Normanton is a genuinely delightful town with an excess of old world charm. It started life as a port for the Gulf of Carpentaria’s cattle industry and grew in importance with the discovery of gold at Croydon in 1885. Today it is primarily driven by tourism with the Purple Pub, the Albion Hotel, and a number of interesting historic buildings making it a convenient stopover for bus tours heading for Karumba and backpackers and travellers making their way around Australia.