Crunching through the central Queensland bush among brick ruins, a cemetery and what remains of a simple corner store, it's hard to believe the town of Copperfield was once a bustling mining centre.
Today the "ghost town" provides a snapshot of a time gone by when scores of people took to rural Queensland in an attempt to make their fortunes.
The town, just outside of Clermont, was thriving in the 1870s, several years after the state's first copper mine opened there.
Now all that remains of this moment in history is the old Copperfield store, a chimney and a graveyard.
"There were over 2,000 migrants here between the Chinese, the Welsh and the Australian miners in the area," Clermont local Jessica Pollard said.
Already running a pony hire business, Ms Pollard is also hoping to start history tours of Copperfield.
She is one of a few passionate locals concerned the town's history is being forgotten and would like to see the store re-opened for visitors.
"We're losing [the knowledge] because the people who were here, that knew so much, are gone," she said.
"It'd be nice to see the store open again for the public because that is one thing all the tourists want."
The Isaac Regional Council had allocated money in this year's budget to refurbish it, aiming to complete the works by the end of this financial year.
But due to the age of the building, visitors will not be able to physically enter the store with provisions for viewing only from the outside.
"We just need to be conscious of the safety of people when they go in there, and we want to protect and preserve the historic items that are on display in there as well," Councillor Carolyn Moriarty said.
Mary Kathleen
Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Brett Fraser said as domestic tourism continued to grow post COVID, so did interest in attractions like ghost towns.
"There's a growing number of visitors who are eager to use their getaways to learn more about Queensland's rich history," he said.
Copperfield is one of many ghost towns peppered throughout the state drawing in such visitors.
Nestled among the red-dirt country of north-west Queensland, the blazing blue water of the former Mary Kathleen uranium mine is a sight hundreds of travellers flock to see each year.
Once a buzzing outback mining settlement complete with shops, a school and a cinema, these days empty cement slabs and the silence of the bush are all that greet visitors to the ghost town.
Originally discovered in 1954 by Norm McConachy and Clem Walton, the Mary Kathleen uranium mine and township were officially opened in October 1958 by then-prime minister Robert Menzies and Queensland premier Frank Nicklin.
The town boasted a population of about 1,000 people before it was closed in 1981, after the uranium was exhausted.
Today the fluorescent colour of the water is caused by chemical reactions with the metals and salts released from the surrounding rocks.
While the old mine site is deemed safe enough for visitors, travellers are urged not to swim in the radioactive water.
Tour guide Philip Cochrane said social media played a role in catching the attention of those eager to explore the hidden gems of outback Queensland.
"I think a lot of the tourists these days have four-wheel-drives and [Mary Kathleen] is becoming more well-known as a must-see tourist spot," he said.
Mount Mulligan and Maytown
In the far north of the state, about 150 kilometres west of Cairns, lies remains of Mount Mulligan, home of Queensland's worst mining disaster.
An explosion at the coal mine in September 1921 claimed 75 lives.
Today Mount Mulligan's former hospital survives as a homestead which, along with the ruins of the township and mines, sits beneath a mountain backdrop.
Further north, distinctive stone kerbing, a cemetery and discarded mining machinery are the last remnants of Maytown, once the bustling administrative centre of the Palmer River goldfields.
Established in the 1870s, most of its population had left by the 1920s.
Historian Peter Bell said it was common for mining settlements of the Far North, such as Maytown, to be "spectacularly rich for a little while".
"Once the big gold rush had moved on somewhere else, the place just fell into ruins fairly quickly," Dr Bell said.
"Wooden houses in the north Queensland bush have four enemies: cyclones, fire, termites and fungus.
"If you just walk away and abandon a timber house anywhere in the northern half of Queensland really, those four enemies are going to destroy a house completely within not very long."
Today, what remains of Maytown is accessible by four-wheel-drive track or an 80km road from the Mulligan Highway.
Peter Scott, mayor of Cook Shire Council, said relatives of old miners have expressed interest in a large gathering at the site next year to mark the 150th anniversary of Maytown's foundation.
