Cairns Morning Post (Qld. : 1907 - 1909), Monday 22 February 1909, page 5


TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY.

The Hon. W. H. Campbell writes from Barcaldine to the Brisbine "Courier" : I notice that Mr. Geo.

Phillips is on a mission to examine the district between Cloncurry and Burketown, with a view to ascertain

how the country beyond the north-ern terminus may be served by ex-

tending the railway. It may be as-sumed that Mr. Phillips will not omit in his report some information

as to the practicability and cost

of an extension from Burketown to Cloncurry, but also as to that oth-

er part of the Gulf district- Point Parker- the object of Major Field-ing's transcontinental railway ex-pedition. Point Parker, I believe,

is an exceptionally safe place of an-

chorage for large steamers, being protected by the large islands of Mornington and Bentinck, with quite an archipelago in between. The dis-tance from Cloncurry to Floraville -per mail route- is 212 miles, and from there along the telegraph route to Burketown is 80 miles. From Burketown to Parker Point, crossing the Nicholson River just below its junction with the Gregory River, is a little less than 100 miles. A distance of 112 miles of railway would therefore connect Towns-by a transcontinental railway with Point Parker; and by joining the Northern and Central trunk lines

between Winton and Longreach (120 miles), there would be a direct route from Brisbane to the best port in the Gulf. A cheaper transcontinen-tal line ls one already advocated ; that is, from Richmond to Croy-don, via the present mail route, passing through woolgar (264 miles), but I understand that Nor-manton is not so suitable a port for ocean steamers as Point Parker. which is also a day's sail nearer Port Darwin than Normanton. If the country for any long distance beyond Cloncurry proves cupriferous there will be all the shorter haulage from mine to port, this great cop-per centre being 540 miles from Townsville.