Etheridge railway line
The Etheridge Railway line, which branches off the Mareeba-to-Chillagoe railway at Almaden and heads south for to Forsayth via Mount Surprise and Einasleigh, was built between 1907 and 1910 by the Chillagoe Railway and Mining Company as a private railway line. The same company constructed the railway line from Mareeba to Chillagoe and Mungana between 1898 and 1901. The Etheridge line was built cheaply, with lighter rails and fewer earthworks than the Chillagoe line, to supply ore to the Chillagoe Company's under-utilised Chillagoe smelters. The Chillagoe Company was part of the business empire of John Moffat, and between 1880 and 1914 much of the economic activity of North Queensland was driven by the railways and mining towns created by Moffat's enterprises. The remaining built infrastructure at stations along the Etheridge Railway provides examples of the type of buildings erected by the Chillagoe Company for its railway network.
Einasleigh Hotel
In 1900 John Moffat of the Chillagoe Railway and Mining Company had acquired an interest in the Einasleigh Copper Mine, which was to prove the premier base metal producer on the Etheridge and which attracted southern capital to the field. Between 1900 and 1924 the Einasleigh Copper Mine produced of copper, of gold and of silver. It also brought a long-wanted transportation link, with construction of the Etheridge railway line between Almaden and Forsayth (formerly known as Charleston). Prior to the railway, copper had to be transported to Almaden by camel train. The line was constructed by the Chillagoe Company in order to access ore supplies from the Einasleigh Mine, as the Chillagoe field was producing insufficient ore to keep the smelters running. The line was operated by Queensland Railways. The railhead reached Mount Surprise in 1908, and by February 1909 it was from the Einasleigh Copper Mine. By July 1909 the railhead was past Einasleigh, reaching Forsayth in January 1910. As a consequence of the copper mine and the railway, Einasleigh became, for a brief period, a prosperous township. It was the largest centre in Etheridge Shire between 1907 and 1910, and served as the supply centre for the Oaks gold rush and its later township of Kidston.