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Townsville Wharves 1877 The second source was Mr. W.J. Doherty who gave a further account in the 1920s. Both authors referred to letters between John Melton Black and Robert Towns. Mr Doherty, who wrote regularly for the Cummins and Campbell Monthly Magazine, also spoke to Mr. Black’s children in1930. Banfield and Doherty both confirmed that John Black was the driving force behind the establishment of the port. Interestingly, W.J. Doherty went even further describing Black as the true founder of Townsville. “Without the marvellous energy of J.M. Black, it is easy to imagine that Townsville might still possess the present pretensions of Cardwell or Burketown.” Regardless of how history might reflect on Black’s role as far as Townsville is concerned, there is no doubt that the port was the catalyst without which, the city itself, may not have become what it is today. There is also no doubt that John Melton Black’s meticulous planning ensured that the Port of Townsville was established and with it came the motivation for commercial and residential growth. Once established, the port ensured that Townsville would become the centre of attention in northern Queensland and just like it did in 1864, the Port of Townsville continues that legacy today – it is still the region’s catalyst. Back in 1864, the advantage that John Melton Black brought to the table was a practical, businesslike approach. In essence he had a corporate perspective akin to a modern company’s strategy when choosing a site for a factory or a manufacturing base. Black looked at the potential commercial benefits in tandem with the logistics of a port’s location and in Cleveland Bay he could see how the bigger picture might be achieved.
This perspective was important because there were already a few small ports along the coast prior to Townsville, including Bowen and Cardwell but mistakes had been made. Generally, in those days determining a location for a port was done by sea or at best, using coastal exploration so consequently, the selection of a proposed port often failed to take into account how it could be accessed from inland areas and that was Mr. Black’s major point of difference.
His strategy was critical as far as northern Queensland was concerned because early ports suffered a variety of logistical problems, not least was the difficulty in reaching them by land. Ultimately, they would need vast amounts of money to overcome such inherent problems. For instance, the Burdekin River and its tributaries which had to be crossed in order to get to Bowen’s Port Denison from inland, flooded regularly and in the days of horse and cart, crossing it could be treacherous. As for getting cattle to and from the port, which
was the main game in those days, it could be a logistical nightmare. At the very least an allweather bridge would need to be constructed over the Burdekin River which would have been no small feat in those days. However, Cleveland Bay presented a much better option in terms of servicing northern Queensland, so what led John Melton Black to the area? Doctor Gibson-Wilde’s work enables some comprehension of John Black’s background and his significance in the choice and planning of the Townsville port.
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Below: Townsville Port 1915
Page 18 - Australian Ports News