Chillagoe Railway &amp; Mining Co.
After a number of proposals had been made for the route of a railway to the Etheridge field, construction of the Etheridge Railway finally commenced in 1906 from Almaden to Mount Surprise on the Mareeba to Chillagoe line. The railway was opened to Mount Surprise in May 1908, and through to Einasleigh on 8 February 1909, a total of 101 miles. The final 41 miles from Einasleigh to Forsayth were not opened until 5 February 1911, construction having proceeded slowly due to union unrest and uncertainty within the mining industry generally.
Einasleigh Hotel
The "boom" times in Einasleigh did not last long. The First World War (1914–18) interrupted Australian access to overseas mineral markets and led to the closure of mines in the Einasleigh area and elsewhere. One ore train per week ran from Einasleigh to the Chillagoe smelters. This and the occasional livestock train were the only traffic using the Etheridge railway. The district population began to move away as the need for teamsters and rail maintenance crews diminished and by the 1920s Einasleigh Township had all but disappeared. In 1919 the Queensland Government took control of the Etheridge railway along with the Chillagoe Company's assets after the collapse of the company. The Einasleigh mine was re-opened under State ownership, again to supply ore to feed the Chillagoe smelters. This revival in activity was short-lived, the mine closing in 1922. The first mine in north Queensland, it had played an important part in keeping the region's copper mining industry alive by helping to keep the Chillagoe smelters open.