The remains of Day Dawn near Cue

Cue
Fascinating near ghost town which was once a gracious and wealthy gold mining town.
Known as the 'Queen of the Murchison', Cue is located 650 km north east of Perth. At the turn of the century Cue was the centre of the Murchison Goldfields boasting a population of around 10 000, now all that is left is a small settlement (current population is around 300) with some of the most grandiose buildings to be seen anywhere in rural Western Australia.

There is a great sense of permanence about Cue. It is obvious that the miners who arrived in the town in the early 1890s, and made their fortunes on the rich gold reefs which surrounded the town, were determined to show the world that their new town was a place of substance and importance. They were letting the world know that they were wealthy men and they deserved to live in a prosperous kind of environment.

No one knows who discovered gold at Cue but it is likely that the first find was made by Michael John Fitzgerald who, after an Aborigine named Governor had found a 10 oz nugget nearby, decided to prospect in the area. It is claimed that Governor presented the nugget to Fitzgerald remarking 'This fellow slug no good, plenty bit fellow slug over there'. It took Fitzgerald and his friend Edward Heffernan one week to find 260 ozs of gold near what is now the main street of Cue. They then told Tom Cue who travelled to Nannine to register their claim. Ironically it was Cue who gave his name to the town.

The town grew rapidly. Within days 400 miners had poured into the area and within a year the town of Cue was officially proclaimed.

At one time the town, and its companion town of Day Dawn, boasted three newspapers - The Murchison Miner, The Murchison Times and The Murchison Advocate.

The miners were hopelessly romantic about their prospects and, although Cue sits in the middle of a desert area, they gave their mines names like Light of Asia, Golden Stream, Lady Mary, Golden Crows Nest, and Cue Victory. The mines continued to operate from 1892 until 1933 when the price of gold finally forced the Light of Asia to close.

In recent years the price of gold has allowed the Golden Crown Mine at Day Dawn to open but its future is dependent on the continuing high price of gold. Apart from this major operation (which employs up to 70 people) there are still dozens of smaller mines in the area. The road from Mount Magnet to Cue is littered with small gold mines. A rough hand painted sign at the side of the road and a pile of tailings in the distance indicates that another small mining operation is trying its luck with the area's seemingly inexhaustible supplies of reef gold.

Things to see:  

Historic Buildings
Cue is a delight for the visitor. Its buildings - most notably The Gentleman's Club, The Old Gaol, the Government Buildings and the Masonic Lodge - make a walk around the town a fascinating journey into the past. There are also interesting trips around the town to unique Aboriginal art sites, the remnants of Day Dawn, and to the Red Ochre Mine at Wilgie Mia.

The Masonic Hall, Cue

Masonic Hall
Of all the interesting buildings in Cue the most unusual is the Masonic Hall in Dowley Street (one block west of the main street). Built after a design by E. Owen Hughes the plaque outside details the history: 'Built in 1899 of timber and galvanised iron with a pressed tin interior this unusual building is said to be the largest corrugated iron structure in the southern hemisphere. The lodge itself was consecrated on 21 April 1897 and brethren often travelled from as far away as Big Bell to attend the monthly meetings. The lodge was closed in 1979.'

Band Rotunda
Another landmark in town is the rotunda in the main street. The plaque on the rotunda records that: 'This rare octagonal bandstand was built in 1904 and dedicated to the pioneers of the Murchison region. It was a popular meeting place in the early years of settlement and the town's band played here on Saturday nights. The drinking fountain was added in 1934.'

The Cue Gentleman's Club

The Murchison Chambers
Further up the main street (at the northern end of the town) are the Shire Offices which were originally a gentleman's club called The Murchison Chambers. This stone building was financed by the London and Western Australian Investment Company and had 18 offices and two shops. In January 1901 the upper floor became home to the Murchison Club used by Cue's leading business, mining, pastoral and professional men. It later became known as the Gentleman's Club.

Government Buildings
And over the road are the Government Buildings. Built in 1896 to house the Warden's Court, Post Office and Police Station they were constructed from locally quarried limestone slabs. Inevitably as the town continued to grow additions were made in 1897 and 1898.

