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The Palmer River is a river southwest of Cooktown in northeastern Australia. It was the site of a gold rush in the late 1800s which started in 1872.

Palmer River is historically known as a gold rush location, although most of the surface gold has long since been prospected, there remain a handful of deeper mine projects in the area. The main settlement in the goldfield was Maytown. Most of the miners in the Palmer River came from China, and most of those came from the Guangdong Province in southern China. Most landed in Cooktown, and began the approximately 100 mile (160 km) journey to the Palmer River. The miners struggled with Australian temperatures, which could exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40 °C), dehydration, and starvation. Many found gold, though, and were able to buy food and water, and repay the loans they got for passage to Australia. It is also notable that the miners enjoyed both Chinese rice wine and a Dutch gin. Some miners who did not find gold instead found other jobs, such as storekeeping. Accounts from the time point to several confrontations and battles between the settlers and the Aborigines from the area. One famous place is Battle Camp where many of the first settlers were killed in a fierce battle with Aborigines. When the first party arrived at Cooktown, several of the men were keen to get to the discovered goldfields, and took of a day ahead of the main landing party. They were never seen again, ambushed at what was then to be called Battle Camp. It was an ambush point on the way to the goldfields from Cooktown. There are also accounts of canabilism of the Chinese settlers, some sources quote that the Aboriginal word for the Chinese was literally translated as "Long Pig". This continued throughout the Goldrush period of the area, with many accounts of Chinese being cannibalised by the Aborigines. The Chinese were also rumoured to have transported their dead back to China with gold smuggled within their coffins. The amount of gold taken from The Palmer is estimated at 120 million ounces.

The Palmer River remains a historical site and minor archaeological site.

• Walkabout - Palmer River