James Venture MulliganPrint Page

The monument commemorates prospector, James Venture Mulligan. The monument was relocated from its original site to Anthill Park. 

On 5 June Mulligan led a party of six from Georgetown to investigate a reported gold discovery by William Hann. Despite Aboriginal hostility he returned on 3 September with 102 ounces; after proclamation of the Palmer goldfield the party received a 1000 pounds reward in 1875. In 1874 he had led three more expeditions covering much country which later included the Hodgkinson goldfield.

Though he found little gold his careful but determined leadership enhanced his repute among miners. On 29 April 1875 he led a government-sponsored expedition which passed the sites of Mareeba and Atherton, crossed the Herberton Range and discovered tin in the Wild River but found little gold. On 23 October he left Cooktown and returned on 13 March 1876 with sufficient gold to stimulate the Hodgkinson gold rush. As the Hodgkinson was mainly a reef field many disappointed prospectors blamed Mulligan.

There was a gathering of old settlers and prominent townspeople at Anzac Avenue, Mareeba, last Saturday, May 29, for the unveiling of a plaque to the memory of the great explorer James Venture Mulligan.  The ceremony was performed by the Chairman of Mareeba Shire Council (Cr. C. L. Davies) who said it was an honour to pay this tribute to a great and good man as J. V. Mulligan, who did more than any other man to open up the vast mineral fields of the Peninsula and the hinterland of Cairns. It was fitting that the cairn and tablet should be erected on this particular site when Mulligan traversed and was the first white man to see the future site of Mareeba. 
Townsville Daily Bulletin (Qld), 4 June 1954.

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