Maytown, ghost town in Queensland, Australia

Maytown is a former gold mining town on the banks of the Palmer River in Queensland, now an unpopulated site registered for its heritage value. The ruins include stone kerbing, building foundations, baker's ovens, and a cemetery, along with traces of roughly twelve hotels, six stores, and three banks that once served the community.

Gold was found on the Palmer River in August 1873, and Maytown grew from a canvas camp into the field's administrative and business centre by May 1875. First called Edwardstown after butcher John (Jack) Edwards, it was surveyed in 1875 by Archibald Campbell MacMillan; the name Maytown was already in use by 1874. It declined after 1900 and was largely abandoned by 1945.

The site was a gathering place for Chinese miners and merchants who established temples and businesses here during the gold rush. The traces of this community remain visible in the town layout and speak to the multicultural nature of goldfield settlements.

The site is accessible on foot, allowing visitors to explore the old street layout and scattered remains. Wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for uneven ground, as building foundations and ruins are spread across the area.

The cemetery holds about 40 identifiable graves, 16 with headstones; the earliest is dated 1875 and the latest, marking Sam Elliott's grave, is from 1986. A stone commemorative cairn and a replica miner's hut stand in the town centre, the hut built by the Palmer River Historical Preservation Society in Duff Street.