Rockhampton, Queensland
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Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. 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 cities of South East Queensland, and the 22nd-largest city in Australia. Today, Rockhampton is an industrial and agricultural centre of the north, and is the regional centre of Central Queensland. Rockhampton is one of the oldest cities in Queensland and in Northern Australia. In 1853, Charles and William Archer came across the Toonooba river, which is now also known as the
Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
, which they claimed in honour of Sir Charles FitzRoy. The
Archer brothers The Archer brothers were among the earliest European settlers in Queensland, Australia. They were explorers and pastoralists. Seven sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant, they spent varying amounts of time in the colony of New Sou ...
took up a run near Gracemere in 1855, and more settlers arrived soon after, enticed by the fertile valleys. The town of Rockhampton was proclaimed in 1858, and surveyed by William Henry Standish, Arthur F Wood and Francis Clarke, the chosen street design closely resembled the Hoddle Grid in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
and consisted of a grid of wide boulevards and laneways, which was uncommon in Queensland. Within the year, gold was found at
Canoona Canoona is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Canoona had a population of 81 people. It was the site of the first North Australian gold rush. Geography The Fitzroy River forms the southern boundary of t ...
, and led to the first North Australian gold rush. The Canoona gold rush led to an influx of migrants who quickly transformed Rockhampton into the second-largest port in the state; during this period, Rockhampton was nicknamed as the "City of the Three S's", of which were "Sin, Sweat, and Sorrow". Subsequent gold rushes at
Mount Morgan Mine Mount Morgan Mine was a copper, gold and silver mine in Queensland, Australia. Mining began at Mount Morgan in 1882 and continued until 1981. Over its lifespan, the mine yielded approximately of gold, of silver and of copper. The mine was o ...
, which was at the time one of the most productive gold mines in the world, laid the foundations for much of the city's
Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian we ...
. The city is noted for its Queenslander architecture, especially in the areas of Allenstown and the Range. Rockhampton is also a large tourist destination known for its history and culture supporting such institutions as the Rockhampton Art Gallery, one of the most extensive regional galleries in Australia, the
Central Queensland University Central Queensland University (alternatively known as CQUniversity) is an Australian public university based in central Queensland. CQUniversity is the only Australian university with a campus presence in every mainland state. Its main campus ...
with campuses across five states, the Rockhampton Heritage Village, and
Dreamtime Cultural Centre The Dreamtime Cultural Centre is an Indigenous cultural arts and education centre in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...
– one of the best
tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
players in history. The city is served by the
Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Me ...
and acts as a gateway to local tourist locations such as the
Capricorn Caves Capricorn Caves are located north of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. The limestone caves are one of the largest privately owned cave systems in Australia. History It was first discovered in 1881 by Norwegian migrant John Olsen. He went on ...
and Mount Archer National Park, as well as regional tourist areas including the historic town of Mount Morgan,
Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...
and the
Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...
, alongside the island chains offshore that include
Great Keppel Island Great Keppel Island (''Woppaburra, Wop-Pa, Wapparaburra'') lies from the coast off Yeppoon in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It is part of the Capricorn Coast of Central Queensland. The island's traditional owners are the Wopp ...
.


History


Indigenous Australians

The Capricorn district is the traditional home of the Darumbal Aboriginal people. The Darumbal (Tarumbul, Tharoombool) language region includes the city of Rockhampton extending south towards Raglan Creek and north towards the Styx River and inland along the Broad Sound Ranges. The
Gangulu The Gangulu people, also written Kangulu, Kanolu, Kaangooloo, Ghungalu and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Mount Morgan area in Queensland, Australia. Name At least one variant name for the Kangulu, ''Kaangooloo' ...
(Kangulu, Kanolu, Kaangooloo, Khangulu) language region includes the towns of Clermont and
Springsure Springsure is a town and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Central Highlands Region, Queensland, Australia. It is south of Emerald, Queensland, Emerald on the Gregory Highway. It is the southern terminus of the Gregory Highwa ...
extending south towards the Dawson River, and includes parts of Rockhampton and South Rockhampton.


