Historical Australian Towns: Tolga, QLD: Was On The coach Road From Herberton to Port Douglas

Tolga is located on the Tablelands of North Queensland, a distance of around 28 km from Mareeba.

Surrounded by volcanic hills and rainforest-covered mountains, Tolga, is a village with charm and an interesting history.

The Tolga Scrub is one of the last remaining areas of Mabi rainforest on the Atherton Tableland.

Buluwai Rainforest People

According to Norman Tindale, The territory of the Buluwai rainforest people stretched about 200 square miles (520 km2) in the area east of Tolga and extending on north to Kuranda, and in a south-westerly direction to Tinaroo. The Barron River formed their coastal limit.

Tindale also recoded the Buluwai language in 1938. Here

In 1941 Norman Tindale and Joseph Birdsell declared that the Rainforest people of North Queensland were a discrete race of Aboriginal Australians, separate from all other mainland Aboriginal peoples: What they termed a Tasmanoid group due to what Tindale and Birdsell claimed was their short stature, and distinctive cultural, social, linguistic attributes and artefacts.

It is likely that the shorter stature was due to differences in nutrition in this group, with nuts, tubers and fruits being consumed more than proteins.

However, the Native Police Sub-Inspector, R.A. Johnstone, who was involved in Dalrymple’s 1873 expedition, stated that it was "a sure indication of good country when the aboriginals are numerous, as they depend entirely on Nature to provide them with the necessaries of life, and there in the valley of the Barron the jungle supplied them with fruits, roots and game in abundance". (Johnstone, 1903).

Tindale and Birdsell described the rainforest around the Atherton tablelands as an extremely inhospitable environment. They also wrote about the material culture of the inhabitants of the North Queensland rainforests, such as "large decorated fighting shields", and the "single-handed, flat-bladed and long, wooden, fighting sword", "beaten bark blankets" and the woven cane baskets, distinctive to the region.

From the book by Lumholtz, Carl, 1851-1922 1889, Far North QLD. Note distinctive shield

Aboriginal people of the North Queensland Rainforest, according to Tindale and Birdsell, had a patrilineal moiety system; partial mummification of the dead, carrying the skull and jaw-bones of the dead for long periods before burning, food cannibalism, large decorated fighting shields, the wearing of beaten bark blankets, fig-tree baskets sewn with lawyer cane, specialised food collection and preparation, such as leaching alkaloids from toxic nuts. (see here)

Group at Atherton Tableland, ca. 1895. Creator: Alfred Atkinson. Description: This is a group of Aboriginal people standing in front of a tree, with shield, nulla nulla, spears and woven basket. The men have scaring [cicatrices] on their chest. A lady is wearing a reed threaded necklace. State Library of Queensland

The Norwegian anthropologist and explorer Carl Lumholtz spent four years in North Queensland from 1880. He camped and hunted with Aboriginal people, many of whom had not encountered Europeans before. Based at first at Gracemere, he travelled in western Queensland, then to the Valley of Lagoons and lastly to the Herbert River area of northern Queensland. This book is available to read free here

Aboriginal people of Far North Queensland used a sharp stone or a clam-shell, to cut parallel lines across the breast and stomach. To keep the wounds from healing they put charcoal or ashes in them for a month or two until they swell up into rough ridges. Sometimes they gain the same result by letting ants walk about in the wounds. The shoulders are cut in the same manner, with lines running down three or four inches, making them look as if they had epaulets, Year: 1889 Internet Archive Book Images

Some Aboriginal men wore a belt-rope and some Aboriginal women wore a necklace of twisted reed or berries. Read more: Aboriginal use of Atherton rainforests

Group of men and boys at Atherton Tableland, ca. 1895. Creator: Alfred Atkinson. State Library of Queensland. Description: This photograph is of Aboriginal men and boys in their traditional body paint, with shields, boomerang, wooden swords and spears. cicatrices can be seen on some men. The elderly man on the left has a kangaroo bone nose piercing, a pearl shell pendant and headband. The young man laying in front of the group has a forehead band of Nautilus shell and is holding a nulla nulla [club/ sword]. The shield and body design are unique to this Atherton Tableland area.

