July 12, 2020 - Reading time: ~1 minute

Rolled into Croydon after a fairly long day for us covering approximately 480 kms.

Croydon is n interesting town with a varied history. Born in a gold rush in the 1880’s it thrived (4th largest city in Queensland pop 7k )through to 1914 when many of the diggers enlisted to fight in World War One. This resulted in the mines flooding in the wet season and then closing as it was too expensive to reopen after the war, with the town being in decline ever since.

In an attempt to attract tourists, the council has purchased the caravan park, developed the freedom camping area and restored a large number of the historical buildings in the town to their original condition. They have been very successful as we managed a meal at the pub, visited the historical precinct and saw the Gulf Lander arrive after a 5 hour journey from Normanton. In addition the bird hide just of town also was very entertaining.