British colonisation

The British colonisation of the area began in 1853, when the
Archer brothers The Archer brothers were among the earliest European settlers in Queensland, Australia. They were explorers and pastoralists. Seven sons of William Archer, a Scottish timber merchant, they spent varying amounts of time in the colony of New Sou ...
, Charles and William, who were seeking grazing lands arrived in the Rockhampton area. They were acting on information from earlier expeditions by
Ludwig Leichhardt Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt (), known as Ludwig Leichhardt, (23 October 1813 – c. 1848) was a German explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.Ken Eastwood,'Cold case: Leichhardt's dis ...
and Thomas Mitchell, who had explored the area in 1844 and 1846 and noted suitable land for grazing then. In January 1854, the New South Wales government proclaimed two new districts:
Port Curtis Port Curtis is a suburb of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , Port Curtis had a population of 281 people. Geography The Fitzroy River bounds the suburb to the north-east. Gavial Creek, a tributary of the ...
and Leichhardt (roughly today's Fitzroy Region), and the Archer brothers returned in August 1855 to set up their pastoral run at
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
.McDonald, L: "Rockhampton – A History of City & District", page 19. Rockhampton City Council, 1976 The
Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
provided a convenient waterway for shipping of supplies and produce, and the Archer brothers constructed a wool shed just downstream of a bar of rocks that prevented further upstream navigation from the coast. These rocks were incorporated with the traditional English term for a village, and the name "Rockhampton" was first coined by Charles Archer and the local Commissioner from Crown Lands, William Wiseman. In 1855, Scottish colonists and brothers William Thomas Elliott and George Mackenzie Elliot arrived at Gracemere and soon after, took up landholdings at
Canoona Canoona is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Canoona had a population of 81 people. It was the site of the first North Australian gold rush. Geography The Fitzroy River forms the southern boundary of t ...
, north of present-day
Yaamba Yaamba is a rural town and locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Yaamba had a population of 62 people. Geography Yaamba is bounded by the Fitzroy River to the south and by its tributary Alligator ...
. Their father was James Elliot, 3rd Laird of Wolfelee House near
Hawick Hawick ( ; sco, Haaick; gd, Hamhaig) is a town in the Scottish Borders council area and historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east of Selkirk. It is one of ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. One of their other brothers was Walter Elliot of the
East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
and secretary to the governor of the
Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...
. In January 1856, after a massacre of local Aboriginal people perpetrated by Lieutenant John Murray of the Native Police at nearby Nankin Creek, some 200 Aboriginal men, women and children came to Canoona and began shouting at the employees of the Elliots. William Thomas Elliot and his men opened fire at random upon the group which fled after a short time. William and an employee were wounded (the employee reportedly died) and about seven of the local inhabitants were killed. Fellow colonist,
Charles Archer Charles Archer (1861–1941) was an administrator in British India, he served as the Chief Commissioner of Baluchistan province four times. He collaborated with his brother William in translating three of Ibsen's plays: ''Rosmersholm'', ''Lady ...
of
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
and a group of Native Police troopers later pursued these Aboriginal people toward the east and punished them further. Local Aboriginal people friendly to Archer were also fired upon, killing one. Permanent British settlement at the Rockhampton township began in July 1856, when Richard Palmer travelled from
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
with an escort of Native Police under sub-Lieutenant Walter Powell to set up a store. Powell arrived at the site first and constructed the Native Police barracks. This was the first habitable British building established at Rockhampton and it was located on the south bank of the Fitzroy River at the end of Albert Street. With abundant grazing lands and waters from the Fitzroy River and its many tributaries and lagoons, the region continued to expand rapidly. In 1858, the town of Rockhampton was officially proclaimed. The town was surveyed at this time and the first sales of building allotments were held that year. In 1859, gold was discovered at Canoona. Miners rushed to the new field, using the site of Rockhampton on the Fitzroy River as the nearest navigable port. The Canoona field proved to be very disappointing and thousands of would-be gold seekers were left stranded at Rockhampton. Although many returned south, others stayed, adding to the new town's population. Conflict with Aboriginal people in the region continued and further massacres occurred. In 1859,
John Arthur Macartney John Arthur Macartney (5 April 1834 - 10 June 1917) was an Irish-born Australian colonist, pastoralist, squatter and grazier who established a large number of frontier cattle stations in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Early life John Arth ...
attempted to stock his cousin's Belmont property just to the north of Rockhampton when a shepherd was killed by local Aboriginal men. 2nd Lieutenant Frederick Carr of the Native Police together with his troopers, the Macartneys, Peter Fitzallan MacDonald and Henry Brisdon, formed an armed group which set out to track down those responsible. The group followed the tracks and "dispersed" them. One account of this incident describes how around hundred of the tribe were rounded up and "it ended in the usual way and the bulk of the wild mob were shot." By 1861, the town boasted a regular newspaper, banks, court house, and school of arts. Direct shipments of imported goods and migrants from the United Kingdom began to be received during the 1860s. In 1862, land in the Kensington Estate, described as just three miles from "the most rapidly rising town and district in the whole of the colonies" was advertised for sale. During the 1860s and '70s, Rockhampton developed as the main port for the developing Central Queensland hinterland, the main export at that time being wool. A Primitive Methodist Church opened in Fitzroy Street, Rockhampton, in January 1864.


Gold rushes and expansion

In the 1880s and '90s, sea ports were established on the coast, adjacent to the mouth of the Fitzroy River. Broadmount was on the northern side and Port Alma on the south. Railways were subsequently constructed to carry goods to the wharves at these locations, with the railway to Broadmount opening on 1 January 1898 and the line to Port Alma opening on 16 October 1911. Maintenance on the Broadmount line ceased in August 1929. The following month, the wharf caught fire and the line was effectively closed in July 1930. The line to Port Alma closed on 15 October 1986. The significant gold deposit at Mount Morgan to the southwest was discovered in the 1880s, and Rockhampton became the main port through which the wealth of Mount Morgan gold was channelled. Due to the wealth of Mount Morgan, Rockhampton weathered the severe economic depression of the 1890s, and many of the town's substantial brick and stone public buildings date from this period. The historic streetscape of Quay Street still displays a number of substantial historic buildings, built when Rockhampton was envisaged as being capital of a state of North Queensland. Most prominent of these is the sandstone Customs House (1900), which today houses an information centre. Other important 19th-century buildings include the Post Office (1892), the Supreme Court House (1888), and St Joseph's Cathedral (1892). In September 1892 the Anglican Church in Rockhampton was the first new building in Rockhampton to be lit by electricity from the new gasworks. It was also the first church in Australia to be lit with electricity.


Central Queensland Separation Movement

In 1889 the people of Rockhampton established the Central Queensland Territorial Separation League, a secessionist movement with the intentions of breaking away from the state of Queensland. The core argument of movement was that the seat of government, Brisbane was in the south-east corner of the State. It was so far removed from substantial portions of the state that these areas and their citizens were left disadvantaged and neglected as political and economic interests focused on the south. Supplementing the Central Queensland Territorial Separation League, the women of Rockhampton established their own separation league in October 1892. The inaugural meeting of the Women’s Central Queensland Territorial Separation League was held at the Rockhampton School of Arts and attended by 200 women. Their main focus was preparing a
petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...
to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
.  The introductory text set out their grievances and described the immense size of Queensland: being twelve times the area of England and Wales, and larger than France, Germany, Spain and Portugal combined. The
State Library of Queensland The State Library of Queensland is the main reference and research library provided to the people of the State of Queensland, Australia, by the state government. Its legislative basis is provided by the Queensland Libraries Act 1988. It contai ...
holds the original petition, signed by over 3000 women who were in support of Central Queensland becoming a separate state. The petition was forwarded to Queen Victoria but was dismissed by the Premier of Queensland, Sir Samuel Walker Griffith.


