Golden Gate, a former gold-mining town, was six km north-west of Croydon on the road to Normanton. It was one of several mining centres around Croydon, where mining began in 1886.
The Golden Gate mine was first worked in 1886, but the locality boomed after the Croydon to Normanton railway (1891) provided a station at Golden Gate. The first of ten hotels, the Commercial, was built at Golden Gate in 1890, and instead of the usual corrugated iron its main construction material was cedar. A post office was opened in 1891 and a provisional school started in 1896. The post office directory of 1897 recorded five hotels, four stores, eight mining companies, a recreation reserve and a jockey club at Golden Gate. In common with most of the Croydon gold field, mining was from reefs, and cyaniding was later used.
In 1905, when Golden Gate's population was over 500, there were ten hotels recorded in the post office directory, along with refinements such as a lawn tennis club and a music teacher. A rifle club had also been formed, apparently continuing until 1918 or later. By then the hotels had reduced to four (1912) and one (1918), and there were two cyanide works. The post office closed in 1919, the school in 1921 and the last mining company in 1922. A mineral extraction works operated during 1988-92. There are considerable mine relics left at Golden Gate, including the remains of a cyanide plant.
Golden Gate's census populations were:
| Census Date | Population |
|---|---|
| 1901 | 484 |
| 1911 | 408 |
| 1921 | 51 |
Jack Jones, Gold by the ton from Golden Gate, Seven Hills, Queensland, the author, 1971
Croydon entry