Two Mia-Mias in a Queensland jungle. This type of "home" was favored by some of the northern tribes.

European Exploration

When George Dalrymple in 1865, explored the area inland from Cardwell, about 130 km from Tolga, he encountered Aboriginal people with large shields, "painted in blue, black, red, and yellow bands, in a quaint zigzag pattern, found on all shields in this part of the colony" and holding wooden swords, "about 5 feet long and 6 inches broad, and shaped with a curve, and point like an infantry sword".

George Augustus Frederick Elphinstone Dalrymple - Queensland parliamentarian

James Mulligan was the first European explorer and prospector to visit the tablelands in 1875 when he and his men travelled over "rich basaltic country" and near the present site of Tolga, came upon dark, impenetrable jungle.

1880: Tin

In 1877 John Atherton took up "Emerald End" to become the first settler in the Barron Valley.

The discovery of tin at Herberton in May, 1880, was speedily followed by the opening of a road in July, 1880, the work of Explorer Palmerston in cutting through three miles of scrub at Martintown (now Tolga), made it possible to take goods through to Herberton from Port Douglas.

Portrait of Christie Palmerston. It has been claimed that Palmerston was the natural son of Lord Palmerston. However, Palmerston was born in Melbourne to Casino Jerome Carandini, the 10th Marquis of Sarzano and Marie Burgess, an English-born opera singer. Palmerston was baptised Cristofero Palmerston Carandini.

Tolga was originally called Martin Town after sawmillers George and Robert Martin. But the name changed to 'Tolga' ('Red Mud' in Aboriginal Language), when the railway from Mareeba reached the town.

A Cobb and Co. staging post was established nearby at Rocky Creek, being five kilometres out of Atherton, on the track from Port Douglas to Herberton. This coach service, which ran from Port Douglas to Herberton, was one of the roughest in Australia, encountering gullies, creeks, and ranges rising to 3,000 feet.

Cobb & Co's mail coach on the Port Douglas - Herberton Road, Queensland, 1887, North Queensland register

David (Dave) Robson, a miner and prospecter, erected a flying fox spanning the Barron River which had a hauling rope of 900 feet, which was used to haul goods across the river close to Tolga. Another coach service was the Old Fossil Line of Coaches.

Martintown Provisional School opened on 10 October 1895.

1900s

The name was changed to Tolga in 1903 when the railway line was extended from Mareeba. The Tolga to Atherton section of the Cairns to Ravenshoe railway line was opened in 1903.

Tolga, a name thought to be derived from the Aboriginal word for either place where the scrub begins or red volcanic soil.

Early farm selectors often rented their allotments to Chinese ex-miners who grew maize, vegetables and small quantities of peanuts. With additional farms brought under soldier settlement after World War I, farmers turned to peanut growing because of low prices for maize and pig meat (fed on maize). The development of peanut growing and associated storage facilities were facilitated by the State government, and Tolga became the Atherton Tableland's peanut centre.

Morning Post (Cairns, Qld. : 1897 - 1907), Thursday 19 April 1906

In 1908 the old school reserve at Martintown was given to the Tinaroo Shire Council for use as a cemetery.

In 1909 the Government reclaimed land for a railway branch line from Tolga and by July parts of George Wedderburn’s farm was designated as the site for the railway station.

A pioneer's home in Tolga on the Atherton Tableland, QLD - 1909 (SLQLD)

The Tolga to Millaa Millaa railway was between 1911 and 1921 as a branch of the Cairns railway system.

The Mona Mona Aboriginal Mission, a former Seventh-day Adventist mission, was established for Aboriginal people of the region in 1913. The mission was almost self-sufficient, growing its own food, and cutting and milling timber until 1940.

