The multiple gold locations of Queensland that were spread far and wide across the state have certainly and importantly contributed to the economy of Australia. Ranging from Queensland’s far north towards the southern regions, these gold-bearing zones form some of the better-known goldfields of the nation.

There were also many lesser-known goldfields that marked their own significant contributions in the past, but which have now been long forgotten. There still exist several gold locations that most prospectors might have not even come across to nor ever heard of.

GOLD DISCOVERIES IN QUEENSLAND

Gold was first discovered at Lord John Swamp at the Lucky Valley Goldfield, in the vicinity of Warwick Township, in 1852. Payable gold in Queensland was initially discovered by W. C. Capel and party at the locality of Canoona in 1858.

In 1863, alluvial gold was found at Canal Creek, west of Warwick in the Gladstone region; and in 1865 at Gavial Creek, which is a branch of Crocodile Creek in the Rockhampton Goldfield. In 1867, gold was found at Ridgelands within the Rockhampton area, and at the towns of Rosewood in the Bremer Valley and, Gympie, which lies on the Mary River in the Wide Bay-Burnett region.

In succession, further discoveries occurred at the coastal city of Townsville in the following year; at the Gilbert River in central Queensland in 1869; at Ravenswood Town and Charters Towers City in 1872; at the Palmer River, north of Maytown and southwest of Cooktown in 1873; and, at the Hodgkinson River in 1875.

In 1881, further discoveries were made at the township of Mount Britton in Nebo Shire; at the celebrated Mount Morgan; at Creen Creek in Croydon in 1836; at the Starcke fields in 1890; at the town of Coen in the Shire of Cook on the remote Cape York Peninsula in 1900; and, at the Alice River Township in 1904.

New discoveries of gold continued to occur in Queensland, particularly in 1986, when the precious yellow metal was found in Kidston Town in the Shire of Etheridge; and, in the Mt. Leyshon near Charters Towers, where gold deposits have been sporadically reworked.

Most past and current reports and records of gold discoveries, as well as geological details and information about the old goldfields of Queensland have been referenced from various data obtained by the Bureau of Mineral Resources in Canberra and the Department of Mines in Queensland. Both agencies have officially defined these goldfields into three proclaimed gold regions: Southern Queensland, Central Queensland, and North Queensland.

 

GOLD OCCURRENCES IN SOUTHERN QUEENSLAND

BIGGENDEN AREA
• Gebangle Gold Reefs
• Mount Shamrock Goldfield
• Paradise Goldfield
• Stanton Harcourt Goldfield
• Young Australian Gold Mine

BRISBANE AREA
• Bank’s Creek
• Brookfield-Enoggera Area
• Bunkers Hill, Ravensbourne (Near Toowoomba)
• Camp Mountain (near Samford)
• Pimpama Creek
• Minor gold deposits also occurred in Ormeau and Beenleigh in the Neranleigh-Fernvale Beds.

CORDALBA AREA
• Bull Ant Mine
• Mount Ideal Mine
• Wild Irishman Mine

EIDSVOLD AREA
• Cracow Goldfield
• Eidsvold Goldfield

GAYNDAH AREA
• Scotland Hills

GYMPIE AREA
• Glastonbury Goldfield
• Gympie Goldfield

KILKIVAN AREA
• Kilkivan Goldfield
• Tansey Gold Mine

MARODIAN AREA
• Mount Scougall Mines
• Munna Mine
• XYZ Mine
• Yorkey’s Goldfield

MARYBOROUGH & UPPER BURNETT AREA
• Boondooma Area, Proston

MONTO AREA
• Cania & Kroombit Goldfields

MOUNT PERRY AREA
• Mount Perry
• Perry Goldfield
• Reid’s Creek Goldfield
• Swindon Lease

MUNDUBBERRA AREA
• Hungry Hill-McKonkey Creek-Coonambula Areas
• St. Johns Creek

NANANGO AREA
• Benarkin Area
• Blackbutt Area
• Manumbar Area
• Milford Rocks
• Monsildale
• Nanango Goldfield
• Scrub Paddock Diggings
• Seven Mile Diggings
• Taromeo Creek

STANTHORPE AREA
• Pikedale Goldfield
• Waroo Gold and Copper Mine

SUNSHINE COAST AREA
• North Arm Gold Deposits
• Jimna Goldfield (also known as the Yabba Goldfield)
• Many other gold occurrences were recorded near Woondum; Kin Kin area; Traveston; Yabba Creek; Casey’s Gully, Breakneck Creek and Brown’s Gully, all in Imbil; and, between Walli and Chinaman’s Creeks, State Forest Reserve 736, and at the Booloumba, Kidaman, Peter and Bundaroo Creeks, all around the vicinity of Kenilworth.

