Calcifer is a ghost town in the locality of Chillagoe in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia.

Calcifer Queensland
Mines at Calcifer, circa 1900
Calcifer
Coordinates	17.211°S 144.574°E / -17.211; 144.574
Population	0
LGA(s)	Shire of Mareeba

Geography

The town is located 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of Cairns, and southeast of Chillagoe. It is near Calcifer Creek.[1]

History

The town's name was derived from a combination of the words calx, cuprum and ferrum, the Latin words for "limestone", "copper", and "iron" respectively. The town was established in 1894, when John Moffat established a copper smelter on the site. At its height in 1898, the town boasted stores, a branch of the Bank of Australasia, a cricket team, and five hotels. An accident at the nearby Hobson mine in 1903 killed three men; and by 1907 smelting operations had moved to Chillagoe, and the site was all but deserted. Today, all that remains are the foundations of the smelters and a small cemetery with five graves.

References

• Kerr, Ruth (1995). "Calcifer - the First Copper Smelter on the Chillagoe Copperfield" (PDF). Australasian Historical Archaeology (13): 18–23.
• Olsen, Peter. "Calcifer Cemetery". Australian Cemetery Index. Retrieved 18 May 2014.

External links

Media related to Calcifer, Queensland at Wikimedia Commons