Chillagoe - Home of the Ancient Reefs of the Outback

Things to Do at Chillagoe

• Take a cave tour
• Hire a guide and enjoy a personalised tour
• Visit the historic smelter site
• Go stargazing
• Explore and go bushwalking or bird watching
• Go swimming in a rock pool
• Biew spctacular sunsets from Castle Rock Lookout
• Visit the Hub

Chillagoe is the Australian outback on the doorstep of Cairns.

Created by the riches mined from its ore smelters, fostered by the attraction of its spectacular limestone caves and the staunch characters of pioneers and early cattlemen, Chillagoe is the authentic outback of Aussie folklore. Today, Chillagoe has a 24 hour airstrip, Tropical North Queensland's only celestial observatory and a spring-fed waterhole which is an oasis to both locals and visitors.

When you arrive in Chillagoe, some 150 kilometres west of Mareeba, it's quite easy to get your bearings. You can easily navigate by taking a fix on the towering chimneys at the abandoned smelters. Your accommodation hosts can offer advice on tours and attractions, or visit The Hub, the information centre in town located on the spot where the Bank of Australasia stood for the greater part of the 20th century - the bank's old safe adorns the front lawn.

William Atherton, the son of John Atherton, pastoralist and namesake of the Atherton Tablelands established a cattle station named Chillagoe during the late 1880's. When copper and later silver, mica, lead and even some gold were discovered on the station, Atherton and the entrepreneurial John Moffat of Irvinebank made a tidy fortune and the settlement was established.

Chillagoe boomed up until around 1915 and had a reported population of 10,000. The smelters operated until the 1940's and the site is now a drive around museum with interpretive signs to detail how the assay office, converters, blast furnaces, chimneys, flues and bins processed the subterranean riches.

The residents of Chillagoe will tell you how the town's new product - exquisite marble - has been exported to Italy. The valuable commodity is the direct result of Chillagoe's amazing, world famous geology.

Some 400 million years ago, shallow seas covered the region. When the water level dropped, the coral reefs made up of compressed limestone were exposed. High ridges with dramatic, serrated towers and balancing rocks were formed by erosion. Rainwater coursing over the limestone created spectacular underground caves; the most extensive system in the state of Queensland which encompasses around 700 known caves. The region is known as the Chillagoe-Mungana Caves National Park.

National Parks' rangers conduct guided tours at selected caves. There are six the public can explore, with three ~ the Royal Arch, Trezkinn and Donna Caves - accessible by daily ranger-guided tours only. Local guides are available for personally guided tours through many other caves and various points of interest.

Entering the cave space is like entering Wonderland. Towering ceilings overhead sprout sparkling stalactites while the ground at your feet is a mass of stalagmites concealing the entrances to 'crawls' (low sandy tunnels), and nooks and crannies harboring creatures that flutter and chirp. Chillagoe's largest cave system has over 11 kilometres of passages and the caves are known to be the final resting places of the fossilized remains of a number of interesting prehistoric species.

If the idea of going underground is unappealing, The Archways on the Mungana Road are large, airy open limestone caverns with parking and picnic areas nearby.

Harking back to the days when Chillagoe was a prosperous town boasting 13 hotels and the era of the motor car was nigh, one of the locals has assembled an unusual and extensive collection of classic Ford cars. Tommy Prior's informal museum - entry is by way of a gold coin donation - spreads out from under trees and sprawling sheds into the gleaming outback sun.

Local tours cover the region's Aboriginal rock paintings and must see sights, plus a fully guided tour of the smelters is available. Enquire at your accommodation for current tour details.

Chillagoe's newest attraction is the evening tours at the Observatory, located at the Chillagoe Eco-Lodge. Here, you can spend time (depending on the celestial activity present) gazing at the heavens through a high powered telescope for a very reasonable price.

The Chillagoe Observatory & Eco-Lodge features well presented cabins and a restaurant, the town's Queensland pubs offer accommodation and meals. The Chillagoe Cabins have air-conditioning, en suites, meals and the proprietors are accredited Wildlife Carers and conduct regional tours as well as showcasing their miniature horses.

	Web www.portdouglaswebs.com.au