WWI

Atherton Queen Carnival, Tolga Queen's Coach, QLD, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 17 December 1915

Group of Tolga Lengthsmen and the Slationmaster, QLD. Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 19 March 1915

School break-up at Tolga, QLD, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 1 January 1915

Tolga Sawmill, QLD, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 2 April 1915

Governor and Party on Tonga-Atherton Road, QLD, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 23 July 1915

Pte J. L. Fox. Tolga, QLD. Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Friday 22 June 1917

PTE. J. J. GALVIN, Tolga, Qld. Killed. Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 24 July 1918

1, Tolga Township 2. Tolga Railway Stattion, QLD, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Thursday 17 April 1919

Turning the Soil, Tolga District., QLD. Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Thursday 27 February 1919

Mona Mona Mission- Football Team, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Thursday 20 February 1919

Mona Mona Mission Oaklands, The school and its scholars, Northern Herald (Cairns, Qld. : 1913 - 1939), Wednesday 13 August 1919

1920s

Peter English, a member of the pioneering English family, mentions an Aboriginal man named "Jacky Cow” who assisted in the dismantling of the Tolga sawmill and transporting it to Malanda in the early 1920s. (English, 1964)

Worker observing a lathe in action at Lawson's sawmill, Tolga, Queensland

Tree weighed over nine tons, and was on its way to the mill at Tolga, QLD, Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), Wednesday 3 February 1926

The fire which occurred at Tolga, QLD. The Commercial Hotel, Bell'B giocery and drapery store, Black's huirdressing establishment and billiard saloon, and M'Grath's bakery were destroyed This is all that was left of them. Queenslander (Brisbane, Qld. : 1866 - 1939), Thursday 23 February 1928

"Commercial Hotel, Tolga, Qld." by jemasmith is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Commercial Hotel, Tolga, Qld. Unknown date, 23 Main Street, Tolga. Called Tolga Hotel since 1973.

1930s

The maize silos at Tolga on the AthertonTableland, of the Government Tourist Bureau, QLD. Toowoomba Chronicle and Darling Downs Gazette (Qld. : 1922 - 1933), Monday 31 March 1930

Wally's Commercial Hotel, Tolga, Qld. Unknown date, love the undies on the line. 23 Main Street, Tolga. Jan Smit

1940s and WWII

Greek corn pickers at Tolga, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, 1941. Tablelands Regional Library Service

The headquarters of the Australian Army in north Queensland transferred from Townsville to the Atherton Tableland in December 1942. The main administrative centre was built around the town of Atherton and nearby Tolga.

The Rocky Creek World War Two Hospital Complex military hospital on the Kennedy Highway, Tolga, was initially built in October 1942, with further construction occurring during World War II.

Patients from Papua New Guinea were transported from Cairns to Rocky Creek by the 4th Australian Hospital Ambulance Train, that ran three times a week, for treatment at Rocky Creek Hospitals. The hospital was in operation from October 1942 until September 1945.

TOLGA, QLD. 1943-12-17. A CHEERFUL GROUP OF AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S ARMY SERVICE (AWAS) PERSONNEL, READING THEIR MAIL AT THE 13TH AUSTRALIAN ORDNANCE DEPOT, HEADQUARTERS, 1ST AUSTRALIAN CORPS. AWM

TOLGA, QLD. 1943-11-04. ALTHOUGH ENGAGED FOR CLERICAL WORK THROUGH SHORTAGE OF STAFF THESE AWAS MEMBERS OF HEADQUARTERS, 13TH ADVANCED ORDNANCE DEPOT ARE ENGAGED IN PACKING GOODS FOR SHIPMENT TO OTHER UNITS. SHOWN ARE:- QF269549 PRIVATE (PTE) N. C. ROBERTS (LEFT); QF266876 PTE W. LEIS. AWM

TOLGA, QLD. 1943-08-16. EXTERIOR OF AN "IGLOO" STORAGE SHED OF THE 13TH AUSTRALIAN ADVANCE ORDNANCE DEPOT. AWM

Early in 1943, the largest Australian Army storage and repair centre on the Tableland was established west of Tolga. Known as 13 Australian Advanced Ordnance Depot (AAOD), the complex consisted of about 150 buildings, including 18 large igloo storage sheds, an attached vehicle park, salvage area and workshops. The centre of the site is located between present Griffin Road and Tate Road, Tolga.

