Rural Townships

Historic towns dot our landscape.  So why not call in and visit some of these towns and the local sites and attractions.


Mingela

Mingela is located 44 kilometres east from Charters Towers along the Flinders Highway.  The Hotel has accommodation and serves meals.  Turn off the Flinders Highway at Mingela to go to Ravenswood (45 kilometres).

Greenvale

Greenvale is located 203 kilometres north of Charters Towers along the Gregory Development Road.  Greenvale is affectionately known to the locals as Slim Dusty country.  It is an outback oasis for tourists to see and experience. Please follow the link to the Greenvale Community website.

Ravenswood

Ravenswood is a heritage-listed township with unique history and legendary ghost tales.  Ravenswood stands today as a living monument to the historic gold rush era when the town thrived with a booming population and over 30 pubs.  Only two remain and they have been magnificently restored, capturing the essence of this historic era.

Ravenswood is located approximately 45 kilometres along the Ravenswood Road, having departed the Flinders Highway approximately 44 kilometres east of Charters Towers.

In 1868 while mustering cattle, Marmaduke Curr stopped to scoop up a drink of water from Elphinstone Creek and saw specks of alluvial gold in the bottom of his pannikin.

While in Ravenswood make sure to visit the Courthouse Museum and the historic Cemetery.

Balfes Creek

Balfes Creek is a very small town with a long history.  With the arrival of the Great Northern Railway in 1883, Balfes Creek became the original rail and road junction for this basalt country and further north.  It is located 33 kilometres west of Charters Towers along the Flinders Highway.  Dairies and Chinese market gardens once flourished here.

There must be something in the icy cold drinks at the local pub as there is many a story of visitors sighting camels, ostriches, goats and sheep, even after one drink!

Homestead

Homestead township was named by the pastoralist WD Stewart who owned and established Homestead Station.  Homestead is located 73 kilometres west of Charters Towers along the Flinders Highway.  Gold was discovered to the north of Homestead in 1883 and was mined intermittently for the next 50 years.  Two hotels, two butcher ships, two stores, a bank and a cordial factory were part of the town during the railway era.  A sleep cutter sawmill operated here until 1970.

Between Homestead and Pentland are the remains of the Cape River Meatworks.  Built during World War II, it closed in 1989.

Pentland

Pentland is one of the lovely small towns that developed from inhabitation in this region in the mid 1850's and then became a critical rail and communication junction of the day.  The discovery of gold, then timber and cattle and subsequently sawmill and meatworks industries maintained its early thriving position.  Today the small town offers many historical and natural attractions such as the historic Railway Station, Norwood Lockup, Burra Range Lookout, birdlife and the impressive dry inland salt lake of Lake Buchanan.

Pentland is located 104 kilometres west of Charters Towers along the Flinders Highway.  Gold was discovered on the nearby Cape River in 1867 and attracted European and Chinese settlement.  With the gold diggings being some miles around, most services were relocated to Pentland, which was established by the 1884.

Between Pentland and Torrens Creek is the Burra Range Lookout.  Look for the wildflower and wattle flowering in spring.