queenlineofreef

Miners at the gold diggings outside Charters Towers, ca. 1878

from State Library of Queensland

• Vesna Verencevic said:

  While gold mining was first introduced to Australia in the early years of settlement, during the second half of the nineteenth century on an expedition to locate some missing horses, a young 12-year-old indigenous boy named Jupiter Mosman made history. Jupiter, a stockman, was traveling with the prospecting team of Hugh Mosman, George Clark and James Fraser. While Jupiter located the horses sheltering at the base of what has come to be known as Towers Hill, he accidentally stumbled across a bright glimmer of gold nestled in a nearby stream. It was 24 December 1871, a pivotal year that marked the beginning of a new era of gold discovery in the greater Charters Towers area. This finds not only quickly placed Charters Towers firmly on the map in terms of lucrative gold mining prospects but in the process established it as a world-class district and as Australia’s richest major goldfield. While Jupiter Mosman’s find marked the discovery of gold in Charters Towers and heralded in a major windfall for the people of Queensland, it was with this same jubilance a century later in 1983, due to his historical role in shaping the northern state, that Jupiters Limited was incorporated and resulted in the establishment of the Jupiter casinos in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Townsville, keeping the spirit and historical significance of Jupiter Mosman alive. This pinnacle in Queensland’s mining history, when Jupiter plucked that first gold nugget from the stream in Charters Towers, has also been captured on canvas by renowned Australian artist Marji Hill in her original oil painting ‘Jupiters Lucky Strike’ which is currently hanging in the foyer of Ville Resort Casino Hotel (previously Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino). Marji Hill has been involved in many aspects of Aboriginal affairs which have provided much of the inspiration and influence for her artworks. Source: www.citigold.com/charters-towers-story/