Alton Downs is a rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

in the

Rockhampton Region The Rockhampton Region is a local government area (LGA) in Central Queensland, Australia, located on the Tropic of Capricorn about north of Brisbane. Rockhampton is the region's major city; the region also includes the Fitzroy River, Mount ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. In the , Alton Downs had a population of 1,278 people.

History

The locality name was derived from a pastoral property. The name was assigned to a railway station named by the

Queensland Railways Department Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...

on 18 Aug 1916. Alton Downs Provisional School opened on 10 February 1890. In 1908 it became Alton Downs State School. It closed on 26 March 1964. It was at 1247 Ridgelands Road (). The Alton Downs Community Hall officially opened on 2 January 1905. The Alton Downs War Memorial was officially unveiled on 16 October 1920 by Mrs H.G. Wheeler to honour those from the district who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The memorial is made of Ulam marble and is a broken column (signifying young life cut short). It cost £180 to erect and the stonemason was Frederick Moulton Allan of

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

. A seven-hour

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

occurred at Alton Downs on the night of 20 July 2000 after police responded to reports of a serious domestic dispute on a

hobby farm A hobby farm (also called a lifestyle block in New Zealand, or acreage living or rural residential in Australia) is a smallholding or small farm that is maintained without expectation of being a primary source of income. Some are held merely to ...

where gunshots had been fired. Just after midnight on 21 July 2000, former air force officer Royce William Cooper fired a shot at Queensland Police Service dog squad officer Norm Watt who was hit in the leg. Watt subsequently bled to death from the bullet wound. Cooper later surrendered to police. A two-week trial was held at the Rockhampton Supreme Court in 2003 where Cooper pleaded not guilty. At the conclusion of the trial, a jury deliberated for five hours before finding Cooper guilty of murder. Justice Peter Dutney sentenced Cooper to life in prison. Watt is regularly remembered on the anniversary of his death and at events commemorating Queensland police officers who have been killed in the line of duty. In March 2020, a new police vessel was named in Watt's honour. In the , Alton Downs had a population of 1,278 people. Access to a reliable

water supply Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

has been an ongoing concern for the Alton Downs community for many years. A public meeting was held in January 2020 which was attended by local residents and local state MP for Mirani Stephen Andrew. Residents voiced their concerns about never having been able have a main water pipeline established despite being in close proximity to the Fitzroy River. The unreliable water supply is a concern for the local rural fire brigade and many property owners are reliant on dams and bore water. Following the easing of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

restrictions at the beginning of May 2020, an Alton Downs grazier opened his large

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...

field to the public who were able to purchase sunflower heads in exchange for a donation to charity. With the sunflowers in full bloom and with people having just been permitted to travel within a 50 kilometre radius on the Labour Day long weekend, the sunflower field proved to be popular with locals. An estimated 10,000 people visiting the field to and more than $25,000 was raised for charity. Police attended the sunflower field to ensure social distancing was being observed. The local farmer had previously stated in 2013 that he had planted the crop because sunflowers were beautiful to look at but had been surprised at the amount of attention the flowers had garnered from passing motorists who often stopped to take photos.

Amenities

The Alton Downs Community Hall is at 1569 Ridgelands Road (). The Alton Downs War Memorial is in the grounds of the hall (). It commemorates those who served and died in

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

References

{{Rockhampton Region Suburbs of Rockhampton Region Localities in Queensland