140 kilometres west of Mareeba, the former mining town of Chillagoe is one of the favoured haunts of mining buffs tracing the heady days of the 1870's to the 1920's mining boom. It's easy to see why. The town is a stunning mix of outback landscape, mining heritage, aboriginal art sites and fantastic limestone caves.
The old township is still dominated by the Chillagoe smelters, which were built at the turn of the century by miners and speculators convinced the region was set to become the next Broken Hill. The rail link followed and the town grew to 10,000. The region however failed to live up to its promise and millions were lost in the inevitable bust. The smelter staggered on until the 1940's when it was abandoned.
The town today is based on tourism. If it's the mining history that brought you out, head for the museum, then it's a case of wandering through well interpreted sites. Don't forget to include the town cemetery in your wanders. Mining is not the only option however and it would be a shame to leave without sampling some of the other Chillagoe attractions.
Chief amongst them are the substantial systems of limestone caves at the Chillagoe-Montana National Park, about one kilometre from the main town site. The caves feature spectacular formations of stalactites and stalagmites (which is which!). They can only be entered as part of a tour, which are well managed and very informative.
From the caves there's a walking track to the nearby Balancing Rock formation and some Aboriginal rock art. If you have transport, head west out of town for 14 kilometres and you'll find The Archways, another stunning limestone feature. The best source of up to date information about tours, sites and walks is The Hub in Chillagoe.
Temperatures for Chillagoe
Chillagoe has hot summer temperatures. The summer high temperature for Chillagoe is approximately 35 °c. The summer low temperature is approximately 20 °c.
Chillagoe has warm winter temperatures. The winter high temperature for Chillagoe is approximately 28 °c. The winter low temperature is approximately 11 °c.
MONTH
LOW °c
HIGH °c
January
21
34
February
21
32
March
19
32
April
18
31
May
14
29
June
12
27
July
11
27
August
10
28
September
13
30
October
16
33
November
19
34
December
20
35
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Taking you through the tree tops in Lamington where the thick, green roof shades; the mysterious underworld of the forest floor. On to Noosa, a haven of stunning national parks and brilliant waterways. Plus the amazing coloured sands of Teewah and Rainbow Beach.
PLEASE NOTE: The Queensland travel destinations outlined above are only a small selection from the tens of thousands of Australian travel information pages available on Australian Explorer. A comprehensive list of destinations for Queensland Holidays can be found on the main Queensland Holidays location guide.
