount Perry Powder Magazine is a very old building in Mount Perry, Australia. It was built in 1874 to safely store explosives. These explosives were super important for the copper mines in the area. This magazine is special because it's the oldest known government-built powder magazine still standing in Queensland! It's now listed on the Queensland Heritage Register, which means it's a protected historical site.
Contents
History of the Magazine
The Mount Perry area was first explored in the mid-1800s. Copper was found there in 1869, which led to a mining boom. Soon, a town called Mount Perry grew up around the mines. By 1873, about 3,000 people lived there!
Building the Magazine
Because so much mining was happening, a safe place was needed to store gunpowder and other explosives. The government decided to build a special magazine. Construction started in 1873, and it was finished in 1874. It cost about £432 to build. In 1875, a person named Jason Walsh was hired to be the keeper of the magazine. This meant he was in charge of making sure the explosives were stored safely.
The magazine was built a bit away from the town. This was a smart idea. If there was an accident with the explosives, it wouldn't harm the people living in Mount Perry. It was located on a large piece of land set aside just for the magazine.
How Explosives Were Stored
For a long time, the government department in charge of ports and harbours also looked after explosives in Queensland. They made sure that any gunpowder brought into Queensland was stored in a government magazine. This was to keep everyone safe.
Powder magazines like the one at Mount Perry had special features. They were built very strongly with thick walls. They had small windows and solid doors. The floors were often made of wood with copper nails or wooden pegs instead of iron ones. This was to prevent sparks that could set off the gunpowder. They also had lightning rods to protect them from lightning strikes. Magazines were usually built far from other buildings, sometimes with earth mounds around them to help contain any blast.
Other Magazines in Queensland
The Queensland Department of Public Works built many powder magazines in the 1800s. Some were in big cities like Brisbane and Maryborough. Others were in mining towns like Gympie, Townsville, and Cooktown. The Mount Perry magazine is the oldest one built by the government that we know is still around today.
Mining Ups and Downs
The magazine's use depended on how well the copper mines were doing. When copper prices dropped in 1877, the Mount Perry mine closed. The town became much smaller, with only about 500 people by 1883.
The Railway Arrives
The miners hoped a railway would help. In 1884, a railway line reached Mount Perry from Bundaberg. This made it cheaper to bring supplies in and ship copper out. But even with the railway, copper prices stayed low, and the mine closed again in 1885.
The mine did reopen for a short time in 1888 when prices went up. But by 1889, prices fell again, and the mine closed once more. By 1891, many people had left Mount Perry because there was no work. The land where the magazine stood was no longer used for storing explosives.
A New Boom
Things changed around 1901. A new company started mining copper in Mount Perry on a large scale. The town boomed again! By 1904, about 2,000 people lived there. Copper mining was very important for Queensland during this time.
Between 1900 and 1914, a lot of copper, gold, and silver were produced in the Mount Perry area. But the good times didn't last. The mine closed for good in 1914, just before World War I. After that, Mount Perry's big mining days were over. Many buildings were taken down or moved. The old copper smelter is now just ruins.
What the Magazine Looks Like Today
The Mount Perry Powder Magazine is a rare reminder of the town's early mining days. It stands by itself in a field. Even though it doesn't have a roof or floor anymore, its strong stone walls are still there.
Building Details
The magazine is about 6.9 meters long and 5.4 meters wide. Its walls are very thick, about 50 centimeters! It's made of rough stones fitted together, with smooth stone blocks at the corners and around the windows and door. You can still see where the wooden floor joists used to be. There are also small holes in the walls with copper plates and some copper pipes sticking out. These were likely part of the safety features.
The Mount Perry magazine is similar to the Cooktown Powder Magazine, which was built a bit later. Both are rectangular buildings with one door and narrow windows. They both had wooden floors and special vents for air. Even though the Mount Perry magazine is missing its roof, it probably had wide eaves like the Cooktown one. It's also possible its old wooden door and window covers were covered in copper, just like the Cooktown magazine's.
Why It's Important
The Mount Perry Powder Magazine is important for a few reasons:
- It shows Queensland's history: It's a rare building from the big copper mining boom in Mount Perry in the 1870s. This was a time when mining was growing fast in Queensland.
- It's a rare building: It's one of only three known government powder magazines from the 1800s still left in Queensland, and it's the oldest one! It's also a rare example of the buildings used for mining back then.
- It shows how these places were built: Even without its roof and floor, its strong walls, narrow windows, and copper parts show what a typical government powder magazine looked like in the 1800s. Its location far from town also shows how explosives were kept safely away from people.
