The 1870s was the most prosperous period of gold recovery in Queensland, and the Charters Towers gold rush of 1871 is arguably the most important in the state’s mining history. As a result of wealth created from gold discoveries, Charters Towers became an important mining, business, and social centre.
In 1873, during the height of the Charters Towers gold rush, alluvial deposits (which turned out to be Queensland's richest) were found at the Palmer River in the far north of the state. The discoveries attracted miners from all over Australia and abroad, with the two sites becoming the state’s key mining areas of this period, known as Queensland’s golden era.
