CLERMONT RAG FRIDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2019
This image, captured by George Cumming Pullar of Blair Athol Coal and Timber No. 1 Mine in 1910, is one of the images that will feature with stories at the Clermont Historical Centre’s new exhibition Towns of Minerals and Metals.
EXHIBITION DIGS INTO COLONIAL MINING LIFE A new Clermont exhibition paints a picture of a brutal and harsh existence during the mid-19th Century minerals and metals rush in Central Queensland.
“This exhibition is centred on stories of the townships, how they came to be and the juxtaposition between the affluence and the hardships.
Laced with murder mysteries and stories of brutal cultural clashes, Towns of Minerals and Metals is the latest instalment from Clermont Historical Centre.
“It incorporates stories that are centred on each resource, gold, copper and coal and subsequently the towns that are centred on them.”
Mayor Anne Baker said the exhibition focuses on the towns of Clermont, Blair Athol and Copperfield and the accidental discoveries of gold, coal and copper.
The exhibition features digitised imagery and includes, three unique displays, tools including aboriginal artefacts, photographs and other items of historic significance.
“Three towns, three natural resources, gold, coal and copper. Minerals and metals are what made us,” Mayor Baker said. “Clermont was founded on the site of gold rush which sparked on the banks of Diggings Lagoon in 1861. Copperfield was founded on the discovery of pure copper in that same year. “The discovery of coal in 1864 led to the establishment of the township of Blair Athol in the early 1890s.
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Towns of Minerals and Metals opens at the Clermont Historical Centre on Wednesday, March 6, 2019. The centre will resume its normal operating hours of Wednesday to Saturday 9am to 3pm up until its closure on Christmas Eve 2019. For more details on Clermont Historical Centre’s opening times please visit www.isaac.qld.gov.au or call Council’s Customer Service Centre available 24 hours a day seven days a week on 1300 ISAACS (1300 472 227).