20th century

The
City of Rockhampton The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...
was proclaimed in 1902. The rail connection south to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
was completed in 1903, but it was not until 1921 that the northern connection to Mackay was finally completed. A railway west from Rockhampton was started in 1867 and by 1892 had reached the terminus at Longreach, away. This further strengthened Rockhampton's role as the port for the whole of Central Queensland. A passenger tramway began operating on 16 June 1909, making Rockhampton the only provincial city in Queensland to have a street tramway. Purrey steam trams ran on a number of routes throughout South Rockhampton, totalling of track. The discomfort of passengers riding in steam trams in a tropical climate in part led to their demise in 1939, replaced by a bus network run by the City Council. Strong shaking was felt in Rockhampton when the "Great Queensland Earthquake of 1918" occurred on 7 June 1918. The earthquake was felt from Mackay in the north, to Grafton in New South Wales, and west to Charleville. Estimated to have reached a 6.0 magnitude, the earthquake caused some damage to buildings including chimney stacks crumbling, plaster being dislodged from walls and ceilings, water tanks bursting and trees being uprooted. Houses and buildings experienced considerable swaying with crockery smashing on the floor and pictures falling off walls. The 1918 earthquake remains as the largest to have ever hit Queensland since European settlement. Restaurant proprietors, Emanuel, William and Nicholas Economos, trading as the Economos Bros., ran their business in East Street, Rockhampton. East Street was a bustling metropolis when the brothers opened their traditional Greek café in the 1920s. Previously known as the Australian Café, the brothers renamed it the Busy Bee Café. During the Second World War, a US army base was established outside the city; it hosted up to 70,000 servicemen en route to action in the Pacific and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
. On 2 March 1949, Rockhampton was severely damaged by a
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
. The Fitzroy River Barrage was commissioned in 1971. The barrage has a capacity of 81,300 megalitres and holds back a lake long. The barrage was funded by the Rockhampton City Council to provide a reliable source of water to the city, and to effectively drought proof Rockhampton. In 2002, a study showed that
salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...
was increasing in the Fitzroy Basin and, while only small areas of land were severely affected by salinity, urged that steps be taken to manage salinity by good irrigation practices and better management of tree clearing. In 1989, two bombs exploded inside the Shark Nightclub, causing injuries and extensive damage to the building. The following year, the Factory Nightclub was also damaged by a bomb. It is not known who planted the bombs.


21st century

In 2003, Rockhampton was the centre of significant national media interest after local teenager
Natasha Ryan Natasha Anne Ryan (born 1984) is an Australian woman from Rockhampton, Queensland who went missing on 31 August 1998 when aged 14. Police had wrongly assumed that her best friend Maioha Tokotaua, who was 15 years old at the time of her disappearanc ...
was found in the North Rockhampton home of her boyfriend, Scott Black, after being missing for five years. Serial killer Leonard Fraser had been charged with her murder, as her disappearance occurred in the period in which Fraser had abducted and murdered other women and girls. An anonymous tip-off during Fraser's trial led to the discovery of Ryan. Despite Ryan's discovery, Fraser's defence did not seek a mistrial and Fraser was convicted of the murders of other women and girls and was given an indefinite life sentence. On 20 February 2015, Rockhampton was severely damaged by Cyclone Marcia damaging hundreds of homes and businesses with wind speeds over 150 km/h recorded in Rockhampton. Major flooding was experienced in the upper reaches of the Fitzroy River after more than 250mm were recorded. The cyclone left about 100,000 properties across Central Queensland without power. According to the , there were 76,985 people in Rockhampton. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 7.2% of the population. 82.8% of people were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 1.4%, England 1.3%, Philippines 1.1%, India 0.6% and Vietnam 0.4%. 86.4% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Vietnamese 0.5%, Tagalog 0.5%, Portuguese 0.3%, Filipino 0.3% and Mandarin 0.3% The most common responses for religion were Catholic 26.5%, No Religion 22.6% and Anglican 17.1%. Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .


Geography

The town lies on the
Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
, approximately from where the river enters 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 ...
, and some north of the state capital,
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
. Rockhampton has a north and south side with three bridges connecting the two sides, one for trains and two for vehicles and people. Rockhampton lies just north of the
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
in Central Queensland. A sculpture originally marking the
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
was later moved into town to be more accessible to tourists. Although the Tropic of Capricorn is represented on maps as a "dotted line" that lies at 23 ° 26' 22", there is actually a bio-geographical overlap of Tropical and Temperate zones more than wide; Rockhampton is roughly at its centre on the East Coast of Australia. The city is located on the banks of the Fitzroy River, approximately from the river mouth. The
Berserker Range The Berserker Range is a mountainous region located on the eastern and northeastern boundary of the city of Rockhampton in Central Queensland, Australia. Within it lies Mount Archer National Park. It has been designated the ''Berserker Range Env ...
lies on the eastern side of the city, with the Athelstane Range to the west. The coastal area to the east of the city is known as the
Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...
, with the rapidly growing town of
Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...
its major centre.


