GREENVALE - POPULATION: 255

GREENVALE CARAVAN PARK VISTA

MONDAY 12.9.2011: Left the oasis that is Joe and Jo’s Mt Surprise Bedrock Village Caravan Park. This is a beautiful caravan park, with staff ensuring your stay is an absolute delight. Travelled to Greenvale Caravan Park and Cabins – Greenvale is 203 kms north of Charters Towers on the dusty Gregory Development Road. Greenvale is aptly named with its lush foliage and gardens adorning cul-de-sacs of attractive brick homes with tiled roofs. Built to house 220 mine workers by Queensland Nickel Ltd in 1972, the town thrived for 20 years, and the Greenvale Nickel Mine yielded 40 million tonnes of ore! When the mine was exhausted, the little town declined to 16 residents. In 1994, Melbourne millionaire businessman Chris Delios passed through the town, and the next day offered to buy it all from the mining company, thus saving it from potential demolition. Today Greenvale is blossoming once again with several new mining interests opening up in the region.

Greenvale has an outstanding range of facilities for its size, including an Olympic pool and a 9-hole golf course. A huge nickel reclaimer wheel from the old mine stands by the caravan park. The rare ‘Sausage Tree’ (Kigelia pinnata) is one of only 4 such specimens in Australia. A monument to country music legend Stan Costa stands outside the Three Rivers Hotel (another little oasis), whose famous song of the same name records his time working on the Greenvale Line.