Mt Morgan, Gold and Calamari

Wednesday 7th April 2021

We had a sleep through last night, hurray!! We woke up at 6am however. Overcast with patchy rain today.

We had breakfast and got ready for our drive to Mt Morgan.

Stopford Way

In 1853 the Archer brothers travelled up from Dee Valley and were likely the first white men to see Iron Mountain (present day Mount Morgan.)

Stepford was a trade unionist and politician who rallied for an upgraded road to Mount Morgan to replace the perilous Razorback.

Mount Morgan

Mount Morgan was named after the 3 Morgan brothers, who staked out the claim. They happened on information from a local, that the hills were gold bearing, and took action to secure it. They were financed by 3 Rockhampton business men; William Knox D’Arcy (solicitor), Thomas Skarratt Hall (bank manager), and William Pattison (grazier.)

Mined for 99 years, Mount Morgan yielded a total of 225,000 kg of gold, 50,000 kg of silver and 360,000 tonnes of copper.

Mount Morgan Railway

Mount Morgan was surrounded by step terrain and valleys.

The expansion of the town due to the success of the Mount Morgan Mining Co, saw a need for updated transportation.

Mount Morgan railway opened in 1898 and continued until 1987.

More of Mount Morgan

We visited the Historic Museum and spent some time browsing the collections.

We visited the Mount Morgan cemetery. It contained 1 of 3 known remaining Prayer Ovens. Used by the Chinese, the Heung Lee, was used to burn incense and gifts as part of the funeral rituals.