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Palmer
A gold mining dredge on the Palmer River.
Location of Palmer River mouth in Queensland
Etymology	In honour of Sir Arthur Hunter Palmer[1]
Location
Country	Australia
State	Queensland
Region	Far North Queensland
Physical characteristics
Source	Sussex Range, Great Dividing Range
Source confluence	Prospect Creek and Campbell Creek
- location	near Palmer River Roadhouse
- coordinates	16°06′18″S 144°46′52″E / 16.10500°S 144.78111°E / -16.10500; 144.78111
- elevation	429 m (1,407 ft)
Mouth	confluence with the Mitchell River
- location	northeast of Staaten River National Park
- coordinates	16°04′52″S 142°42′49″E / 16.08111°S 142.71361°E / -16.08111; 142.71361Coordinates: 16°04′52″S 142°42′49″E / 16.08111°S 142.71361°E / -16.08111; 142.71361
- elevation	64 m (210 ft)
Length	327 km (203 mi)
Basin size	8,335 km2 (3,218 sq mi)
Basin features
River system	Mitchell River catchment
Tributaries
- left	South Palmer River
- right	Little Palmer River, North Palmer River
[2]

The Palmer River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The area surrounding the river was the site of a gold rush in the late 19th century which started in 1873.

Course and features

The headwaters of the Palmer River rise in the Sussex Range, part of the Great Dividing Range southwest of Cooktown. The river is formed by the confluence of the Prospect Creek and Campbell Creek, near Palmer River Roadhouse, south of Lakeland. The Palmer River flows west across the Cape York Peninsula towards the Gulf of Carpentaria joined by 29 tributaries including the South Palmer River, Little Palmer River and North Palmer River, before reaching its confluence with the Mitchell River northeast of Staaten River National Park. The river descends 365 metres (1,198 ft) over its 327-kilometre (203 mi) course^[2] and has a catchment area of 8,335 square kilometres (3,218 sq mi).^[3]

Palmer goldfields

The earliest known letter from the goldfield

Palmer River was one of Australia's major gold rush locations. William Hann and geologist Norman Taylor found gold in a sandy bed of the river in 1872.^[4] Hann named the river after Arthur Hunter Palmer the Premier of Queensland at that time.^[1]

The main settlement of the gold field was Maytown replacing Palmerville after some months. The settlement began as a camp in 1873, then grew into a town which served as the administration centre for the former Hann Local Government Area. The settlements of Byerstown and Idatown were also established along the river.^[1]

Palmerville Post Office opened on 11 May 1874 (closed 1965); Maytown Post Office opened on 7 June 1874 (closed 1945); Byerstown Post Office opened on 1 April 1876 (closed around 1884).^[5]

There were several confrontations between the settlers and the Aborigines from the area, including one at Battle Camp.^{[citation needed]}

The miners in the Palmer River included Chinese, mostly from the Guangdong Province in southern China.^[6] The Chinese miners would re-work the diggings of Europeans as they moved on to find richer diggings.^[7] In 1876, with the rush to the Hodgkinson River,^[8] Chinese miners occupied most of the Palmer Gold Field. As gold reserves were extracted, anti-Chinese sentiment grew.

Although most of the surface gold has long since been prospected, there remain a handful of deeper mine projects in the area.

See also

• List of rivers of Queensland

References