Quartz Hill Coach Change Station, Heritage-listed coach station in Mount Surprise, Australia
Quartz Hill Coach Change Station is a heritage-listed stopping point for horse-drawn coaches in remote Queensland, where rectangular stone foundations remain from earlier structures. Scattered items from its operational period lie near the banks of Elizabeth Creek alongside a burial ground for early settlers.
Quartz Hill became an overnight stop in 1888 on Cobb & Co's new Georgetown–Herberton route, part of the coast-to-coast mail run to Normanton. A postal receiving office opened on 13 December 1888, kept by Mrs Hutson, and Alf Hutson held the hotel licence from 1889. Coaches called until 1908, even after the Croydon–Normanton railway opened in 1891.
Quartz Hill was also a postal receiving office from 13 December 1888, first kept by Mrs Hutson, likely the wife of Alfred Hutson of the Quartz Hill Hotel. Alf Hutson held a victualler's licence from mid 1890, and travellers such as Arthur C. Bicknell recalled a hut kept by an Englishman and his wife.
The site lies on the east bank of Elizabeth Creek, about 10 km northwest of Mount Surprise, and is reached by road; no facilities are recorded there. The change station stood near water, and the ground is open and exposed, so carry water and wear sturdy shoes.
A postal receiving office opened at Quartz Hill on 13 December 1888, with Mrs Hutson as its first keeper, likely the wife of Alfred Hutson of the Quartz Hill Hotel. He was granted a Victualler's License in mid 1889. By 1898 the site was listed as a parcel office on the Herberton–Georgetown mail run.
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