Croydon, Queensland
Encyclopedia
Croydon is a town in Queensland
, Australia
. At the 2006 census
, the town and surrounding area had a population of 255.
In 1917, Dr. Elkington, Director of the Division of Tropical Hygiene, Commonwealth Department of Health, was concerned about health and hygiene of its growing population, contemplated conducting a statistical and social survey of the town, which did not eventuate. Elkington's interest in sociological surveys of gathering social and economic details on a population later developed into the 1924 Sociological Survey of White Women conducted from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Townsville.
Currently, Croydon has a much smaller population, having greatly decreased following the end of the gold rush. It was mentioned in the 1950 novel "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute, as an example of a largely abandoned gold rush town.
The population is now a few hundred people. The town is one of the termini for the Gulflander
railway, opened for the gold rush in 1891 but now a tourist railway operated by Traveltrain
. In early 2009, the close proximity of a receding cyclone ex-cyclone Charlotte, caused torrential rain and Croydon to be flooded. An estimated $5 million of damage was made to town infrastructure.
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. At the 2006 census
Census in Australia
The Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
, the town and surrounding area had a population of 255.
History
The historic goldrush town of Croydon is located in the heart of the Gulf Savannah, 562 km west of Cairns. Croydon was a large pastoral holding covering an area of approximately 5,000 km², when first settled in the 1880s. Gold was discovered in 1885 and by 1887, the town's population had reached 7,000. Gold was to be the main economic production of the area for four decades. The Mining Warden left in 1926 as there were too few miners left on the field. During its heyday, Croydon was the fourth largest town in the colony of Queensland.In 1917, Dr. Elkington, Director of the Division of Tropical Hygiene, Commonwealth Department of Health, was concerned about health and hygiene of its growing population, contemplated conducting a statistical and social survey of the town, which did not eventuate. Elkington's interest in sociological surveys of gathering social and economic details on a population later developed into the 1924 Sociological Survey of White Women conducted from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Townsville.
Currently, Croydon has a much smaller population, having greatly decreased following the end of the gold rush. It was mentioned in the 1950 novel "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute, as an example of a largely abandoned gold rush town.
The population is now a few hundred people. The town is one of the termini for the Gulflander
Gulflander
The Gulflander is a named passenger train in Australia, running from Normanton to Croydon in the Gulf Country of northern Queensland. Often described as 'a train from nowhere to nowhere', the line was completed in 1891 and has never been connected to the rest of the Queensland Rail network...
railway, opened for the gold rush in 1891 but now a tourist railway operated by Traveltrain
TravelTrain
Traveltrain provides long range passenger rail services in Queensland, run by Queensland Rail. Its flagships are the electric and diesel Tilt Trains, servicing Brisbane – Rockhampton and Brisbane – Cairns respectively...
. In early 2009, the close proximity of a receding cyclone ex-cyclone Charlotte, caused torrential rain and Croydon to be flooded. An estimated $5 million of damage was made to town infrastructure.