Normanton/Karumba: 3 nights
Normanton is a small outback cattle town and coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria. In the 2016 census, Normanton had a population of 1,210 people, of whom 743 were indigenous Australians. The town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton to Croydon railway line which was built during gold rush days in the 1890’s. The tourist Gulflander passenger train operates once a week. Flights into the town run daily Monday to Friday from Cairns. The Carpentaria shire encompasses 64,000 square kilometres. As a measure, Tassie is 68,000 square kilometres
A statue of a large saltwater crocodile called Krys, so named after the lady who shot him, is a notable feature of the town. The town sits in the traditional lands of the Gkuthaarn (Karelia) and Kukatj people. We are staying at “The Purple Pub” and have been relieved to find that the ‘motel units’ behind the pub where we are housed, are far enough away from any noisy interactions at night. Our ‘motel unit’ is not really of a standard one might have come to expect. It is small, stuffy, hot (with an air conditioner which takes five hours to chill the room down to a comfortable temperature) and dusty. The room would have been comfortable thirty years ago! But its home for the next three nights. The Pub has every wall painted purple and the staff wear purple t-shirts. Last night when we came back from our sunset visit to Karumba, the lights illuminating the balcony, were the purple, insect kind and the place looked like a (very old) fairy palace!
Normanton is a small outback cattle town and coastal locality in the Shire of Carpentaria. In the 2016 census, Normanton had a population of 1,210 people, of whom 743 were indigenous Australians. The town is one terminus of the isolated Normanton to Croydon railway line which was built during gold rush days in the 1890’s. The tourist Gulflander passenger train operates once a week. Flights into the town run daily Monday to Friday from Cairns. The Carpentaria shire encompasses 64,000 square kilometres. As a measure, Tassie is 68,000 square kilometres
A statue of a large saltwater crocodile called Krys, so named after the lady who shot him, is a notable feature of the town. The town sits in the traditional lands of the Gkuthaarn (Karelia) and Kukatj people. We are staying at “The Purple Pub” and have been relieved to find that the ‘motel units’ behind the pub where we are housed, are far enough away from any noisy interactions at night. Our ‘motel unit’ is not really of a standard one might have come to expect. It is small, stuffy, hot (with an air conditioner which takes five hours to chill the room down to a comfortable temperature) and dusty. The room would have been comfortable thirty years ago! But its home for the next three nights. The Pub has every wall painted purple and the staff wear purple t-shirts. Last night when we came back from our sunset visit to Karumba, the lights illuminating the balcony, were the purple, insect kind and the place looked like a (very old) fairy palace!
In 1885 the Aldrich brothers who were local farmers were fencing on Croydon station and dug up a white quartz rock and gold was found contained in the stone. The population then was 2,000 but by 1887 it had increased to 6,000. A bad flood hit and for six months people couldn’t get in or out and fever and dysentery began to spread through the population. An approach to the government of the time was made, asking for the railway to be built to Croydon and not to Cloncurry where it had been planned. The rail line was finished in 1891 to Croydon. The line served the gold industry for 25 years. Steam ran the line and eventually rail motors took over. The gold boom was short-lived and the completion of the Townsville-Cloncurry railway in 1908, reduced Normanton’s relative importance as a centre. By 1947 the town’s population had declined to 234. After the gold ran out in the early 1900’s, pastoralists became the main industry of the region.
We have decided to dedicate today to the railway by taking two train journeys out of and back to Normanton. We board the RM60 (60 being its unique identifying number) which was built in 1931 and only does a short run of 4 miles within the railyards. This rail motor (ie: RM) was an earlier version of the Gulflander which has been lovingly restored by rail apprentices in Townsville. The RM60 is crank started and the four cylinder petrol engine supports a maximum of 19 passengers plus a guard and the driver. This engine served as the Gulflander between 1960 and 1964.
