Charters Towers - September 2020
The drive from Ravenswood to Charters Towers was very pleasant, but a few big roos kept us alert. We passed Sellheim 20 kilometres before Charters Towers, where my grandfather taught in a one teacher school in 1935, riding his push bike out from Charters Towers on a Monday and back on Fridays. Sellheim was the site of a military transit camp during WWI. It was home to many young Australians making their way to or from fighting in New Guinea.
As it was too early to check into our motel, we decided to orientate ourselves and drove to the lookout on Towers Hill. My father was born here, descended from the Lutheran pastor who was my great-great-grandfather from Switzerland. He moved to Charters Towers in 1891, during the height of the city’s gold boom days, when it was the second largest city in Qld.
As it was too early to check into our motel, we decided to orientate ourselves and drove to the lookout on Towers Hill. My father was born here, descended from the Lutheran pastor who was my great-great-grandfather from Switzerland. He moved to Charters Towers in 1891, during the height of the city’s gold boom days, when it was the second largest city in Qld.
We spent three days exploring the town and digging up more of my past. The magnificent heritage buildings evident throughout Charters Towers are testimony of the era. Many of the old cottages have also been restored, as has the old manse my great-great-grandfather lived in with his family.
The lady who now lives here and is in the process of restoring it was kind enough to show us through. It was her husband’s birthday and we ended up having drinks and a great afternoon with them. The house is beautiful and a credit to their good taste. I did sip my drink in awe, unable to fathom how amazing it was to do this in the house that my great-great- grandfather lived with his family in the 1890s. The church next door was also opened to me by the lovely lady (an ex mayor of Charters Towers) who purchased it some years ago and now lives behind it. She allows people to use it free of charge for functions such as weddings. How generous the local spirit is.
The lady who now lives here and is in the process of restoring it was kind enough to show us through. It was her husband’s birthday and we ended up having drinks and a great afternoon with them. The house is beautiful and a credit to their good taste. I did sip my drink in awe, unable to fathom how amazing it was to do this in the house that my great-great- grandfather lived with his family in the 1890s. The church next door was also opened to me by the lovely lady (an ex mayor of Charters Towers) who purchased it some years ago and now lives behind it. She allows people to use it free of charge for functions such as weddings. How generous the local spirit is.
The town is full of helpful people - from the Tourist Information Centre to the Archives to the people who man the museums and hotels. I was able to learn many new details about my family history and that of the area which they called home. Another wonderful source of information was the Zara Clark Museum, stuffed with photographs, stories, equipment and memorabilia from the district’s past. Of course I also spent time poking around the two cemeteries here, but these are particularly interesting to me because I have so many ancestors buried here.
We were very happy with our choice of motel, having scored a large old hotel room with a private veranda. The Park Motel consists of motel style units on one side and on the other, an old hotel in which they operate a kitchen, dining rooms and more accommodation. Tomorrow we head north to Ravenshoe.