In early December 2010 we headed out west with the intention of visiting several regional communities in outback Queensland, as far out as Mt. Isa. As always, the weather had its own plans at that time of year, and the roads to Hughenden were soon impassable.

 

Determined to make the most of the situation, we decided to spend the rest of the week in Charters Towers, quickly to discover that the weather was a blessing in disguise. A week was barely enough time to take in all that this vibrant, friendly and culturally rich community has to offer.

The old Stock exchange building             View from Towers Hill    The World Theatre

The purpose of the initial expedition was to carry out research into how we could help provide regional communities with a greater range of creative arts tools and skills to enhance regional events, festivals and community activities. We discovered Charters Towers has a strong interest in theatre, visual art and music (particularly country, but by no means exclusively). We perceived an overwhelmingly eager response to the notion of us providing further support, both for events they currently hold (such as "10 Days in the Towers" and "The Charters Towers Country Music Festival") and by bringing out further cultural events, such as bands, touring shows, and a greater inter-community involvement of artists and events from Townsville and other communities in our region. We were also interested in meeting with people from the non-arts sectors of the community.

During the course of the trip we kept busy interviewing numerous people within the community. These included representatives from the Charters Towers Regional Council, The Neighbourhood Centre, local youth, The World Theatre, the Don Roderick Gallery, Towers Players, Charters Towers PCYC, local business owners, local artists and musicians, and people involved in planning events such events such as "10 Days in the Towers".

Interviews with people in the community

Charters Towers is a city abounding in history, having once been such a prosperous and influential gold mining town as to have been known as "the world" and even had its own stock exchange. The magnificent buildings lining its quiet streets stand as a timeless reminder of this dramatic bygone era. It is a town of many local legends, from the wild showdowns of its gold mining years to stories of haunted buildings, and a yowie known as the "Hairy Man" living among the rocky, mine-covered slopes of the prominent Towers Hill. There is certainly no shortage of inspiration for any local artist hoping to put their town on the map, if the support is available to them.

Jeremy, local business owner          Interior of the World Theatre             Interior, Don Roderick Gallery