Normanton
is the northern terminal for Australia’s most remote railway. It was
originally planned that the rail would link the gulf port with Kajabbi and
Cloncurry, but when gold was discovered in the late 1800s near Croydon, the
line was diverted to the boom town. Today a three-car motor rail makes a weekly
return trip along that 151 klm line between Normanton and Croydon. Between
runs, the train sits inside Normanton’s National Trust-registered station.
Normanton is set on a high sandy ridge between the edge of the savannah grasslands
to the west and the wetlands to the north. The fishing at Archers Creek and
the Norman River at Glenmore is normally rewarding.