We have decided to dedicate today to the railway by taking two train journeys out of and back to Normanton. We board the RM60 (60 being its unique identifying number) which was built in 1931 and only does a short run of 4 miles within the railyards. This rail motor (ie: RM) was an earlier version of the Gulflander which has been lovingly restored by rail apprentices in Townsville. The RM60 is crank started and the four cylinder petrol engine supports a maximum of 19 passengers plus a guard and the driver. This engine served as the Gulflander between 1960 and 1964.
RM93 is the current Diesel engine which pulls the two carriages TP1809 and TP1811 of the Gulflander. We are seated in the first carriage and rattle along on the “Camp Critters” turnaround which is 25 miles long. I guess I used the word ‘long’ because if you have any dust or fleas on you, they would most certainly be shaken loose by the rattling of the journey and will have left us with some sore spots to nurse in the coming days.
The Gulflander RM93 (which is too, its unique identifying number) came into use on the Normanton to Croydon run in 1982. It was built in the 1950’s but is a 1930’s design. So it was outdated almost before it began service. 10 were built but only one is still running. Both Carriages in the train were built in 1953 and the train takes a maximum of 100 passengers. Future repairs aren’t a concern because with Engineering drawings on computer the engineering shop on the station can make any part they required, which means that the Gulflander can keep doing what it does best, carrying passengers around the Savannah country of the Gulf.
Our train stops at the Clarina lagoons but we are warned not to get too close to the water, as estuarine crocodiles are known to inhabit the lagoons. In its heyday, Clarina had 30 people living there but it was evacuated due to floods and never populated again. I guess not having very friendly neighbours, could have helped as well. The lagoons are not spring fed they just naturally hold a lot of water. The Chinese people who came to support the gold fields, established market gardens and supplied the town with fresh veggies. Today, as we make our way out of our Purple Palace bound for Mt Surprise (goodness knows what lies in wait for us there!), we notice a distinctly Aussie guy setting up his refrigerated truck and stall with fresh seafood, meat and green groceries. No doubt he is the modern day market gardener.
The Gulflander RM93 (which is too, its unique identifying number) came into use on the Normanton to Croydon run in 1982. It was built in the 1950’s but is a 1930’s design. So it was outdated almost before it began service. 10 were built but only one is still running. Both Carriages in the train were built in 1953 and the train takes a maximum of 100 passengers. Future repairs aren’t a concern because with Engineering drawings on computer the engineering shop on the station can make any part they required, which means that the Gulflander can keep doing what it does best, carrying passengers around the Savannah country of the Gulf.
Our train stops at the Clarina lagoons but we are warned not to get too close to the water, as estuarine crocodiles are known to inhabit the lagoons. In its heyday, Clarina had 30 people living there but it was evacuated due to floods and never populated again. I guess not having very friendly neighbours, could have helped as well. The lagoons are not spring fed they just naturally hold a lot of water. The Chinese people who came to support the gold fields, established market gardens and supplied the town with fresh veggies. Today, as we make our way out of our Purple Palace bound for Mt Surprise (goodness knows what lies in wait for us there!), we notice a distinctly Aussie guy setting up his refrigerated truck and stall with fresh seafood, meat and green groceries. No doubt he is the modern day market gardener.
Beef cattle is the main produce for the town and tourism is second now. The best breed in the gulf to survive the long, hot, dry months is the Brahmin. They have an extra fatty deposit on their backs and the large flap under their chins called a Dewlap helps regulate their temperature. At this time of the year the breeders (cows) and the occasional bull are left to repopulate, but young bullocks are taken to ‘fattening’ properties prior to the sale yards. The cattle stations surrounding Normanton are not small encompassing some 25,000 to 40,000 acres but only carry one cow and calf for every 15 to 25 acres, depending on the season, such is the lack of good grazing ground.
