Everything about The Palmer River totally explained
The
Palmer River is a
river southwest of
Cooktown in northeastern
Australia. It was the site of a
gold rush in the late 1800s which started in 1872.
The Palmer river flow west across
Cape York to the
Gulf of Carpentaria, via the
Mitchell River.
Palmer Goldfields
Palmer River is historically known as a
gold rush location, although most of the surface gold has long since been prospected, there remain a handful of deeper mine projects in the area. The main settlement of the
gold field was
Maytown.
Most of the
miners in the Palmer River came from
China, and most of those came from the
Guangdong Province in southern China. Most landed in Cooktown, and began the approximately 100 mile (160 km) journey to the Palmer River. The miners struggled with Australian temperatures, which could exceed 105 degrees fahrenheit (40 °C), dehydration, and starvation. Many found
gold, though, and were able to buy food and water, and repay the loans they got for passage to Australia. Some miners who didn't find gold instead found other jobs, such as
storekeeping.
Accounts from the time point to several confrontations and battles between the settlers and the Aborigines from the area. One famous place is
Battle Camp where many of the first settlers were killed in a fierce battle with Aborigines. When the first party arrived at Cooktown, several of the men were keen to get to the discovered goldfields, and took of a day ahead of the main landing party. They were never seen again, ambushed at what was then to be called Battle Camp. It was an ambush point on the way to the goldfields from Cooktown.
There are also accounts of
cannibalism of the Chinese settlers, some sources quote that the Aboriginal word for the Chinese was literally translated as "Long Pig". This continued throughout the Goldrush period of the area, with many accounts of Chinese being eaten by the Aborigines. The Chinese were also rumoured to have transported their dead back to China with gold smuggled within their coffins. The amount of gold taken from the Palmer is estimated at 120 million ounces.
The Palmer River remains a historical site and minor archaeological site.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Palmer River'.
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