Climate

Rockhampton experiences a hot-summer
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
with mild winters ( Köppen: Cfa/Cwa/BSh, Trewartha: BSal/BShl/Cfal/Cfhl). The city is situated on the
Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...
and lies within the southeast trade wind belt, too far south to experience regular north west
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...
al influence, and too far north to gain much influence from cold fronts sweeping in from the Southern Ocean. Typical temperature ranges are in the short summer/wet season and in the long winter/dry season. The city receives 125.0 days of clear skies annually. Rockhampton lies within the
cyclone In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an anti ...
risk zone and has experienced several large cyclones since European settlement. The Rockhampton area is also subject to summer thunderstorms. There is a high incidence of winter and early spring fogs. Maximum temperatures in the low to mid teens have been recorded in October to March. The
Fitzroy River Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...
at Rockhampton has a long and well documented history of flooding with flood records dating back to 1859. The highest recorded flood occurred in January 1918 and reached on the Rockhampton gauge. The second highest flood in Rockhampton was recorded on 19 February 1954, when the Fitzroy River peaked at a height of 9.4 metres. Rockhampton's third worst flood was recorded on 12 January 1991, when the Fitzroy River peaked at 9.3 metres. More recently, Rockhampton was affected by the
2010–2011 Queensland floods A series of floods hit Queensland, Australia, beginning in November 2010. The floods forced the evacuation of thousands of people from towns and cities. At least 90 towns and over 200,000 people were affected. Damage initially was estimated at ...
when the Fitzroy River peaked at 9.2 metres on 5 January 2011, although the river had been expected to rise as high as 9.4 metres. The highest recorded official temperature in Rockhampton was , while the lowest was . The highest recorded 24-hour rainfall total was on 25 January 2013.


Heritage listings

Rockhampton has a number of
heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and man-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In many ...
sites. For details see the
List of heritage listed buildings in Rockhampton This is a list of heritage-listed buildings in Rockhampton, Queensland, organised by suburb: Allenstown Heritage-listed buildings in Allenstown, Queensland, Allenstown: * 36 Larnach Street: St Marks Church, Rockhampton, St Marks Church * Up ...
.


Governance

Rockhampton is governed by the Rockhampton Regional Council. The Council consists of a mayor and seven councillors. The Mayor is elected by the public, and the Councillors are elected from seven single-member divisions using an optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years. Tony Williams is the current mayor after the 2021 mayoral by-election following the resignation of long time mayor Margaret Strelow. Margaret Strelow won the mayoral elections in 2013, 2016 and March 2020. Strelow had also served as Mayor of the former
City of Rockhampton The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...
from 2000 to 2008. The present Rockhampton Regional Council area was formed as a result of the 2008 amalgamation of four local government areas. These were the original
City of Rockhampton The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...
which comprised most of the Rockhampton metropolitan area, the
Shire of Fitzroy The Shire of Fitzroy was a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate west and south of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the town of Grac ...
comprising
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
and surrounding districts, and the
Shire of Mount Morgan The Shire of Mount Morgan was a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, about south of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, roughly the region surrounding the former gold mi ...
around the town of Mount Morgan itself. The fourth local government area was the
Shire of Livingstone The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal to ...
which comprised the adjacent coastal towns and hinterland to the east and north of Rockhampton as well as some outlying Rockhampton suburbs. However, Livingstone Shire de-amalgamated from Rockhampton Region in 2014 following a referendum. Before the 2008 amalgamation, the City of Rockhampton had a population of approximately 74,530, Fitzroy Shire approximately 11,357, and Mount Morgan Shire approximately 2,925 people. Proposed boundary changes between Rockhampton Regional Council and Livingstone Shire Council are under review by the Local Government Change Commission. The changes relate to three suburbs contiguous with Rockhampton City which are presently part of Livingstone Shire. The proposed changes will affect 1170 properties in the suburbs of Glenlee, Rockyview, and Glendale.


Economy


Agriculture

The agricultural sector, specifically the cattle trade, is a dominant industry in Central Queensland. The latter has been visually represented around
Rockhampton City Rockhampton City is the central suburb of the city of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the . Rockhampton City had a population of 1,953 people. It is informally known as Rockhampton central business district (C ...
with a set of seven large statues of bulls known as the '
Big Bulls The Big Bulls are a set of seven large statues of bulls that decorate the city of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. The set is regarded as one of Australia's big things and is intended to reinforce Rockhampton's claim to being the Beef Capi ...
'. Two large abattoirs are located on the south-eastern outskirts of Rockhampton provides employment for people living in Rockhampton and also for refugees from overseas who are recruited when the companies experience difficulty finding local workers to fill vacancies. One meat processing plant is located at Lakes Creek, operated by Teys Australia (a
Cargill Cargill, Incorporated, is a privately held American global food corporation based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and incorporated in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded in 1865, it is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in ter ...
joint venture) while the JBS meatworks is located at Nerimbera. The Teys Australia meatworks at Lakes Creek was previously owned by
Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...
's Consolidated Meat Group. CMG temporarily closed the facility in 2002. It was reopened in 2004, when Consolidated Meat Group announced they had formed a joint venture with Teys Australia. In 2011, Cargill bought out CMG's share in the company. Due to drought, floods, general economic conditions and disputes with workers, both facilities have experienced a number of closures over the years including the closure of the Lakes Creek meatworks from 2002 until 2004, but they are both currently operating as normal. The Central Queensland Livestock Exchange at
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
is one of the largest livestock sales facilities in the country, lies just to the west of the city. Rockhampton promotes itself as the ''Beef Capital of Australia'' but the title has been disputed a number of times by the New South Wales town of
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
. The tri-annual
Beef Australia Expo 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 ...
held in the city is a celebration of the local area's cattle industry.


