St Columba's church was erected on the Just in Time mining lease at Queenton, but for some years it was served only intermittently by visiting priests.

The school and church were enlarged and a fine new convent built for the Sisters of Mercy, who had been enduring primitive accommodation.

At this time major extensions and alterations were being carried out to the church to the design of Charles William Smith, Charters Towers partner of the firm of W.G.

The majority of the cost and an outstanding parish debt was paid by the end of the decade, a remarkable feat in an era marked generally by financial depression, and is a testament to the support of the congregation and the prosperity of Charters Towers.

It was repaired and painted when the new church was built in 1974 and this may have been when the weatherboards that originally enclosed the base of the tower as a small shed were removed.

[1] The bell tower is constructed of heavy dressed and painted timbers and consists of four structural members forming legs which are strengthened by cross-bracing.

There is a bellringer's platform finished with cross braced balustrading, however, there is no stair to permit access and the legs of the tower are now exposed.

[1] The Bell Tower of St Columba's Church was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

St Columba's belltower is important for its association with the history of the Parish as the only nineteenth century structure remaining on a site occupied by Roman Catholic Church buildings since the 1870s.