Researchers at Curtin University have postulated that 100 million years later, this landmass collided with what is now northern Australia, at the Mount Isa region, forming the Nuna supercontinent.

Originally known by the name Etheridge, the town's name was changed in 1871 to honour an early gold commissioner, Howard St George.

[8] As in many places around Australia associated with gold, Chinese miners also prospected and this included one or possibly two Joss Houses. "

... is keeping the high festival of the new year, and wakes the silent watches of the night by crackers and uncouth devices of fire.

Georgetown is the administrative headquarters of the Shire of Etheridge, a local government area encompassing the nearby settlements of Mount Surprise, Forsayth and Einasleigh.

The wet season from mid-November to March is hot and humid with like all of tropical Queensland highly erratic rainfall.

Nevertheless, the height of the dry season features cool to pleasant mornings more typical of the humid subtropical climate areas to the southeast, and Georgetown is amongst the most northerly locations in Australia to record frost, with the temperature falling as low as −3.0 °C (26.6 °F) on 9 July 1974.

[26] The Georgetown branch of the Queensland Country Women's Association has its rooms on the Gulf Developmental Road.