The two seasons in the Gulf are known a the Wet and the Dry season. In the Wet it can be 38 degrees in December with the highest ever recorded of 43.3 degrees and in the Dry, 15 degrees is the low in July with the lowest ever recorded of 6.7 degrees. In the Wet there is generally high humidity with December, January and February being the worst months. The annual rainfall is 900 mls of rain a year with half of the rainfall being received in January and February usually from cyclones. The water for the town comes from the Norman river some 20 kilometres away. With later than usual rain received in April the area has been inundated with a locust plague by the Spurr throated locust. Property owners say they have never seen them in our area in those numbers but they feel it is due to a late wet season. They chew on the grasslands, and the Black Kites follow the train and swoop down as we make the grasshoppers fly about and they get a meal out of it.
Normanton developed ‘on the back of Burketown’, so speak! The first settlement was Burketown but during a flood, the townspeople suffered badly from gulf fever and dysentery. Another township and port was needed. Landsborough searched upriver and founded Normanton located on an ironstone reef. The only difficulty was the shallow river to navigate to allow shipping to bring supplies and carry gold away.
The tides on the Gulf run every 11 or 12 hours, whereas on the eastern coast of Australia the tidal change would happen every 5-6 hours. As a result of the slow rise and fall - 15 tides in a fortnight, freight on the rail system took some juggling when boats were delayed in the river. Most of the surrounding area around Normanton is on the Flood plain - only 5 metres above sea level. During the 1974 flood the majority of the town was evacuated, either flown out or shipped out to Weipa. The 2019 flood wasn’t as far-reaching, but the 2009 came close to an evacuation, with lower lying houses removing their furniture and storing it in the railway buildings.
The track is remarkably resilient. Despite the railway tracks getting regularly inundated, the 130 years old construction only rusts out in one place - near Croydon where minerals from the mining causes rust to develop. The unique track system was never meant to supply heavier rail stock then that required to run between gold mines. The Phillips’ tracks were designed in a unique “U” shape which allows the track to sink into the flood plain but not get too bogged down - they have some movement in them allowing them to adapt to the changing surface under them. They do, however, cause the ride to be a little rickety when compared to a harder surface. The railway at Normanton employs eight workers; 4 tracks workers and 4 above tracks who are fitter and turners and diesel fitters and they take the role of drivers, cleaners and guards as well.
The two seasons in the Gulf are known a the Wet and the Dry season. In the Wet it can be 38 degrees in December with the highest ever recorded of 43.3 degrees and in the Dry, 15 degrees is the low in July with the lowest ever recorded of 6.7 degrees. In the Wet there is generally high humidity with December, January and February being the worst months. The annual rainfall is 900 mls of rain a year with half of the rainfall being received in January and February usually from cyclones. The water for the town comes from the Norman river some 20 kilometres away. With later than usual rain received in April the area has been inundated with a locust plague by the Spurr throated locust. Property owners say they have never seen them in our area in those numbers but they feel it is due to a late wet season. They chew on the grasslands, and the Black Kites follow the train and swoop down as we make the grasshoppers fly about and they get a meal out of it.
Normanton developed ‘on the back of Burketown’, so speak! The first settlement was Burketown but during a flood, the townspeople suffered badly from gulf fever and dysentery. Another township and port was needed. Landsborough searched upriver and founded Normanton located on an ironstone reef. The only difficulty was the shallow river to navigate to allow shipping to bring supplies and carry gold away.
The tides on the Gulf run every 11 or 12 hours, whereas on the eastern coast of Australia the tidal change would happen every 5-6 hours. As a result of the slow rise and fall - 15 tides in a fortnight, freight on the rail system took some juggling when boats were delayed in the river. Most of the surrounding area around Normanton is on the Flood plain - only 5 metres above sea level. During the 1974 flood the majority of the town was evacuated, either flown out or shipped out to Weipa. The 2019 flood wasn’t as far-reaching, but the 2009 came close to an evacuation, with lower lying houses removing their furniture and storing it in the railway buildings.
