Venus Gold Battery Tour: Discover the Historic Gold Extraction Process in Charters Towers

Experience the historic gold extraction process at the Venus Gold Battery in Charters Towers. Join a guided tour and discover how gold was processed during the North Queensland goldrush.

Duration: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Charters Towers Venus Gold Battery - 75 Minute Guided Tour through one of Australia’s last standing Gold Stamp Batteries. Hear how they extracted the Gold from the Ore and much more!
What's Included
  • 75-minute guided tour
  • Opportunity to ask questions to a knowledgeable local
  • Discover untold stories of the Battery
What's Not Included
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
  • Transportation to/from attractions
  • Food or Drink (please bring water with you)
Additional Information

A vital activity for those touring the Towers.
The Venus Gold Battery, an ancient mill of 150 years, ground underground ore for gold extraction. Enjoy the in-depth guided tours and impressive audio-visual demonstrations, taking you through the golden age of the North Queensland rush.
Located in the peripheries of Charters Towers lies the oldest and…

Location
Charters Towers Venus Gold Battery
Jardine Street
Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your tour for check-in. Meet outside the Venus Gold Battery Shop - located on the Corner of Millchester Rd and Jardine St, Charters Towers
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.6
(36 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Darrel
Sep 21, 2024
A step back in time - A really well put together presentation. A detailed look at how people lived and worked in early gold rush era. Friendly and knowledgeable guide. The hologram presentation is a nice touch. Well worth the time and money.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Darrel
Sep 2, 2024
Best tour in Charters Towers - Absolutely fascinating insight into the world 150 years ago. Great presentation and an excellent guide. Thanks John.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gwen_b
Aug 16, 2024
Great value tour - This a a terrific local tour in Chaters Towers. A great informative step back in time to the history of the town's beginnings. Tour guide John did an amazing job, with humour and wide knowledge of the workings of the old gold battery.
Review provided by Viator
Kittenvintage
Jul 3, 2024
If you only do one tour in charters towers, do this! - A great tour of a major part of Charters Towers history, and John our guide was extremely knowledgeable and happy to answer any questions. Well worth it
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Docholiday66
Jun 30, 2024
Venus Battery - Thanks John, very informative and enjoyable tour. Learned a lot about the region and the history of the Charters Towers goldfields and the venus ore mill and the gold recovery process
Review provided by Tripadvisor
430susans430
Jun 4, 2024
A great bit of Gold History - It was very interesting and informative to visit the Venus Battery. The guide was very knowledgeable and told us the history and how the battery worked. It enhanced our visit to Charters Towers.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sagita_p
Apr 28, 2024
Gold Mill tour - Got an understanding of the gold mine history of CT. The tour guide was so knowledgeable and the tour had some suprises that were amazing.
Review provided by Viator
Diane_k
Apr 11, 2024
Relive yesteryear in a morning - Our guide John was great. Great story telling and personal experiences. Really enjoyed the tour. What else can I say!
Review provided by Viator
Superdupercoach
Sep 26, 2024
A tour you have to do if you are coming to Charters. This is where the gold thing happened! - The battery is not that big, think midsize supermarket in terms of footprint. Obviously, it has all the ore crushing and gold extracting equipment there from the 1800s. Which is of course mostly iron and belt-driven. The guide takes you around and tells you a little bit about each stage of the ore crushing and gold extraction process. The machines are not turned on, but on one occasion the noise they would have made is played through a speaker. At a couple of points you sit to watch a short holographic movie thing that is quite well done – leading edge display technology in the 90s but a lot of places have them now. Fairly interesting and informative, covers the entire end to end process at just a passing level. Young kids wouldn’t appreciate the information, older kids would. Hesitant re: the cost, for what you get, but the dilemma is that they couldn’t run it without charging what they charge, and you get information you can’t get elsewhere. Our tour, in school holidays, had 7 people on it, and they have to pay the guide for a morning. And you aren’t going to come all the way to Charters Towers (including spending the megabucks on fuel) and then not shell out $30+ for the tour, that makes no sense. The guide seemed a bit bored going through the same material he has 1000 times before, but don’t be put off by that, get him off script and he is brilliant.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kathytz4453rg
Apr 21, 2024
A must do tour 👍🏻 - We thoroughly enjoyed the tour, John was very knowledgeable & informative with the history however we thought it ended too quickly , only 50 minutes when the tour was meant to be an hour & 15 minutes. Throughly enjoyed the holograph displays , that was a highlight ! Would definitely recommend visiting 👍🏻
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $23
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).