4 WALK AROUND TOWN
THE best way to learn more about Normanton is the town walk, and the ideal place to start is the Visitor Information Centre where you can check out the displays and pick up a town map. There is also a magnificent display that showcases the resilience, spirit and sheer hard work of the indigenous men and women who played a vital role in the establishment of the cattle industry in the Gulf region. The informative and interactive display is free to view, and also highlights the skill of indigenous people as stock workers and on the rodeo circuit.
Krys the Crocodile is a life-size model of an estuarine crocodile that was killed by Krystina Pawlowski in July 1957. With one shot between the eyes, the giant beast was dragged on to the Macarthur Bank on the Norman River. The crocodile measured 8.63m long, and ended up in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest crocodile ever shot. Krystina and her husband Ron were professional crocodile hunters who later became advocates for protecting these ancient creatures. You’ll find Krys located near the corner of Landsborough and Haig Streets.
The Burns Philp warehouse is a stunning piece of architecture built in 1884 and is oldest surviving store of the company that dominated shipping and mercantile trading in Australia and the South Pacific from the late-19th century to the late-20th century.
In 1896, the artesian bore located at the entrance to the Normanton Caravan Park was drilled into the Great Artesian Basin to a depth of 710m, and it supplied over one million litres per day at a temperature of 66°C. The bore previously fed the town baths and still services the caravan park’s hot-water supply, and supplements the town water supply.
The Bank of NSW was opened for business in a tent on this site on July 23, 1884. The current building was built in 1886 and once served the Croydon goldfields and the thriving seaport economy of Normanton. You can check out two safes on display, the bank’s records and old scales used to weigh the Croydon gold.
There is also a self-guided walk around the heritage-listed Normanton station precinct. Explore the museum, vintage steam locomotives, wagons and carriages and the goods shed, the old station building and the gardens. The museum is home to a lot of memorabilia and artefacts that have been collected from the local area and along the railway track to Croydon.
And don’t forget to drop in at the three aforementioned hotels along the way.