Cooktown Powder Magazine

The former powder magazine sits at the northern end of landscaped parkland, which includes boat ramps, fishing platforms, a salt water tidal pool, kiosk and a viewing terrace along Webber Esplanade. The powder magazine is a reminder of the importance of the Palmer River gold mines to Cooktown and far north Queensland generally. It was constructed in 1875-76 for the Department of Ports and Harbours, by local contractor Henry Meldrum, to a design by Queensland Public Works architect F D G Stanley. It is one of the earliest known surviving powder magazines in Queensland. Magazines were generally constructed in brick, stone or concrete, as they stored explosives. Prior to this construction, explosives were stored in warehouses within the town. The new building on the outskirts of town was completed in January 1876. It was built of imported bricks, with stone-faced windows and fitted with copper faced shutters. The large hardwood door was copper-faced on the outside. As the mining declined, so did the need for explosives storage, and the building was vacant by the early 1940s. It was transferred to the National Trust of Queensland in 1992. The Trust initiated a conservation and restoration project in the 1990s.