Pioneers of CracowPrint Page

The sundial was erected as a Bicentennial Project to commemorate the bicentenary in 1988 and honours the pioneers of Cracow.

The town was named after a pastoral run, which was in turn named by pastoralist John Ross, in 1851, for the Polish city of Kraków, which had recently been the centre for a fight for Polish national independence. However, some believe it to have gotten the name sound of cracking stock whips echoing throughout the ranges.

Gold was first discovered in Cracow in 1875 by itinerant fossickers and a further discovery of a nugget was made by an Aboriginal stockman, Johnny Nipps in 1916. In 1931, the Golden Plateau mine was established and it operated continuously until 1976. A total of 592,578 ounces of ore was mined from the Golden Plateau, which at the time of its closure was an equivalent of $60mil.

Cracow Post Office opened on 1 October 1932 and was destroyed in a fire in 2006. Cracow State School opened on 12 June 1933. It was moved in 1935 after a young boy drowned in a nearby creek. The school remained there until its closure on 12 December 1997. The school building was moved to a nearby cattle station.

At its gold mining peak, the town included five cafes, barber shop, billiard saloon, two butchers, a picture theatre and a soft drink factory. The closure of the mine led to Cracow becoming a ghost townwith many deserted houses and shops. In 2004, Newcrest Mining reestablished gold mining in the town, leading to hopes the town may recover. This mine is now operated by Aeris Resources. The shops are vacant although the hotel remains open.

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