The Friendly Heart of the Great North West.
In 1861 Burke and Wills with King and Gray, were the first Europeans to come into the area on their ill fated expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Burke named the river “Cloncurry” for his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Cloncurry of County Galway in Ireland. In May 1867, Ernest Henry (honoured as founder of the town and the vast mineral wealth of the district), came this way searching for grazing land, instead he discovered copper, he named this the Great Australia. The town was surveyed in 1876 and named after the river.
Stay a while at any of our unique accommodation venues, hotels, motels and caravan parks. For detailed listings of where to stay and places to eat, look in our Services pages.