Military

There is a permanent military presence in Rockhampton with members of the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
based at the Western Street Army Barracks located near the
Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Me ...
. To the north of the city lies the extensive
Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area is a heritage-listed military installation at Byfield Road, Byfield, Queensland, Byfield, Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. It is a large, relatively undisturbed and intact natural system with a ...
where large scale ground, air and amphibious operations are regularly conducted. Due to its close proximity to the training area, the city regularly sees military movements between the Western Street Army Barracks and Shoalwater Bay, and hosts service personnel from overseas when joint military exercises are held. When these exercises occur, Rockhampton sees a noticeable increase in activity from military transport, including from defence aircraft that are frequently seen at Rockhampton Airport throughout the exercise periods. The local economy is significantly boosted when visiting overseas troops stay in the city while participating in the army exercises. Military training conducted in the Rockhampton area regularly draws the ire of nomadic peace activists who travel to the city to protest the exercises. In 2011, during Exercise Talisman Sabre, a protester made his way onto the tarmac at Rockhampton Airport and attacked a $36 million Tiger helicopter with a garden mattock. The man was ordered to stand trial charged with wilful damage and threatening an aircraft but died before the matter went to trial.


Tourism

Tourism is increasingly playing a role in the economic development of city and surrounds. The city is a convenient distance north from Brisbane to provide an overnight stop for tourists, who can then branch out to visit local attractions and spend money at local businesses including eateries, entertainment facilities or on recreational activities. The Capricorn Coast is a 30-minute drive from Rockhampton, with the islands of the Keppel group easily accessible from there. Other attractions that are promoted to the tourist market include the Fitzroy River, the Heritage-listed buildings in the CBD, the Rockhampton Heritage Village, the Dreamtime Cultural Centre, the Archer Park Rail Museum, Mount Archer National Park,
Rockhampton Botanic Gardens Rockhampton Botanic Gardens is a heritage-listed botanic garden at 100 Spencer Street, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1873 to 1930s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 ...
, and
Rockhampton Zoo Rockhampton Zoo is a zoo in the Australian city of Rockhampton, Queensland. Summary The zoo is located within the grounds of the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens in the suburb of The Range, Queensland, The Range. Animals on display at the zoo inclu ...
. A national promotional campaign was launched in 2013 to promote the local area as a premium tourist destination, featuring local singer-songwriter Kate Leahy whose song "We Like" featured as the soundtrack to the television commercials that showed the attractions of Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast.


Other industry

Other industries in the Rockhampton area include the transport, manufacturing, mining and energy sectors. Rail group Aurizon (previously known as QR National) has a large workforce in the city, which is the meeting point for the main north coast rail line and the line to the major coalfields to the west. However, the company announced in October 2015 that it was closing its locomotive and maintenance depots in Rockhampton with forty jobs lost from the Rockhampton site. Management of Aurizon's Rockhampton site was criticised by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union in 2016 who described it as "appalling", prompting 60 workers to walk off the job citing lack of consultation, lack of adequate training for apprentices, a lack of privacy and unfair demands from management for workers to increase productivity. The coal fired 1445 megawatt
Stanwell Power Station Stanwell Power Station is a coal-fired power generation station located in Stanwell, south-west of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. At the time of construction, it was one of the largest industrial developments undertaken in Queensland. W ...
lies at
Stanwell Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential ...
, 30 kilometers west of the city, where
Stanwell Corporation Stanwell Corporation is a Queensland government-owned corporation. It is the state's largest electricity generator and Australia’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter. Stanwell own and operate a portfolio of electricity generation assets in ...
provides jobs for people living in Rockhampton. The power station currently has a workforce of about 150 employees and regularly hires new apprentices from Rockhampton Sibelco operates magnesia mine at Kunwarara and processing plant at Parkhurst which employs many locals, although the company announced in 2015 that it would axe 57 jobs from its local operations, with another 45 jobs axed in 2016.


Culture

Many local concerts, performances, events, festivals are held at the Rockhampton's numerous venues throughout the city each year. The annual Rockhampton Cultural Festival held each August at the Rockhampton Heritage Village features a variety of market stalls, displays, international foods, music and cultural displays. The
Rockhampton Showgrounds The Rockhampton Showgrounds is a multipurpose recreational venue in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of Wandal. History It was opened in its current location in 1886 by the Fitzroy Pastoral, Agricultural and H ...
plays host to numerous events each year. Most notably, the three-day Rockhampton Show is held in June each year. Like many Australian communities, Rockhampton commemorates
Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...
on 25 April each year. Rockhampton is believed to be the very first city in Australia to hold an early morning commemoration intentionally scheduled to coincide with when the landing at Gallipoli took place, as the city held a "daybreak" service at 6:30 am on 25 April 1916, in which 700 people attended. In 1893, Alfred Henry Lambton wrote what is recognised as the first crime novel set in Queensland, ''From Prison to Power.'' The novel takes place at the fictitious cattle station, 'Banalba', located 200 miles inland from the important tropical Queensland town of 'Rockington' ockhampton
Pilbeam Theatre The Pilbeam Theatre is an indoor performance venue in Rockhampton, Queensland. History The Pilbeam Theatre was officially opened by Australian Governor-General Sir Zelman Cowen on 6 June 1979 and was named after the city's mayor at the time, R ...
opened in 1979 and is Rockhampton's largest theatre. The Rockhampton Art Gallery collection, also owned by the Rockhampton Regional Council, is situated next to the Pilbeam Theatre and consists mainly of works by Australian artists from the 1940s to the 1970s. Opened in 1985, closed in 2011 and then re-opened in 2015 the
Rockhampton Music Bowl The Rockhampton Music Bowl is an outdoor sound shell music venue in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, situated in the suburb of Parkhurst. The venue was officially opened by Rockhampton City Council alderman, Dr Terence Francis Moore on 9 ...
regularly plays host to events including the annual Carols by Candlelight every December. The tri-annual
Beef Australia Beef Australia is an international exposition held triennially in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. The week-long expo has been held in the city during the month of May triennially since the inaugural event in 1988. The event is promoted and use ...
Exposition is held every third May at the Rockhampton Showgrounds. In 2009 as part of the
Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. Q15 ...
celebrations, the Beef Australia Expo was announced as one of the
Q150 Icons The Queensland's Q150 Icons list of cultural icons was compiled as part of Q150 celebrations in 2009 by the Government of Queensland, Australia. It represented the people, places and events that were significant to Queensland's first 150 years. ...
of Queensland for its role as an "event and festival". Rockhampton has played quite an important role in the production and exhibition of films in Central Queensland. Films shot in Rockhampton include '' The Kid Stakes'', '' Buddies'', and '' Broke''.


