Just a stone’s throw from the city of Rockhampton, nestled in a valley of the Great Dividing Range in Central Queensland is the tiny town of Mount Morgan.


Once a thriving hive of activity during the region’s gold mining days, the now economically depressed Mount Morgan relies on tourism as its main industry.

While the once-buzzing town is now small and sleepy, the historic relics of its booming past stand as a reminder of the gold rush days.

Mount Morgan is particularly famous for its historic buildings. No matter where you go in the town you are sure to find buildings that will conjure up grandeur images of the old days. Quaint little shopfronts, rather old-fashioned in appearance, line the streets of Mount Morgan. While the town isn’t a fantastic shopping experience, the semi-historical appearance of the main street is still certainly a sight worth the drive up the Mount Morgan range. There are various cafes in the town which offer a range of meals, snacks and drinks, and The Chocolate Shop is a particular favourite with many of the towns locals and visitors alike.

There is certainly plenty to see and do in Mount Morgan. The Mount Morgan Mine site is the town’s biggest reminder of the gold boom, with the open cut pit seeming to almost protectively shadow the town. We took a tour through the mine site and were enthralled by the stories behind the old mine site and the buildings within it. The site, which was also a copper mine for many years, forms the basis for Mount Morgan’s very interesting past, so during your visit touring the mine should definitely be on your must-do list.

Mount Morgan is also not without its share of prehistoric wonders. Genuine dinosaur footprints, perhaps made by Theropods at least 170 million years ago, can be seen on the ceiling of a man-made cave in the Mount Morgan Mine site and are open to public viewing year round. In the 1950’s fossils identified as the vertbrae of a plesiosaur was found 150m north of the Mount Morgan mine. While the real fossils are now in the Queensland Museum a latex cast of these fossils can be found in the Mount Morgan Historical Museum.

The town, which in recent years has grown in popularity with property investors and retirees, has a number of buildings of key interest. These include the Mount Morgan State High School, St Mary’s Catholic Church, the School of Arts, Post Office and the Railway Precinct.

Of particular interests are the funeral posts, some of which can still be seen on corners around the town. Dating back to the 1890’s and early 1900s, the posts, which measured about 23cm square) would have the funeral noticed pinned to them with tacks. It was said it was unlucky to remove the tacks from the posts, and one of the posts, complete with its tacks, can be found in the Mount Morgan Historical Museum.

Famous for its good old fashioned country hospitality like no other, Mount Morgan is a must during your next trip to Central Queensland. Take a walk down the town’s sleepy main street and stop and chat to the locals, or head out to the Big Dam for a picnic and a relaxing afternoon. If you’re lucky you might even spot the dam’s resident crocodile!

If you’re visiting at the right time of year a trip up to Mount Morgan for the annual Golden Mount Festival is a fantastic addition to any itinerary. The Golden Mount Festival, which runs May Day Weekend, is an opportunity for the townsfolk to join visitors and come together to celebrate the town’s history. This festival is host to the famous Running of the Cutter competition – a relay which salutes the old Mount Morgan tradition of running the cutter. There are a few variations of running the cutter. Men from the mine used to send the children to the pub with their billy can (cutter) to get it filled with beer in time for the break or for the end of work. Apparently rising costs caused the Publicans to put an end to the custom of Running the Cutter.
Today the Running of the Cutter involves its competitors running to the pubs of the town and drinking down a beer as fast as they can before moving onto the next. The first competitor to return to the finish is the winner, and anyone, provided they be of legal age, is eligible to enter.
Mount Morgan is also home to a swinging bridge and a fabulous historical railway station. Why not take a ride on their old steam train?
Although now a small sleepy town engulfed by economic breakdown, Mount Morgan is still a gold mine – a mine of information on the days of gold. Various projects are underway which could see the revival of the gold mining industry and bring Mount Morgan back to its former glory, but for now the town’s saviour is the tourism industry, with its quaint shopfronts, dinosaur footprints and historical sites that take you for a walk down memory lane. Next time you’re in Central Queensland why not stop in Mount Morgan? I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised!