GEORGETOWN Georgetown is the next small town heading west to Normanton. So small in fact that there are no banks or branded supermarkets. Georgetown is a very small place. That said not the smallest. Not that long back won the Qld’s tidiest town award and the attributes that gave the town the win are still in place. Small, tidy and friendly. The Information Centre is the site for the Terrestrial Collection. This was a private collection that has with arrangement with the local authorities to be on display and accessible to the public. This is an outstanding and world class presentation and all visitors should visit the collection. This is a good value for money presentation. Georgetown is sited on the Etheridge River which was the site of a gold rush in the 1870s; the town of Georgetown was established on the site of the diggings. Originally known by the name Etheridge, the town's name was changed in 1871 to honour an early gold commissioner, Howard St George. By 1900 grazing had replaced gold mining as the region's primary source of income. Georgetown is one of the real locations mentioned several times in the novel "A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute. About 20 km out of Georgetown on the road to Croydon is the Cumberland Chimney all that is left of an old gold crushing plant. Nearby is a particularly attractive lagoon which is a popular watering hole for birds from the surrounding area. The Hotel in Georgetown is still the source of information story telling. The Anglican and Catholic Churches are still going strong, the Wesley Church since relocated from Croydon stands empty. The War Memorial is located at the Council Headquarters. This is a thoroughly nice town that earns a stop-over Diary notes