Sport

*
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...
/
AFL Capricornia AFL Capricornia is an amateur Australian rules football competition played across Central Queensland between the months of March to September. Spanning across three main regions of Central Queensland. Including Rockhampton, Gladstone and Living ...
– ''Brothers Roos'', ''Glenmore Bulls'', ''Rockhampton Panthers'' * Basketball – ''
Rockhampton Rockets The Rockhampton Rockets are an Australian basketball team based in Rockhampton, Queensland. The Rockets compete in the Men's NBL1 North and play their home games at Adani Arena. The team is affiliated with Rockhampton Basketball Inc., the major ...
'' (Men's); ''Rockhampton Cyclones'' (Women's) *
Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
– Senior – ''Frenchville Falcons'', ''North's Tigers'', ''Gracemere Bulls'', ''Rocky United'', ''Capricorn Coast'', ''Brothers'', ''Colts'' Junior – ''Frenchville Falcons'', ''North's Tigers'', ''Gracemere Bulls'', ''Capricorn Coast'', ''Brothers'', ''Grammar'' * Football (Soccer) – Capricorn Cougars and Central Queensland *
Mountain Biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
– ''Rockhampton Mountain Bike Club – "Rocky MTB" '. With three trail networks around the city, Rocky MTB is based at First Turkey MTB Reserve at Norman Gardens adjacent to Mount Archer National Park. The club is a member of Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) and hosts regional, state and national events. Team members compete throughout Australia at major races. * Roller Derby – ''Rocky Roller Derby – "Beef City Brawlers"'' *
Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
– ''
Central Comets Central Queensland Capras are a semi-professional rugby league football club primarily based in Rockhampton, Queensland and representing Central Queensland. They currently play in the Queensland Cup, the premier rugby league competition in Quee ...
'' in the Queensland Cup * Rugby League – ''Central Queensland Capras'' * Rugby League – ''Central Queensland University – Norths Chargers'', ''Fitzroy – Gracemere Sharks'', ''Rockhampton Brothers'' in the Rockhampton & District Rugby League (A Grade) *
Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
– ''Rockhampton Brahmans'',
Brothers Old Boys Brothers Rugby Club (formally Brothers Old Boys) is an Australian rugby union club based in Brisbane, Queensland. The name alludes to its beginnings as a rugby club founded by alumni of schools established by the Congregation of Christian Brothe ...
* Touch Football – ''Rockhampton Redbacks''


Attractions

Established in 1869, the
Rockhampton Botanic Gardens Rockhampton Botanic Gardens is a heritage-listed botanic garden at 100 Spencer Street, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1873 to 1930s. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 23 ...
are located on Spencer Street in South Rockhampton. Excellent specimens of palms, cycads and ferns are found throughout the manicured grounds. Some specimens are over 100 years old. Michel Moulds is a former professional bookmaker at calligan Park racing course and is the main celebrity. Rockhampton Zoo is located between the Botanic Gardens and Murray Lagoon. Animals and birds include
koala The koala or, inaccurately, koala bear (''Phascolarctos cinereus''), is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It is the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae and its closest living relatives are the womb ...
s,
chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...
s,
saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been listed ...
s, freshwater crocodiles, red kangaroos and the rare
cassowary Cassowaries ( tpi, muruk, id, kasuari) are flightless birds of the genus ''Casuarius'' in the order Casuariiformes. They are classified as ratites (flightless birds without a keel on their sternum bones) and are native to the tropical forest ...
. A second public garden, the
Kershaw Gardens Kershaw Gardens is a 50 hectare area of parkland situated on an old landfill site in the Rockhampton suburb of Park Avenue, Queensland.Bruce Highway in North Rockhampton, these gardens specialise in Australian native plants, especially those of Central Queensland. The most striking feature of the gardens is the imitation waterfall constructed on the northern boundary of the site (adjacent to the highway), which aims to recreate a scene from the Blackdown Tableland. The Dreamtime Cultural Centre is Australia's largest Cultural Centre and is set on more than 12 hectares of land, with native plants, trees and waterfalls. The major points of interest at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre include the
Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders () are the Indigenous Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal people of the rest of Australia, they are often grouped ...
village,
didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...
playing, Djarn Djarn dancers, and throwing the returning boomerang. Black flying foxes and occasionally Grey-headed flying foxes can be seen and heard at night and are important native pollinators and seed dispersers of over 100 species of trees. The Archer Park Steam Tram Museum covers the development and history of rail-based transportation in the major central Queensland town of Rockhampton and is set in the 100-year-old Archer Park rail station on Denison Street on the city's southside. The museum tells the story of Archer Park Station (built in 1899) and the unique Purrey Steam Tram, through photographs, soundscapes and object-based exhibitions. Rising out of Rockhampton's north-eastern suburbs, Mount Archer National Park provides views of the city, and showcases a range of native Australian flora and fauna. Frazer Park, at the summit of Mount Archer, is approximately 604 metres above sea level. A short drive north of Rockhampton is the
Capricorn Caves Capricorn Caves are located north of Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. The limestone caves are one of the largest privately owned cave systems in Australia. History It was first discovered in 1881 by Norwegian migrant John Olsen. He went on ...
.


