Golden Gumboot

Last updated

Golden Gumboot
GGumboot.JPG
The Golden Gumboot at Tully. The Golden Gumboot stands just outside the town's main street.
Golden Gumboot
General information
Location Tully, Queensland
Opened10 May 2003
Height7.9 metres (25.9 ft)
Technical details
Structural system Fibreglass over steel frame
The view of Tully Sugar Mill from the top of the Golden Gumboot Tully Sugar Mill.jpg
The view of Tully Sugar Mill from the top of the Golden Gumboot

The Golden Gumboot is a competition between the Far North Queensland towns of Tully, Innisfail, and Babinda in Australia for the wettest town of Australia. These towns are located in the Wet Tropics and on land that was previously covered by rainforest. These areas experience some of the highest levels of rainfall in Australia through monsoonal rain and cyclones. The winner for the competition (since 1970) was awarded a rubber boot.

Contents

Structure

Despite the fact that Babinda has had more rainfall than Tully in the last 40 years, The Golden Gumboot monument was opened in Tully by the Tully Lions and Rotary Clubs in May 2003. The project cost, including in-kind contributions, was $90,000. The boot is 7.9 metres (25.9 ft) and represents the record rainfall for Tully in 1950.

The boot is made of fibreglass. It has a spiral staircase to the top of the boot that allows a view of the town. Historical photographs of floods in the district are displayed on the walls inside the boot for visitors to view as they climb to the top. The Gumboot was designed, fabricated and installed by Brian Newell.

Tully holds a Golden Gumboot Festival annually.

The Golden Gumboot was closed after Cyclone Yasi in 2011. It was reopened early in 2012 by Andrew Fraser, the Acting Premier of Queensland. [1] Restoration was funded through an insurance claim and a $20,000 donation. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tully, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Tully is a town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is adjacent to the Bruce Highway, approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) south of Cairns by road and 210 kilometres (130 mi) north of Townsville. At the 2016 census, the population was 2,390. Tully is perhaps best known for being one of the wettest towns in Australia, and home to the 7.9 m tall Golden Gumboot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innisfail, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Innisfail is a regional town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the 2016 census, the town of Innisfail had a population of 7,236 people, while the locality of Innisfail had a population of 1,145 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gordonvale, Queensland</span> Suburb of Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Gordonvale is a rural sugar-growing town and locality situated on the southern side of Cairns in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Gordonvale had a population of 6,944 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission Beach, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Mission Beach is a coastal town and locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Mission Beach had a population of 815 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardwell, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Cardwell is a coastal town and rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Cardwell had a population of 1,309 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Bellenden Ker</span> Mountain in Queensland, Australia

Mount Bellenden Ker is the second-highest mountain in Queensland, Australia, with a height of 1,593 metres (5,226 ft). It is named after the botanist John Bellenden Ker Gawler. Located 39 km (24 mi) south of Cairns, and near Babinda, it is adjacent to Mount Bartle Frere, the state's highest peak, part of the Bellenden Ker Range, also known as the Wooroonooran Range. The two mountains dominate the Josephine Falls section of the Wooroonooran National Park. Both peaks are made of resistant granite and are remnants of an escarpment that has been eroded by the Russell and Mulgrave Rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edmonton, Queensland</span> Suburb of Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Edmonton is a town and suburb in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Edmonton had a population of 10,753 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mareeba</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Mareeba is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba in Far North Queensland, Australia. Between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Tablelands Region. The town's name is derived from an Aboriginal word meaning meeting of the waters. In the 2021 census, the locality of Mareeba had a population of 11,825 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far North Queensland</span> Region in Queensland, Australia

Far North Queensland (FNQ) is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. Its largest city is Cairns and it is dominated geographically by Cape York Peninsula, which stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. The waters of Torres Strait include the only international border in the area contiguous with the Australian mainland, between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babinda</span> Suburb of Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Babinda is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. Babinda and Tully annually compete for the Golden Gumboot, an award for Australia's wettest town. Babinda is usually the winner, recording an annual average rainfall of over 4,279.4 millimetres (168.48 in) each year. In the 2021 census, the locality of Babinda had a population of 1,287 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloomba, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Aloomba is a rural town and a locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Aloomba had a population of 576 people.