The clock on the Post Office was given to the town by Sir John Forrest. A source of aggravation for Post Office employees it has to be wound every 24 hours - a task which involves climbing a ladder and pulling the counterweight back into the tower.

Further up the main street in the Caravan Park is the Old Gaol which was built to a design provided by the WA Architectural Department - a kind of project gaol for every purpose.

Looking at the town now with its shuttered buildings, its sleepiness, and a few Aborigines mooching around the elegant rotunda, it is hard to imagine that in 1901 May Vivienne, in her Travels in Western Australia, wrote of the town: 'At last I saw the lights of Cue. Electric lights in the streets, horses and carts, the shrill whistle of the railway engine, boys calling out the evening papers...all told me that I had emerged from the 'back blocks' and was once more nearing the metropolis.'

Ruins of Cue Hospital
To the south west of the town (follow the signs on the road into town) are the ruins of the old hospital. Cue's first hospital was a canvas and bough shed set up north of the town in July 1892 after an outbreak of typhoid fever which some think emanated from a well where the rotunda now stands. In 1895 a new hospital was built on the site of the ruins. It was built of local stone with spacious wards and wide shady verandahs. It closed in 1942 and allowed to slowly rot away so that now only ruins are left.

Day Dawn
5 km to the south of the town is the old settlement of Day Dawn. It is now nothing more than a few ruins suggesting the huge settlement which existed at the turn of the century. There is a photograph upstairs in the Shire council offices of Day Dawn in 1906 which shows it as a thriving settlement. It is an insight into the way mining towns thrive and disappear. Today all that is left is the Great Fingal Mine Office, a magnificent building which the Murchison Advocate described as 'an object lesson for the Murchison in mason work. The rooms are lofty, windows numerous, and the whole structure is surrounded by a wide and massive verandah.'

Aboriginal Art
Of the huge variety of Aboriginal art available in Western Australia one of the most unusual examples must be that of the white, square-rigged sailing ship with two masts and square portholes at Walganna Rock. Located 48 km north of Cue this mysterious depiction of a white ship is over 300 km from the sea. No accurate date can be placed on the painting although it was almost certainly executed before 1900. Unfortunately the bushes which protected the rock for hundreds of years have been removed and the paintings are starting to fade from exposure to both sun and corrosive forces.

69 km north of Cue are the red ochre deposits of Widgie Mia. According to Aboriginal legend in the dreamtime the spirit being Mondong speared a giant kangaroo which leapt over the Weld Range and landed at Widgie Mia. In its death throes the giant kangaroo dug a cave into which its blood spilt. The blood became the red ochre and the bile from the animal's liver became the yellow and green ochre which can also be found in the cave. The red ochre is like cocoa Take old clothes and a torch when you visit the site. It is estimated that the site has been mined for at least the last 1000 years by Aborigines who have removed over 50 000 tonnes of ochre which has been bartered all over Western Australia. Not surprisingly Widgie Mia is regarded as one of the most important Aboriginal sites in Western Australia.

Books on Cue
Two handy publications on the area are Phil Heydon's typed and photocopied Cue - Queen of the Murchison which provides very detailed travel instructions on how to get to Hanging Rock, Walga Rock, Nallan Lake, Kintore Blow and the Red Ochre Mine at Wilgie Mia (it is a must for anyone venturing off the main roads) and the Cue Heritage Trail. Both are available at the Shire Council Offices in Austin Street.

	Tourist Information
	Cue Tourism Centre Robinson St Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1216
	Hotels
	Murchison Club Hotel/Motel Austin St Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1020 Rating: **
	Queen of the Murchison Hotel 10 Austin St Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1181
	Bed & Breakfast/Guesthouses
	Dorsett Guesthouse 6 Austin St Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1286
	Farm & Eco Holidays
	Nallan Station Farm P.O. Box 24 Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1054 or (08) 9384 3480 Facsimile: (08) 9963 1054
	Caravan Parks
	Cue Caravan Park Austin St Cue WA 6640 Telephone: (08) 9963 1107 Rating: *