Cluden Racecourse
| Cluden Racecourse | |
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Grandstand, Cluden Racecourse, 2000
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| Location | 1 Racecourse Road, Cluden, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 19°19′19″S 146°49′15″E / 19.322°S 146.8208°ECoordinates: 19°19′19″S 146°49′15″E / 19.322°S 146.8208°E |
| Design period | 1870s - 1890s (late 19th century) |
| Built | 1896 - 1983 |
| Architect | Walter Howard Tunbridge |
| Official name: Grandstand, former totalisator building and main entrance gates, Cluden Racecourse, Cluden Racecourse | |
| Type | state heritage (built) |
| Designated | 21 October 1992 |
| Reference no. | 600924 |
| Significant period | 1896, 1923, 1927, 1972, 1983 (fabric) 1940s (historical) 1896- ongoing ( social) |
| Significant components | grandstand, totalisator, gate - entrance |
| Builders | Mr Reid |
 Location of Cluden Racecourse in Queensland
Location of Cluden Racecourse in Queensland
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Cluden Racecourse is a heritage-listed racecourse at 1 Racecourse Road, Cluden, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Walter Howard Tunbridge and built in 1896 by Mr Reid. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.
Townsville was founded in 1864 by partners John Melton Black and Robert Towns as a port and commercial centre for the pastoral industry north of the Burdekin. The Port of Townsville was gazetted as a port of entry in 1865 and grew quickly. The first sporting institution formed was the Burdekin and Flinders Turf Club in May 1866. The patron was the Governor of Queensland, Sir George Ferguson Bowen, who supported horse racing as a means of improving breeding and with an eye to the development of a Queensland cavalry. The inaugural president was Robert Towns. The first race meeting was a three-day event held in mid-August 1866 with substantial prizes being offered. Early meetings were held in several locations, including Cleveland Park in the Garbutt area and Hermit Park. In 1874 the government granted the club a reserve for a racecourse and the name was changed about this time to the Townsville Turf Club, which name it has retained. Work soon began on a proper track on a reserve of 64 acres on the Dalrymple Road.
The discovery of gold gave great impetus to the development of Townsville and by 1880 it was serving several major goldfields in the north. The Great Northern railway was proposed to link Townsville with the important goldfield at Charters Towers in the late 1870s. The line from Townsville opened to Mingela in late 1881 and to Charters Towers in December 1882. Dr Frost and Mr A.H. Rourke of the Townsville Turf Club proposed a change of site for the course so that advantage could be taken of this rail service. Cluden Park had been established on the south side of Ross River in the early years of settlement and was about three miles from Townsville by rail. The site selected for the new course was only a few minutes walk from the Cluden railway station. A race track was cleared and marked out and a temporary stand erected for the first meeting. In spite of reservations about the move from members and patrons, the vastly improved accessibility of the new course made it successful from the start. Improvements consisting of a grandstand, stewards and press stand, booths and totalisator were constructed in 1883 at a cost of £2500.
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