<i>Big Dreamers</i> 2007 Australian film

Big Dreamers is a 55-minute documentary film showcasing the Big Things of Australia. Directed by Camille Hardman, and produced by Camille Hardman and John Fink, Big Dreamers features the construction of The Biggest Gumboot in the world in Tully, in far North Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irvinebank</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Irvinebank is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, the locality of Irvinebank had a population of 113 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclone Yasi</span> Category 5 South Pacific and Australian region cyclone in 2011

Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that made landfall in northern Queensland, Australia in early 2011, causing major damage to the affected areas. Originating as a tropical low near Fiji on 26 January, the system intensified to tropical cyclone status during the evening of 30 January. Yasi deepened rapidly over the next 24 hours, and was classified as a Category 3 cyclone at about 5 PM AEST on 31 January 2011. Late on 1 February, the cyclone strengthened to a Category 4 system; then, early on 2 February, the cyclone intensified into a Category 5 Severe Tropical Cyclone. The system had a well-defined eye and continued to track west-southwestward, maintaining a central pressure of 930 hPa and a Dvorak intensity of T6.5 into the evening.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mirriwinni, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Mirriwinni is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. The spelling Miriwinni has also been used historically, but Mirriwinni is the official spelling from 8 October 2010. In the 2016 census, the locality of Mirriwinni had a population of 447 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclone Winifred</span> Category 3 Australian region cyclone in 1986

Severe Tropical Cyclone Winifred was the worst tropical cyclone to make landfall in northern Queensland and the first since Althea in 1971 to inflict significant damage on the northeastern coast of Australia. The sixth named storm of the 1985–86 Australian region cyclone season, Winifred originated as a tropical low north of Cairns, Queensland on 27 January 1986. Slowly organizing, the system was recognized as a tropical cyclone after gaining tropical characteristics on 30 January, christened with the name Winifred the same day. Meandering southward, the cyclone began to curve southeastward that evening before suddenly turning toward the coast, southwestward, on 31 January, steadily intensifying in that time. By the time it came ashore near Silkwood, Queensland at 0445 UTC on 1 February, it was producing Category 3-force winds on the Australian tropical cyclone intensity scale and a minimum atmospheric pressure of 957 mbar (28.38 inHg). Weakening as it drifted inland, Winifred persisted as a tropical depression for another five days after landfall before finally dissipating on 5 February.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyclone Peter</span> Australian region cyclone in 1978–1979

Severe Tropical Cyclone Peter was at the time, the wettest tropical cyclone on record in Australia, until it was surpassed by Cyclone Jasper in 2023. The third system and first severe tropical cyclone of the 1978–79 season, Peter developed on 29 December from a weak low pressure area over the Gulf of Carpentaria. Peter moved southeastward and deepened while brushing Arnhem Land. Initially a tropical low, it strengthened into a Category 1 cyclone by 12:00 UTC on 29 December. Peter intensified further on 30 December and became a Category 2 cyclone. On the following day, the cyclone peaked with maximum sustained winds of 110 km/h (70 mph). Peter weakened to a Category 1 cyclone before making landfall near the mouth of the Edward River in Queensland. While crossing the Cape York Peninsula, the storm weakened slowly. After reaching Pacific Ocean near Cooktown, the storm decelerated and meandered offshore, but dissipated just offshore on 4 January.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bellenden Ker, Queensland</span> Suburb of Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia

Bellenden Ker is a rural town and locality in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, the locality of Bellenden Ker had a population of 252 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feluga, Queensland</span> Suburb of Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia

Feluga is a rural locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2021 census, Feluga had a population of 306 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babinda Boulders</span> Public recreation area within Wooroonooran National Park, Australia

Babinda Boulders, officially called the Boulders Scenic Reserve but known locally as Babinda Boulders or simply the Boulders, is a public recreation reserve alongside Babinda Creek, managed by the Cairns Regional Council and adjacent to the Wooroonooran National Park in far north Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. "Queenslanders still rebuilding lives". ninemsn . 3 January 2012. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. "Golden Gumboot regains shine". The Cairns Post . 2 November 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2012.

17°56′01.72″S145°55′41.02″E / 17.9338111°S 145.9280611°E / -17.9338111; 145.9280611