Health

The
Rockhampton Base Hospital Rockhampton Hospital is the largest major hospital in Central Queensland, Australia. Operated by Queensland Health as a public hospital, the hospital offers a wide range of medical services to a population of about 230,000 throughout the Rockhamp ...
is situated in the suburb of The Range, and is located around from Rockhampton CBD, and is the major hospital for the Central Queensland Region. The smaller Hillcrest and Mater private hospitals are located nearby. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service is located at the rear of the Base Hospital on Quarry Street. Rockhampton is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Capricorn Helicopter Rescue Service which operates clinics and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the region.


Facilities

The Rockhampton Regional Council operates the Rockhampton Regional Library Administration and History Centre in Rockhampton on the corner of William & Alma Streets. Branch libraries are located in
Berserker In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word '' berserk'' (meaning "furiously violent or out of control"). Berserkers ...
("Rockhampton North"),
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
, Mount Morgan and
West Rockhampton West Rockhampton is a suburb of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , West Rockhampton had a population of 1,825 people. Geography West Rockhampton is situated by road west of the Rockhampton central busine ...
("Anytime" at
Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Me ...
).


Education

The first school, The
Rockhampton National School The Rockhampton National School was a school in Rockhampton, Queensland. On February 15, 1859, there was a meeting of those appointed as the Rockhampton School and Church committee, over which the Sub-Collector of Customs, Henry Lumsden, presi ...
was opened in 1859. Rockhampton is a major education centre for the region and has numerous state and private primary and high schools. CQUniversity Australia was founded in Rockhampton in 1967, however the university now has more than 30,000 students spread across 24 campuses and locations Australia-wide. The university has a focus on engagement, social innovation and engaged research, as well inclusivity and has a history as a leading provider of distance education. The university was recognised within the top 600 universities in the world by the ''
Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' (often referred to as the THE Rankings) is an annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' (THE) magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli ...
'', and was named among the top 150 universities, under 50, by the ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'' in 2016. The university currently delivers more than 300 education and training offerings, from short courses and certificates, through to undergraduate, postgraduate and research degrees. Secondary schools in Rockhampton include
Rockhampton State High School Rockhampton State High School is a coeducational public secondary school located in Wandal, a suburb of Rockhampton in Queensland, Australia. The school has a total enrolment of more than 1000 students, with an official count of 1119 students ...
, North Rockhampton State High School,
Rockhampton Grammar School , motto_translation=Grow in character and scholarship , established = 1881 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Co-educational , head = Dr Phillip Moulds , city = Rockhampton , state = Queensland , c ...
,
Rockhampton Girls Grammar School Rockhampton Girls Grammar School is a heritage-listed private school at 155 Agnes Street, The Range, Queensland, The Range, Rockhampton, Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Edwin Morton Hockings and built in 1890 by Mo ...
,
The Cathedral College, Rockhampton The Cathedral College is an independent Catholic systemic secondary day and boarding school for boys and girls, located in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It was founded in 1991 as a Catholic co-educational college for students in Year 8 to ...
, Emmaus College and
Heights College The Heights or Heights may refer to: * height Places *Brooklyn Heights, a historic neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, west and south of the Brooklyn Bridge, known locally as "The Heights" * Cambrian Heights, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Albe ...
.


Media


Newspapers

Rockhampton has had a number of newspapers published in the city since European settlement. ''
The Morning Bulletin ''The Morning Bulletin'' is an online newspaper servicing the city of Rockhampton and the surrounding areas of Central Queensland, Australia. From 1861 to 2020, ''The Morning Bulletin'' was published as a print edition, before then becoming an ...
'' is the only surviving daily newspaper, first published in 1861 as the ''Rockhampton Bulletin and Central Queensland Advertiser''. The title was changed to the ''Rockhampton Bulletin'' in 1871 before finally becoming ''The Morning Bulletin'' in 1878. ''The Morning Bulletin'' is a member of the Australian Regional Media network of newspapers, now owned by News Corporation. ''The Morning Bulletin'' has also previously complimented their main daily newspaper with a free home-delivered community newspaper, with previous incarnations including titles such as the ''Capricorn Local News'', ''Rockhampton and Fitzroy News'' and ''The Rocky Mirror''. In 2012, a new Rockhampton newspaper called '' The Queensland Telegraph'' was launched by Queensland Media Holdings. However, after publishing the newspaper for about a year, the newspaper's management announced on 17 July 2013 that the local newspaper office had closed. ''
The Central Queensland Herald ''The Central Queensland Herald'' was a newspaper published in Rockhampton, Queensland from 1930 to 1956; it was created with the merger of '' The Artesian'' and ''The Capricornian''. History ''The Central Queensland Herald'' was published fr ...
'' was a Rockhampton newspaper which was published from 1930 until 1956. '' The Capricornian'' was a Rockhampton newspaper which was published from 1875 until 1929. In 1929, ''The Capricornian'' merged with ''The Artesian'' to become ''The Central Queensland Herald''. ''The Artesian'' was a Rockhampton newspaper which was published from 1919 until 1929. In 1929, ''The Artesian'' merged with ''The Capricornian'' to become ''The Central Queensland Herald''. '' The Evening News'' was a Rockhampton newspaper published from 1922 until 1941. ''The Daily Northern Argus'' (originally ''The Northern Argus'') was a Rockhampton newspaper published from 1863 until 1896. In 1897 the newspaper merged with ''The Record'' and was published as ''The Daily Record'' until 1922. Established in 2006, industrial magazine publication ''Shift Miner'' is also produced in Rockhampton with its head office located in the Rockhampton CBD.


