Gordonvale, Queensland
Gordonvale is a small sugar-growing town in north Queensland, Australia. Its most famous natural landmark is Walsh's Pyramid, which rises steeply to 922m. The town was previously called Mulgrave and then Nelson. Gordonvale was settled on as a tribute to John Gordon, a pioneer in the district. Gordonvale itself, lies approximately 23km south of Cairns and is just east of the Gillies Range which leads to the Atherton Tableland.
Gordonvale State High School is one high school in the community and it plays host to the Gordonvale Gladiators football team. This Team has been very sucessful throughout mulgrave and penninsular and looks forward to a good season this year. coached by Jayson Kelly this football team is very promising. Ben Rhodes has been recruited by The Brisbane broncos to play first grade football. Another team is the Cricket team coached by corey edwards. This team is full of untalented people but with mr edwards good compassion and understanding of the teams loss. ( Chasing 210 and ending up with 71). This coach is a very excellent man.
Surrounding lakes such as greenpatch and blackwells rivers have been known to be home to many illegal activities such as smoking marijuana and underage drinking. Besides these points its a very nice place to swim and enjoy yourself. If you want to smoke marijuana here it is illegal and the law is usually misunderstood becuase on private property these acts are induced but on this private peice of land its illegal ok guys. Fishing is excellent and That Pictures is a good looking male holding a Black Bream fish. That fish heis holding is actually the world record for any black bream ever caught.
A Beer Factory founded by a Mr.David Richards, in the late 70's was formed and its stock boomed. David and his family are currently residing south north west of north south east to gordonvale. The family is said to be a very wealthy one and is indeed the leading beer maker in the country. his beer also known as...PURE BLONDE or David's Mix was apparently stolen by a man called Mr. Michael Davidson and he now owns the recipies and is bathing in truck loads of money somewhere in north queensland. It is rumoured that Michael AKA. The Hermit. Lives deep in the forests of NT QLD and is planing on staying there. This was many years ago now gordonvales brewery has become the towns popular sugar cane mill where you can sit with freinds and chew on the nice sugary sweetness of the sugar cane plants.
Gordonvale is actually an ancient city and thus produces alot of folklaw. Some of which happen to be true. Its been proven by scientists that a beast called "TYRONE" is actually living under the towns central park. He feasts upon thos of which sleep in the park at night. TYRONE, has been accounted for several death. He is a large dragon like figure that comes out of the parks sewer vents and into the river and slowly makes its way to the park. Punching like a tiger it looks very deadly and is said to be able to give even a 2 yr old a heart attack. One things for sure, Never mess around with TYRONE.
Hugh Hefner holds a very deep and dark secret with him. The thing is..The official playboy mansion is actually situated in gordonvales outter country side. The worst thing about this is that he allows young teenage boys to enter the mansion because he thinks nobody knows about it. But my underground sources at Jakesacunt and Co. Have proved that there is indeed a playboy mansion with young teenage males situated inside. For proof ive included a photo from a satelight has proved this and ive enclosed it along side this shocking report. Over and out.
Jonathan Tutton is a retired comedian. He is currently attending Gordonvale State High School acting as a child for his hit television show. He makes freinds and then gets them to turn on their other real friends. In episode 1 which will be realeased in 2010, it shows a boy named Darcy Cotton. Darcy seemingly had no friends and therefor Mr. Tutton takes extreme advantage over this poor childs misery. He and his newly made friends are out to get Darcy Cotton to cry. Little does Darcy know, he has had special cameras placed throuhout his household. These cameras watch his every move. And on The Friday of the week in the "bedroom" camera it shows Darcy sitting down on his bed crying. He begins to get loud and his mother comes in, acting as though nothing is wrong Darcy states " I just bit my LIP its nothing". Therefore Mr. Tutton is sucessful and continues to be the funniest male alive to this day.
Gordonvale has been famous for its population being very sucessful. 2 former olympians actually come from Gordonvale. Jonathan Lees and Ben Rhodes. Both winning a repective gold medal in their events. Jonathan Lees won the gold medal for weightlifting. He currently holds the world record for lifting a total of 765Kg. This record stands to this day and is respected all over the world. Ben Rhodes respectivly won a gold medal in the Fetus jumping steeplechase. This event was exclusive for the Sydney Olympic games where he won with 5 circle colours. Many more athletes have been recorded but these 2 are definantly standouts.
The area was first settled in 1877 by the the Alley and Blackwell families who cut a road through to Trinity Inlet so they could haul out cedar logs. By 1880, the road was well-used by miners and packers and they established the Riverstone Hotel to service the passing trade. After a while, a small town developed, encompassing three pubs, a store and a butcher shop run by John Gordon.
In the Cairns area, a Chinese businessman, Andrew Lee On built the first sugar mill in 1882, named Pioneer Mill, and established the Hop Wah Plantation on 612 acres of land. Other plantations and sugar mills were also established in the area in years following, and the region developed into a sugar cultivation and milling area.
Operating since 1896, the Mulgrave Central sugar mill is located near the town centre in Gordon St. The mill services about 300 sugarcane farms in the local region and operates during the 'crush' season (about six months of the year). When operating, the mill emanates a strong sugary smell downwind. Tours of the mill were previously available, but with the increase in global sugar prices, tours have been stopped as the focus is now on sugar production.
The Mulgrave Settlers Museum is across Gordon St from the mill. The museum has a number of historical items donated from the local community and displays that represent the early gold miners, cedar cutters, Chinese workers and packers (mule train suppliers to the Atherton Tableland). The museum is open Monday to Saturday from 10AM to 2PM, however is closed from December to February.
Gordonvale Golf Club is located centrally in the town and has an 18 hole golf course. The course is unusual as nine holes are shared with a horse-racing track, with the other nine going through bushland to run up against the Bruce Highway.
The town is surrounded predominantly by sugarcane fields and is only a short drive from many interesting places including the Bellenden Ker National Park and Goldsborough Valley State Forest.
Cane toads (Bufo marinus) were deliberately introduced into Australia in an attempt to control the native Frenchi beetle (Lepidiota frenchi) and the greyback beetle (Lepidoderma albohirtum) which were destroying sugar cane crops in North Queensland.
The Australian Bureau of Sugar Experimental Stations imported 101 cane toads into Gordonvale from Hawaii in June 1935. By March 1937 some 62,000 toadlets had been bred and distributed into sugar cane fields up and down the Queensland coast. Unfortunately the toads were unsuccessful at controlling the cane beetles and began their invasion which continues today.
The spread of cane toads was slow at first but by 1959 they had colonised most of Queensland’s east coast. In 1964 they appeared in the Gulf of Carpentaria and by 1984 had reached the Queensland/Northern Territory border. In March 2001 the invasion front entered the wetlands of heritage-listed Kakadu National Park and the toads are now, in 2006, only a few hundred kilometres from the Northern Territory/Western Australian border. They have also spread south into northern New South Wales, with one isolated community in Port Macquarie.
Communications
The Southern Herald is a local independent monthly suburban publication.
