Cardwell, Qld, 4849 (former)
S 18° 16.042 E 146° 01.774
55K E 397419 N 7979961
A historic former Post Office and Telegraph Station which served a small tropical seaside town for one hundred and twelve years, and has now been conserved as a heritage centre.
Waymark Code: WMFNZK
Location: Queensland, Australia
Date Posted: 11/11/2012
Views: 5
For more than 100 years the Cardwell Post Office and Telegraph Station served the north Queensland town of Cardwell, performing an integral role in the history of that part of the State.
As a Post Office, which operated from 1870 until 1982, it is proof of the important communications technology of the 19th Century, the telegraph service, and it is one of the oldest surviving timber buildings in the north Queensland region.
With $500,000 in funding from the Queensland Heritage Trails Network, the building was conserved and interpretive displays installed. Visitors will gain an insight into a reconstructed working telegraph office and the history of communications from message sticks to satellites.
The history of building the telegraph line and that of the settlement of the Cardwell region from European and Indigenous perspectives is also presented.
Cardwell is a tropical coastal town located at the southern extremity of the Cassowary Coast in northeastern Queensland.
Cardwell suffered significant damage from Cyclone Yasi, a category 5 cyclone, in February 2011. Much of the damage has been repaired, and at the time of my visit in September 2012 major breakwater works were under way to reduce the effect of any future severe weather event. These works were so extensive I needed to visit the Waymarks WM78DX BI-Centennial Time Capsule - Cardwell, Queensland by searchwise015 and WM78E2 Bi-Centennial Orientation Table - Cardwell, Queensland. by searchwise015 at a distance.