tune. Pastoralists came in vast numbers too, their eye set on the lush grazing delta surrounding the Fitzroy River to feed the growing population.
By 1860, farms and settlements were spreading out along the coastal flats and dunes, while in the hinterlands, prospectors panned for gold. The gold rush lasted for fifty years, and with it came the railway, new towns, and a diverse mix of people from all corners of the globe.
Some made their fortune while others perished, and others still were caught up in infamous scandal. Amidst this period of unprecedented growth, some would even go on to change the face of the modern world; the likes of King O'Malley, architect of the Commonwealth Bank and Reserve Bank, and William Knox Darcy, founder of British Petroleum.
Mount Chalmers Mine
Reports of gold finds in the central interior of the Capricorn Coast began around 1860 at Mount Chalmers.
The railway
From the time of its inception, Emu Park was the hedonistic playground of the Rockhampton social set and well-heeled gold miners from Mount Morgan, who used their considerable influence to lobby the Queensland Government for a rail link to the fledgling seaside town. In late 1888, they achieved their ambitions and the Rockhampton-Emu Park railway line was opened, making the journey far less arduous. New communities sprouted up along the path of the railway, and new stations and sidings were established at Nerimbera, Nankin, Sleipner, Tungamull, Coowonga, Coorooman, and Tanby.
In 1908, a branch line was opened at Sleipner Junction to service the gold towns of Mount Chalmers and Cawarral, and in 1909 the branch line reached Yeppoon.
During the 1960s, the Emu Park rail line was progressively decommissioned, however the original building at Nankin still stands. At Tungamull directly before the Keppel Sands Road turnoff, pylons that supported the rail bridge are also clearly visible beside the floodway crossing