WARWICK AREA
• Canal Creek Goldfield
• Leyburn Goldfield
• Lucky Valley Goldfield
• Palgrave Goldfield
• Talgai Goldfield (formerly Darkie’s Flat)
• Thanes Creek Goldfield

GOLD OCCURRENCES IN CENTRAL QUEENSLAND

AYR AREA
• Burdekin River
• Mount Wyatt Goldfield
• Reid River
• Star River Goldfield
• Ukalunda Goldfield

BOWEN AREA
• Marengo Goldfield
• Mount Hector Area
• Normanby Goldfield
• Isolated gold occurrences existed in Armistice Prospect, northwest of Mount Dangar; Welcome Reef, south of Bootooloo Siding; south-southeast near Mount Gordon; Pharlap Gold Prospect, near the junction of Spring Creek and the Don River, south-southeast of Pretty Bend Homestead; and, at Rutherford’s Table, southeast of Ukalunda.

CLERMONT GOLDFIELD
• Fletcher’s Awl
• Peak Downs Copper Lode
• McDonald’s Flat in the south to Hurley’s Lead in the north (Black Ridge, The Springs, Miclere, and Apsley)

COLLINSVILLE AREA
• Mount Poole Mine (Lizzie Creek Volcanics)

EMERALD AREA
• Basalt Hill
• Mount Clifford

GLADSTONE AREA
• Barmundoo Goldfield
• Bell Booth Mine
• Busy Bee Gold Prospect
• Cherry Bell Gold Prospect
• Gaeta Goldfield
• Garson’s Gold Mine
• Gladstone / Calliope Goldfield and surrounding areas
• Glassford Creek Mining Field
• Jackass Mine
• Langmorn Goldfield
• Many Peaks Mine
• Milton (Norton) Goldfield
• Monal Goldfield
• Mount Bania Gold Prospect
• Mount Cannindah Mineral Field
• Mount Jacob (Bompa) Gold Mines
• Mount Rainbow Goldfield
• Tararan Gold Prospect

MACKAY AREA
• Eungella
• Mount Coolon
• Mount Spencer
• Vicinities near Sunnyside and Sarina, and Mount Britton in the Nebo Fields.

PROSERPINE AREA
• Dittmer Mine in Kelsey Creek
• Duffer Mine in Dittmer
• Golden Hill Mine
• Happy Valley area
• Silver Wattle Claim

ROCKHAMPTON AREA
• Canoona Goldfield
• Cawarral
• Gavial Creek
• Hunter’s Gully
• Morinish Goldfield
• Mount Cassidy
• Mount Chalmers
• Mount Morgan
• Mount Usher
• New Zealand Gully
• Ridgelands Goldfield
• Rosewood Goldfield
• Stanwell Goldfield
• Struck Oil & Dee River
• Torilla District
• Ulam Goldfield
• Other gold deposits were found at Yatton near Croydon Homestead and at the Camila Beds in the Salt Hill area.

GOLD OCCURRENCES IN NORTHERN QUEENSLAND

CAIRNS AREA
• Clohesy River
• Kamerunga
• White Rock and its southwesterly hills

CAPE MELVILLE / COOKTOWN AREA (STARCKE GOLDFIELD)
• Starcke No. 1 and No. 2 Goldfields
• Alice River (Philp) Goldfield
• Other gold locations have been mined at the headwaters of the Jack River

CAPE WEYMOUTH AREA
• Claudie River Gold & Mineral Field

CAPE YORK PENINSULA
• Igneous and metamorphic rocks of Cape York Peninsula and Torres Strait.

CHARTERS TOWERS
• Mount Leyshon
• Lucky Creek Goldfield

CLONCURRY AREA
• May Downs
• Duchess Area
• Urandangi Area

COEN AREA
• Blue Mountains area
• Coen Gold and Mineral Field
• Hayes Creek Provisional Mining Field
• Klondyke
• Lochinvar Mining Field
• Rocky River Gold and Mineral Field
• Wenlock Gold and Mineral Field
• Further gold occurrence was discovered at Six Mile Creek and in the Annan River tin field, where gold is a byproduct from tin washings.