The track is remarkably resilient. Despite the railway tracks getting regularly inundated, the 130 years old construction only rusts out in one place - near Croydon where minerals from the mining causes rust to develop. The unique track system was never meant to supply heavier rail stock then that required to run between gold mines. The Phillips’ tracks were designed in a unique “U” shape which allows the track to sink into the flood plain but not get too bogged down - they have some movement in them allowing them to adapt to the changing surface under them. They do, however, cause the ride to be a little rickety when compared to a harder surface. The railway at Normanton employs eight workers; 4 tracks workers and 4 above tracks who are fitter and turners and diesel fitters and they take the role of drivers, cleaners and guards as well.
Our destination of “Camp Critters” is so named because on a track replenishing excursion, two of the employees experienced being bitten by ‘critters’. One was a Red Back spider bite and the second unlucky fellow copped a Scorpion bite on his bottom! So the siding was called Camp Critters. I keep a ‘weather-eye’ out for Scorpions! We did have the opportunity to take the Gulflander all the way to Croydon, but it returned the next day and we decided that this would cut into our time here more than we needed.
The remainder of our day is spent in working on geneology about my wider family and in this endeavour, we struck one of those serendipity moments. We were planning on visiting the cemetery to find headstones for my great aunts/uncles on behalf of my third-cousin Janelle. She and her sisters had planned to go to Normanton a few years ago, but had a mechanical breakdown and couldn’t complete the journey. In similar format, I noticed this morning before our rail excursion, that our front tyre was going down. We took it to the local BP Service station and Wayne agreed to have a look at the tyre, while we were on the train.
When we came back to collect our little darling, he did what most country people do - asked us all about ourselves. Stephen mentioned that we were looking for some of my extended family at the cemetery - the Travers family. He said that there were some Travers family members still alive and living in Normanton! We had already enquired at the Shire offices to get burial records and so we still visited the cemetery to locate the headstones, but also we drop in to visit the three remaining siblings. They are in their late 80’s, two sisters and a brother, who never married. We expect it to be slow going but it isn’t. The middle sibling, Jane, who is bedridden, but can be hoisted into a wheelchair, was ready and waiting for us with albums and newspaper clippings. She had a mind like a steel trap and it was a pleasure to talk with her. She remembers birth dates and details that are a genealogist’s dream. She was the town’s telephonist for 30 years and so we shared stories about answering switchboards. She is 84 years old.
All good refrains should finish with a sunset and so will this one. We have witnessed many, many sunsets over our prodigious years, but I would have to say that the one we saw last night off Karumba on the Gulf was one of the best. I hope you agree.
The remainder of our day is spent in working on geneology about my wider family and in this endeavour, we struck one of those serendipity moments. We were planning on visiting the cemetery to find headstones for my great aunts/uncles on behalf of my third-cousin Janelle. She and her sisters had planned to go to Normanton a few years ago, but had a mechanical breakdown and couldn’t complete the journey. In similar format, I noticed this morning before our rail excursion, that our front tyre was going down. We took it to the local BP Service station and Wayne agreed to have a look at the tyre, while we were on the train.
When we came back to collect our little darling, he did what most country people do - asked us all about ourselves. Stephen mentioned that we were looking for some of my extended family at the cemetery - the Travers family. He said that there were some Travers family members still alive and living in Normanton! We had already enquired at the Shire offices to get burial records and so we still visited the cemetery to locate the headstones, but also we drop in to visit the three remaining siblings. They are in their late 80’s, two sisters and a brother, who never married. We expect it to be slow going but it isn’t. The middle sibling, Jane, who is bedridden, but can be hoisted into a wheelchair, was ready and waiting for us with albums and newspaper clippings. She had a mind like a steel trap and it was a pleasure to talk with her. She remembers birth dates and details that are a genealogist’s dream. She was the town’s telephonist for 30 years and so we shared stories about answering switchboards. She is 84 years old.
All good refrains should finish with a sunset and so will this one. We have witnessed many, many sunsets over our prodigious years, but I would have to say that the one we saw last night off Karumba on the Gulf was one of the best. I hope you agree.