Mungana Archaeological Area is a heritage-listed former mining town at Mungana, Chillagoe, Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia.It is also known as Mungana Prospect, Old Mungana Township, Mungana Township, Lady Jane Mine, Eclipse Limeworks and Cemetery, and Girofla Mine. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 11 December 2008.
History
The Mungana Archaeological Area is an aggregation of the remnants of mining and associated community infrastructure that commenced during Queensland's mining boom in the 1880s. The area was both geographically and commercially linked to the development of the nearby township of Chillagoe, which was originally settled and named in 1887 by William Atherton, the son of the famous North Queensland pioneer, John Atherton. William established a large homestead on the banks of the Chillagoe Creek in 1888 with the intention of supplying beef to the expanding mining operations of the area. The far north Queensland mining magnate, John Moffat, buoyed by reports from Atherton and others of the discovery of payable mineral deposits, visited the area in October 1888 and subsequently acquired the mineral rights over a considerable amount of the Chillagoe/Mungana area. He consolidated his position by establishing a number of smaller mining operations, including a smelter at Calcifer in 1894.
Mining at Mungana commenced in 1893-1894 when John Moffat employed 70 men to prospect the Girofla lode. Full scale operations commenced in 1896 when Moffat instructed 20 men to sink a shaft at Girofla, prepare a dam and construct a smelter site. A calico township quickly grew near the mine, and was also called Girofla. The settlement soon expanded to include a small number of buildings, including three hotels. By 1897 the copper smelting machinery from Muldiva had been transferred to Girofla and the latter's population had grown to 158. Although the Girofla mine was principally a lead/silver producer, the smelter also processed other ore from a series of nearby mines associated with Moffat, including the Griffith, Dorothy, Red Dome and Lady Jane.
As mining operations in the area expanded, John Moffat, and his business partner James Smith Reid, sought to restructure their holdings in an effort to establish more manageable portions and raise capital for infrastructure investment. They initially formed the Chillagoe Proprietary Company, which acquired Moffat's leases and negotiated with the colonial government. By late 1897 the Mareeba to Chillagoe Railway Act had been passed which enabled the construction of a private railway network, ensured of mineral leases, waived labour conditions on the mines, and provided the government with the option to acquire the enterprise after fifty years. A new company was subsequently formed called the Chillagoe Railway and Mines Limited, which had a million pounds nominal capital. They then set about constructing the railway and the smelter, although the latter project encountered difficulties and was eventually located at the less preferred location of Chillagoe (Chillagoe smelters). Just as the rail network was nearing completion in 1901, Moffat and Reid floated the Mungana group of mines as a separate company; the Mungana (Chillagoe) Mining Co. Ltd. This company included the Girofla, Lady Jane, Griffith and Dorothy mines and their associated infrastructure. The completion of the railhead to Mungana in 1901 had a substantial impact upon the town. The township was moved from its original location opposite the Girofla mine to a newly surveyed site either side of the rail head, and was officially renamed Mungana. The Girofla smelter was closed in 1902 as ore could be easily railed to the new large smelting facility at Chillagoe.
The new township of Mungana quickly grew and had a cricket club, turf club, Progress Association, court house, library and reading room. At its peak in 1920 Mungana had six hotels, three stores, bakery, butcher, confectionary shop, drapers, post office, church, school and livery.