CROYDON AREA
• Esmeralda Gold Mining Center

EBAGOOLA AREA / HAMILTON MINING FIELD
• Ebagoola
• Yarraden

EINASLEIGH AREA
• Kidston or The Oaks Goldfield
• Balcooma Creek

ETHERIDGE / FORSAYTH / GEORGETOWN GOLDFIELDS
• Cumberland
• Donnyville
• Durham
• Lighthouse
• Percyville Field
• The Forsayth Goldfield is the southern portion of the Etheridge Goldfield is Forsayth, which included portions of Percyville, Mount Hogan, Mount Moran and Gilberton gold lodes.

GlLBERTON AREA
• Woolgar Goldfield
• Percyville Goldfield

HANN RIVER AND MOSSMAN AREAS
• Hodgkinson and Laura River Basins
• Herberton Gold and Mineral Field

HUGHENDEN AND PENTLAND AREAS
• Brilliant Brumby Project
• Lolworth Diggings
• Lower Cape Area
• Mount Clearview
• Mount Davenport
• Mount Emu Plains
• Mount Remarkable
• Mount Stewart Area
• Upper Cape Area

INGHAM AREA
• Black Cow Creek
• Broadwater Creek
• Mount Fox
• Rocky Creek
• Smoko Creek
• Yamanie Creek

INNISFAIL AREA
• Bartle Frere Workings
• Christmas Creek
• Culpa Creek
• Jordan Creek Goldfield
• Mount Mascotte
• Mount Peter Goldfield
• Mulgrave Goldfield
• Potallah Creek Provisional Mining Field
• Russell Goldfield
• Russell River
• Sandy Creek
• Tinaroo Workings

MAREEBA AND ATHERTON AREAS
• Fluorspar Locality
• Mareeba Gold and Mineral Field
• Mount Wandoo
• Other gold occurrences
• Tate Goldfield

PALMER RIVER GOLD & MINERAL FIELD
• Palmer River Goldfield
• Maytown gold reefs
• Hodgkinson Goldfield
• Other gold deposits have been found in the alluvial beds of the St. George River and several streams that drain eastwards from the Dividing Range.

RAVENSWOOD
• Sandy Creek
• Mount Wright
• Other gold occurrences have been located at the Old Homestead Diggings, situated within the Mount Pleasant Goldfield (also referred to as the Toomba Goldfield). Also in the Cape River Beds and Mount Windsor areas; New Homestead diggings southeast of Thalanga Siding; Liontown; Highway Mine; and several shallow workings between Brittania Homestead and the Gregory Developmental Road.

TORRES STRAIT AREA
• Possession Island
• Horn, Hammond and Thursday Islands

GOLD NUGGETS OF QUEENSLAND

The goldfields of Queensland never yielded the sizes and quantities of nuggets that made goldfields of Western Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales world-famous. There were records of at least fifteen gold nuggets weighing over 100 ounces and quite a considerable number of smaller (relatively speaking) specimens produced in Queensland.

There were several gold nuggets that have been mined in Gympie during 1867-68. The largest nugget ever found in the state was recovered from Gympie Creek in 1868, with a gross weight of 975 ounces and contained 906 ounces of gold. The second largest nugget, weighing at 804 ounces, was taken from Sailor’s Gully at Deep Creek.

Also in 1868, a nugget weighing 258 ounces was found at Mount Wheeler near Rockhampton. Numerous “smaller” nuggets were also taken from this place at the time. In Cloncurry, a 336-ounce nugget, as well as a 17-ounce and 10-ounce specimen, was found at Top Camp. On the Two Mile Mine situated on the same field, an 88-ounce nugget was also recovered.

Also Read: Best Metal Detectors For Finding Gold Nuggets

And: 15 Metal Detectors that Will Find Gold Nuggets

A number of nuggets weighing between 7 ounces and 80 ounces were taken from Nuggety and Moonlight Gullies at Mount Britton in the 1880s. About 60 large nuggets, reportedly with sizes reaching up to 180 ounces, have been discovered from the alluvial deposits of Green Hills west of Forsayth.

At present, the Sunshine State still continues to shine through with its large gold productions recovered from a multitude of locations. In fact, Queensland has been the third largest gold producer, after Western Australia and New South Wales, in the whole of Australia throughout the years. Although annual gold output from the respective states had seen a declining trend, Queensland has remained in its position with massive gold yields continuing in recent years.

Also Read about these HUGE Australian Gold Nuggets:

 

Next: The Holtermann Nugget – Huge Gold Specimen

 

 

And: The Famous Golden Eagle Nugget