The Saga Of Cardwell: 1870 - 1890

First Deaths to Johnstone Division

Records show that the first death in Cardwell was on 7th March 1864, and the first burial in the cemetery was that of a six-month-old female child later in 1864. The first European baby born in Cardwell was George Cardwell Peters, on October 9th 1864, and in 1866 the Province of Cardwell was proclaimed. The telegraph line reached Cardwell in December 1869 after five men lost their lives from Jungle Fever during its construction from Townsville. Cardwell’s first school opened in 1870 with 16 students, with Miss Marion D’Arcy serving as the first teacher. In 1872, the first jetty was built and two large creeks on Hinchinbrook Island were named after HMS ships Paluma and Gayundah.

In 1873, George Dalrymple led an expedition charting coastal areas from Cardwell to Cooktown, later taking charge of Somerset, Cape York in 1874 before his death in Scotland in 1876. In 1875, Cardwell Shire had a population of 150 residents, and its jurisdiction spanned an area from Mourilyan Harbour to Charters Towers – approximately 7,000 square miles. The region suffered maritime tragedies as well; in 1876, the steamer Banshee was wrecked on Cape Sandwich with the loss of 21 lives, and another incident involved the ship Merchant, loaded with fragrant Daintree cedar cargo, which went aground on Kennedy Shoal. Although she was repaired in Cardwell and left the day before a cyclone struck, the ship, its cargo of timber and all its crew were lost.

The cultural heritage of the region is reflected in several ancient sites. At the Haven on Hinchinbrook Island, the remains of Aboriginal fish traps have been found. Additional fish trap sites are located on the western shore of Missionary Bay and on Goold Island, while middens have been discovered in Ramsey Bay.

The regional balance shifted in 1880 when Townsville overtook Cardwell as the main port in North Queensland. In the early 1880s, a sawmill was established on the north-west part of Hinchinbrook by Page, Lovell & Company, and Thomas Page, the manager of the sawmill, resided there with his family and employees. In 1884, the Johnstone Division severed from the Cardwell Division, and in the same year the Cardwell Divisional Board was formed. The inaugural meeting of the Board was held in the Court House – now part of the current museum complex on Victoria Street – and the Board initially comprised six members and two divisions with James Thorn Senior serving as its first Chairman. By 1889, there were 103 rateable dwellings and 262 rate payers, with general rates set at one shilling in the pound.