Rowes Bay is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...

in the

City of Townsville The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock ...

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 , Rowes Bay had a population of 573 people.

Geography

Rowes Bay is located in a low-lying area adjacent to the

Cleveland Bay The Cleveland Bay is a breed of horse that originated in England during the 17th century, named after its colouring and the Cleveland district of Yorkshire. It is a well-muscled horse, with legs that are strong but short in relation ...

beach. Its borders are determined by the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

Townsville Airport Townsville Airport is a major Australian regional airport that services the city of Townsville, Queensland. The airport is also known as Townsville International Airport, and Garbutt Airport, a reference to its location in the Townsville sub ...

and Mundy Creek, and only a small portion of the suburb's area is taken up by housing. Neighbouring suburbs include Garbutt, West End and Belgian Gardens; however, Rowes Bay is relatively isolated from other suburbs due to its location surrounded by the

Town Common Common land is land owned by a person or collectively by a number of persons, over which other persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person who has a r ...

. The Townsville Cemetery (also known as Belgian Gardens Cemetery) and a retirement village are located within the suburb.

History

Rowes Bay was named after Charles Seville Rowe, one of the first settlers at

. Only after

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 ...

did the name ''Rowes'' come into general use; prior to this the area was recorded as ''Rose Bay'' and ''Ross Bay''. During World War II, Jimmys Lookout had an anti-aircraft gun and search light battery. Its purpose was to protect Townsville and in particular the military airport from Japanese airborne attacks. The

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

Academy (North Queensland campus) commenced training in October 1996. In the , Rowes Bay had a population of 539 people. In the , Rowes Bay had a population of 573 people.

Education

Cleveland Education and Training Centre is a primary and secondary (5-12) special-purpose school for boys and girls in the Cleveland Youth Detention Centre on Old Common Road (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 66 students with 24 teachers (21 full-time equivalent) and 17 non-teaching staff (13 full-time equivalent). There are no mainstream schools in Rowes Bay. The nearest government primary school is Belgian Gardens State School in neighbouring Belgian Gardens to the south-east. The nearest government secondary school is

Townsville State High School Townsville State High School, also known as Town High, is a secondary school in Railway Estate, Townsville, Queensland, Australia. History Townsville State High School was established in 1924 as part of the Townsville Technical College at ...

Railway Estate Railway Estate is a suburb of Townsville in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. In the Railway Estate had a population of 2,852 people. Geography Railway Estate is located on the south end of Ross Island, bounded by Ross Creek ...

to the south-east.

Facilities

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre is for young people aged between 10 and 17 years who have been sentenced to detention or are being held on remand by the courts. It is on Old Comons Road (). Despite the name, Belgian Gardens Cemetery is within Rowes Bay at 62 Evans Street, but access to the cemetery is via the suburb of Belgian Gardens (). It is managed by the

Townsville City Council The City of Townsville is a local government area (LGA) located in North Queensland, Australia. It encompasses the city of Townsville, together with the surrounding rural areas, to the south are the communities of Alligator Creek, Woodstock an ...

. The Townsville War Cemetery is within the Belgian Gardens cemetery (). It has 222 burials from World War II. The

Office of Australian War Graves The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) is a branch within the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs. The branch was initially a stand-alone agency, formed 1 January 1975. In 1980, the ''War Graves Act 1980 (Cth)'' formalised t ...

is within the cemetery (). The war cemetery is managed by the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

Amenities

Rowes Bay Retirement Community is a

retirement village A retirement community is a residential community or housing complex designed for older adults who are generally able to care for themselves; however, assistance from home care agencies is allowed in some communities, and activities and socializ ...

at Havana Street off Cape Pallandera Road (). There are a number of parks in the suburb, including: * Hooper Street Park () * Rowes Bay Park ()

Attractions

Rowes Bay is dominated by a scenic

beach, which has sweeping views of

Magnetic Island Magnetic Island ( Wulguru: Yunbenun) is an island offshore from the city of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. This mountainous island in Cleveland Bay has effectively become a suburb of Townsville, with 2,335 permanent residents. The island ...

. The beach is punctuated at intervals by tidal creeks. A short drive up Cape Pallarenda Road is located the suburb of Pallarenda which is equipped with a beachfront park and boat ramp. Cycling or jogging alone the sealed foreshore pathway is a popular pastime but swimming is not encouraged due to a risk of

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

or jellyfish attack. At the southern end of the beach area is Soroptimist Park, which has lawns,

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

facilities and an adventure playground designed specifically to be suitable for all children including those with disabilities. The park includes several attractive pieces of public art, contributed in 1988 and 1994. The northern end of the beach is a popular site for

kitesurfing Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and wak ...

. Jimmys Lookout is off Old Commons Road on the western edge of the Belgian Gardens Cemetery ().

Gallery

Image:Rowes Bay Townsville Queensland.jpg, View from Castle Hill towards Pallarenda, showing the Rowes Bay caravan park. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-Pallarenda-20110526.jpg, Walking path and bikeway towards Pallarenda. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-MagneticIsland-20110526.jpg, Looking towards

. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-channel-20110526.jpg, Looking towards Pallarenda. Image:Rowes Bay (5430057065).jpg, Post-cyclone beach near Heatleys Parade, on dusk. Looking towards Pallarenda. Image:Rowes Bay, Townsville - detail of public art.jpg, Detail of public art sculpture, Soroptimist Park, Townsville. Image:Soroptimist Park Mosaics - Public Art.JPG, Public art sculpture, Soroptimist Park, Townsville. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-QldPoliceAcademy-NQ-campus-20110526.jpg,

Academy (North Queensland campus). Image:Rowes Bay Golf Clubhouse from the 9 th Fairway Nov 2007 - panoramio.jpg, Rowes Bay Golf Club clubhouse, near the Town Common. Image:Some casual water beside the 11 th Fairway Rowes Bay April 2010 - panoramio.jpg, Rowes Bay Golf Club wetlands near the 11th hole.

References

{{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville Bays of Queensland