UNIQUE STOCK EXCHANGE , RADICAL BOOKS AND REPUBLICANISM IN ELDORADO

 During its  rip-roaring  boom  days , Charters Towers ,  Queensland , named The World , because  of  its  opulence, including 21 hotels ,  had  its own stock  exchange , in  the  above  building , now  a  much  visited  arcade  with  an  art gallery,  coffee shop , mining   museum   and   a  bookshop .

 A man who  had a  strong  political  influence on  Charters Towers , John Henry  Dunsford  (1855-1905) , was  a  leading radical . From his   mixed goods  business  he  sold  tobacco, stationery , books  and  also ran  a  free lending  library .

Born at Maldon, Victoria, he was drawn to the Charters Tower  region because of  the  goldrush , spent three  years prospecting. Then he  reportedly  went  to  Madagascar  and South  Africa , little known about what he  did  there.

Returning to Charters Towers in 1878 , he became the ring leader of a group of political "agitators" . He and two of his close supporters  were all  elected to the Queensland  parliament , one of them ,  Anderson  Dawson(1863-1910),  MP for Charters Towers ,  on  being  made Premier ,  formed  the  short- lived (seven days )  first  ever Labor  Ministry  in  the  British Empire  on  December  1,1899 . 

In 1890 Dunsford had  held  a public meeting to launch a Republican Association  and  soon after, with  Dawson,  started  a weekly newspaper, Australian  Republican , with nearly 400  subscribers , that  folded  after  a  short  time .

They  were   also  involved  in  the 1893 launch of  another weekly, The  Eagle, described as socialist-orientated ,the democratic organ of  North  Queensland ,  which promoted the   ideals of  American  writers  Edward  Bellamy and  Henry  George . Dawson  was  part  editor . Years  later it was named The New Eagle .

One story has   it  that  there was so much gold  in the Charters Towers  region , a  man rode   a  horse  shod  with  golden  shoes .

The stock exchange , one of the earliest  in regional Australia,  was  designed by Sydney architect Mike  Cooper Day in 1888, built  by Sandbrook Bros. of Sydney in 1890. The exchange had  two calls daily, even in the evenings due to  the  wild speculation and  overseas investment , especially  from London .

By 1899 Charters Towers was the  second most important  city in Queensland, with a population of  26,500.  The  exchange closed   in  1916  partly  because  of   diminishing  returns  from   deep  reef   goldmining, falling  population, more than  a  thousand of  its  houses relocated to other towns, 200  to Townsville .  .