TOLGA, QLD. 1943-11-04. AWAS MEMBERS, QX269575 DRIVER (DR) F. J. ARGENT (LEFT) AND QF270869 DR E. L. EDDY OF HEADQUARTERS, 13TH ADVANCED ORDNANCE DEPOT, WORKING UNDER A JEEP, WHICH THEY HAVE PUT UP ON A RAMP. AWM

Bones Knob Radar Station at Bowcock Road, Tolga, was built in 1943, stands at the summit of a timbered hill called Bones Knob, which is located about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Tolga. The men of 220 Radar Station regularly travelled to Tolga, Atherton and Mareeba to the picture shows. A tennis court was constructed at the station during 1944. Bones Knob is thought to be named after a young Aboriginal man known as "Bones".

TOLGA, QLD. 1944-01-06. STAFF OF THE RAIL TRANSPORT OFFICER, 8TH INFANTRY BRIGADE, 3RD DIVISION WORKING AT THE GOODS SIDING. TOLGA, QLD. AWM

TOLGA, QLD. 1944-04-11. A MOBILE HEAVY CARRIAGE GUN, 155 MM. MARK 1.1941. AT FULL ELEVATION WITH THE BREECH OPEN AT THE 13TH ADVANCED ORDNANCE DEPOT. AWM

TOLGA, QLD. 1945-02-12. MAJOR C E J LEE, (2), AT 3 ADVANCED WORKSHOP, CORPS OF AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, INDICATING POINTS OF INTEREST TO THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, GOVERNOR GENERAL OF AUSTRALIA, (1), CRAFTSMAN C H V GIBBS, (3), IS AT WORK IN THE FOREGROUND. AWM

Hotel Tolga, QLD, n.d. Boobook48

The Queensland Country Womens’ Association "Haven" hut in the grounds of Atherton Hospital was a former 7 Ordnance Depot recreation hut, relocated from Griffin Road, Tolga.

1950s

Cairns Post (Qld. : 1909 - 1954), Monday 11 June 1951

Construction of the nearby, Tinaroo Dam began in 1953 and was completed in 1958 at a cost of $12,666, 000. The village of Kulara disappeared under the waters of Lake Tinaroo in 1959.

A truck load of peanuts ready to be taken to the peanut factory in Tolga FNQ. QLD, 1957. Rae Allen

1960s

Joe Banchio with a single row corn picker - 1950/60 on the farm at Tolga, Queensland, Australia, Rae Allen

School Rugby League, 1967. The premiership winning under 4 stone six pound rugby league team from Tolga State School, QLD. Rae Allen

1990s

Tolga Bat Hospital which is the largest bat rehabilitation and bat ecotourism facility in Australia began in 1990.

Tolga Bat Hospital, QLD, 134 Carrington Road, Carrington or Atherton 4883

2000s

The Tinaroo Hydro power station was commissioned in May 2004.

The Tinaroo Hydro Power Station, not far from Tolga, QLD, is an electricity power station located at the spillway of Lake Tinaroo. It has been designed to take advantage of water being released for irrigation, and water released when the dam is full

Around Tolga

The Tolga Hotel, QLD, was built in 1885 and was originally called the Commercial Hotel

65 Main Street, Tolga, QLD

Tolga branch CWA was established in 1928, QLD

Located on the southern side of the Kennedy Highway, almost five kilometres north of Tolga, QLD, the former WWII site includes a theatre (entertainment) igloo and other buildings