Mulgrave Shire Historical Society Australia Day Celebrations

THE Mulgrave Shire Historical Society hosted a free open day on Thursday, January 26 (Australia Day).

The day’s activities started at 9.30am with the first of three scheduled guided historical walks of the footpath mosaics in the town centre.

The tours culminated at the Mulgrave Settlers Museum. Many of the locals who attended, mentioned that they were unaware of the history behind some of the mosaics, which depict what businesses and activities were carried out in the towns’ past.

Visitors were treated to a scrumptious morn- ing tea of homemade scones, damper coffee and tea at the museum from 10am.

Beside the museum at the Rambler Room, there were descendant charts of local families for sale and a very interesting historical display from the local Sikh community.

To add to the old-world theme, Margaret Pollock, dressed in period costume was showed visitors the art of fibre spinning of wool. School photos that had no names attached, were on display and the society was very grateful for the public’s assistance in identifying some of the students.

All in all, despite the high humidity, every-

New life for old FNQ mine

AN abandoned Far North Queensland mining area is one step closer to coming back to life – creating more jobs for regional Queenslanders in the minerals industry.

Resources Minister Scott Stewart said tenders had been called for resource exploration activities across a 480 square kilometre area, which includes the former Wolfram Camp mine.

“Queensland’s long history of resources activity has left a legacy of abandoned mines across the state but, thanks to advancing technology and changing market demands, some of these mines have the potential to become commercial operations once again,” Mr Stewart said.

“After consulting with industry groups, miners, explorers and local representatives last year, it was clear there was great interest in restarting resource activities at the abandoned Wolfram Camp mine.

“This project is a pilot that could potentially see more of our abandoned mine sites around the state transformed from a liability to an asset – once more generating good jobs and royalties for all Queenslanders.

“Those royalties can also help offset the cost of managing existing, abandoned mines, while the government has also acted to prevent future issues with tighter requirements for progressive mine rehabilitation,” he said.

Situated 90km west of Cairns, Wolfram Camp is named for wolframite – an important primary ore of tungsten that miners have been extracting from the site since the 19th century.

The critical mineral has numerous uses, including in solar technology, wind turbine blades, drill bits and filaments for lighting.

The mine was abandoned in late 2018 and has since been a part of the Queensland Government’s Abandoned Mine Lands Program.

Mr Stewart said the re-commercialisation of Wolfram Camp was one of 43 actions in the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan.

“Our 30-year plan for the resources industry contains a suite of measures to find, mine, process and manufacture critical minerals,” Mr Stewart said.

“Together, the Queensland Resources Industry Development Plan and the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan will help create good jobs in our regional communities.” one enjoyed a fun morning. A big thank you to all the museum volunteers for their help on the day and to the Mulgrave Central Mill for the use of the Rambler Room.

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