North Queensland History Book-'Up The Palmerston'

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'Up the Palmerston - A History of the Cairns Hinterland up to 1920', a three volume series, is the result of over 30 years of research and investigation across several continents. The books explore the history of the Cairns and wider North Queensland hinterland, its special places and its characters.

Their uniquely friendly and approachable style give the reader a glimpse into this colourful part of northern Australia, which deserves to be documented and celebrated.

The Cairns hinterland is known for its majestic mountains, rainsforests, waterfalls, caves, lava tubes and volcanic lakes.
'Up the Palmerston' shows that the history of the area is as colourful and varied as its landscape. The Aborigines arrived on the scene thousands of years ago. More recently the European explorers, farmers, miners, and timber industry workers appeared. These books tell the stories of what these groups did, and how they managed.

Detailed maps and many photos and illustrations document historical expeditions and events. Personal interviews with oldtimers bring to life the past and add a rich and entertaining human side, while the continent-spanning stories of North Queensland's founders provide all the drama of an epic blockbuster movie.

Click here to read a sample chapter

Photo collection

It was only possible to include a small percentage of the photographs that Mike took in North Queensland and the British Isles during the course of his three decades of research. The remainder can be seen here.

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Volume One deals mainly with the following areas of North Queensland: Cooktown, Maytown, Palmerville, Hodgekinson Goldfield, Kingsborough, Thornborough, Mt Mulligan, Mary Wardle, Cardwell, Ingham, the Valley of Lagoons, Cape York, Cairns and Port Douglas, and deals with - amongst others - the North Queensland Aborigines and Negritoes, James Cook, Ludwig Leichhardt, John Gilbert, Edmund Kennedy, Jackie Jackie, A.C. Gregory, George Dalrymple, Arthur Jervoise Scott, Walter Jervoise Scott, Charles Jervoise Scott, Henry Stone, Richard Daintree, William Hann, James Venture Mulligan, Mary Wardle, R.G.W. Herbert, and Winnie Dawson.

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Volume Two covers the following topics: Herberton, Irvinebank, Watsonville, Montalbion, Stannary Hills, Muldiva, Tate River Township, Chillagoe, Calcifer, Mungana, Zilmanton, Cardross, OK Township, Coolgarra, Mt Garnet, Mt Molloy, Mt Carbine, Newellton, Wolfram Camp, Bamford, Great Northern Mine, Vulcan Mine, OK Copper Mine, Lady Jane Mine, Girofla Mine. Some of the personalities in it are John Newell, Willie Jack, John Moffat, Bill McCormack, Ted Theodore, Johny Bowe, Abdul Wade, and Darby Macnamara.

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Volume Three covers the following topics: the Cairns-Kuranda Railway, the Bump Road, Port Douglas, Millaa Millaa, Yungaburra, Atherton, Mareeba, Ravenshoe, Malanda, the Evelyn Tableland, Pompo, Christie Palmerston, John Atherton, Mary Hull, Bill Mazlin, Henry Keough, John Rankine, and Patrick English.

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