Our Story
One of the things that makes Charters Towers such a great place is its living history.
When it comes to old towns in Queensland, it is something that separates the Towers from the rest.
The Great Houses of Charters Towers was born out of a desire to shine a spotlight on the thing that makes the town extraordinary – its aesthetic and its heritage reputation.
In 2018 a small committee of volunteers came together with the dream of establishing an open home showcase, once a year, with a unique heritage character.
It all started with a heritage-listed property, a well known home and a old Queenslander that was given a modern makeover.
Since then there have been four heritage listed properties, many wonderful houses and some uniquely Queensland homes.
Fast-forward to 2024 and the Great Houses of Charters Towers is a draw card event on the North Queensland calendar, attracting around 1000 people to the town for a weekend of history-laced events.
As well as the original open home showcase, Great Houses weekend has expanded to include ghost tours, drive-in movie experiences, an Antiques and Heirlooms Heritage Tea and the Great Houses open day.
The Great Houses of Charters Towers has exceeded the expectations of the founding committee that coordinated the first event from the verandah of one of the town's classic cottages.
This has enabled the committee to expand the offering to visitors and locals and to collaborate with other businesses to give visitors a reason to make a weekend out of it.
In 2024 the Great Houses of Charters Towers was awarded the Charters Towers Regional Council 2024 Australia Day Event of the Year, recognizing the effort that has been put into making this event the success it is.
Our Supporters
MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
​
It was an absolute pleasure for Council to provide much needed financial support by way of a Community Grant of $1000 so that the Great Houses of Charters Towers group could enhance the event and assist with its expansion to encourage visitors to come for a weekend.
The Great Houses concept was born from the interest and curiosity shown across a large and diverse section of the northern community in the 'great houses' of Charters Towers and the unique architecture that is to be seen around our community. The desire to see inside those buildings triggered this small band of Charters Towers locals to come together and develop a plan to open the doors to select houses and buildings around the town on a regular basis, allowing curiosity to be sated while also providing benefit to the town from the influx of curious visitors who have a desire to step back to a past era and share our rich history.
The Great Houses group is to be congratulated, and I encourage them to continue to provide this unique window into a bygone era and ask our community and visitors to get behind this very worthwhile event.
Mayor Liz Schmidt