Radio

Rockhampton is serviced by a number of commercial, community and ABC stations
4RO 4RO is an AM radio station broadcasting to Central Queensland from Rockhampton, Queensland on 990 kHz. History The station was launched on 2 July 1932 and was the second station in Rockhampton - the first being 4RK, now ABC Capricornia. The op ...
is Rockhampton's local AM station, owned by Grant Broadcasters. 4RO broadcasts local breakfast and morning programs from its local studios each weekday with all other programming sourced from elsewhere. The music played on 4RO is of the classic hits genre. 4RO broadcasts a local news service in the morning, although the bulletins are prepared and read by journalists based at Grant's Sunshine Coast hub, especially for 4RO and its sister station, 4CC. 4CC also owned by Grant Broadcasters, is an AM commercial station servicing Rockhampton on a local AM frequency, although its local breakfast show is presented from a studio in
Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...
. 4CC has a classic hits format and also relies heavily on programming sourced from elsewhere.
Triple M Central Queensland Central Queensland's Triple M is a commercial radio station broadcasting from Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It is currently owned by Southern Cross Austereo and broadcasts an Adult Contemporary (AC) format. It features both locally produ ...
is Rockhampton's local commercial FM station owned by Southern Cross Austereo. The station was previously branded as Sea FM. Triple M broadcasts local programs from its Rockhampton studios each weekday morning, before taking networked programming sourced from Gold FM on the Gold Coast and other Triple M stations. Triple M in Rockhampton also produces a local news service with a journalist based at the station, compiling and recording local news bulletins for Triple M and sister station Hit Central Queensland. As part of the Triple M network, the station also broadcasts sports coverage such as ''Triple M Rocks NRL'' and ''Triple M Rocks Test Cricket''.
Hit Central Queensland hit Central Queensland is a radio station in Central Queensland part of the Hit Network. The station is owned by Southern Cross Austereo. History In the late 1990s, DMG Regional Radio successfully bid for an FM broadcasting license for a radi ...
, also owned by Southern Cross Austereo, is a commercial FM station servicing Rockhampton on a local FM frequency, although its local breakfast show is broadcast from a studio in Gladstone. The station was previously branded as Hot FM and is skewed towards the younger listeners with a Top 40/pop music format. Following the local breakfast show, the station takes generic Hit Network programming sourced from Southern Cross Austereo's hub at Sea FM on the Gold Coast or nationally networked programs from metropoliton Hit Network stations such as
2Day FM 2Day FM (call sign 2DAY) is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and is part of Southern Cross Austereo's Hit Network. History 1980s 2Day FM was one of three radio st ...
or Fox FM.
ABC Capricornia 4RK, better known as ABC Capricornia is one of the ABC's original regional radio stations, predating the corporation's inception on 1 July 1932. 4RK, as it was known at the time, began broadcasting on 29 July 1931 and was owned by the Australi ...
, originally known as 4RK, is the local ABC station in Rockhampton, servicing the entire Central Queensland region. It broadcasts a local breakfast show and a local morning show each weekday. Friday's local morning show is also broadcast to other stations on the
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
network enabling listeners from outside of the local listening area to call into the popular gardening talk back program. ABC Capricornia also has a local news service, produced by local journalists. The station also airs a local Saturday breakfast show, which is followed by a local Saturday morning sports program. Apart from local programming, ABC Capricornia takes national programs like '' AM'', ''Conversations'', '' The World Today'', '' PM'', '' Nightlife'', ''
Grandstand A grandstand is a normally permanent structure for seating spectators. This includes both auto racing and horse racing. The grandstand is in essence like a single section of a stadium, but differs from a stadium in that it does not wrap a ...
'', '' Saturday Night Country'' and ''Australia All Over'' along with a mid-afternoon program, a drive program, an evening show and a weekend morning program syndicated from Brisbane. Other national ABC services that are available in Rockhampton on separate FM frequencies include
Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...
, RN,
ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. ...
and ABC NewsRadio. 4YOU is the local community station, broadcasting local programs from their Rockhampton studio, presented by a number of volunteers. The station is skewed towards the older demographic and plays a lot of easy listening and country music. All programs are locally produced apart from the regular Sunday evening programs the station takes from the national community radio network.
4US 4US is an Australian community radio station located in Rockhampton, Queensland. The station is managed by the Central Queensland Aboriginal Corporation for Media and broadcasts programming specifically aimed at Central Queensland's Aboriginal co ...
is the local indigenous community station, broadcasting from a studio at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton servicing the local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population featuring traditional music and focusing on indigenous issues and event within its programming content.
KIX Country Kix or KIX may refer to: Music * Kix Brooks (born 1955), member of the country music duo Brooks & Dunn * Kix (band), American band who achieved popularity in the 1980s ** ''Kix'' (album), 1981 debut album by Kix * "Kix" (song), a 1997 song rele ...
is a national narrowcast FM broadcasting service provided by Grant Broadcasters, available in Rockhampton. Kix solely broadcasts country music-themed programming, which includes programs which originate from studios in Bundaberg complemented by some nationally syndicated programming. While Kix transmits on a narrowcast licence, the station is allowed to broadcast commercials. Other narrowcast radio services available in Rockhampton include racing station,
Radio TAB RadioTAB is a radio station primarily covering horse and greyhound racing in Australia and internationally, operated by Tabcorp, which operates the Totalisator Agency Boards based in Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and Northern Territory ...
(formerly 4TAB),
Vision Radio Network Vision Christian Radio is an Australian narrowcast radio station owned and operated by Vision Christian Media, an affiliate of United Christian Broadcasters. It broadcasts a Christian radio format of music and talk from studios in the Brisban ...
and Radio FM 88 (Tourist Information).


Television

Rockhampton is served by three commercial stations and two public broadcasters. * Seven Queensland *
Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...
10 * WIN Television Queensland * ABC TV * SBS TV Each broadcasts television services in digital formats. SBS offers digital high-definition simulcasts of their main channel, SBS ONE on
SBS HD SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowest ...
. There are also ten other main channels available: ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24, SBS Two,
One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
,
Eleven Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...
, 7Two,
7mate 7mate is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel, which was launched by the Seven Network on 25 September 2010. The channel contains sport and regular programs aimed primarily to a male audience, with programming drawn from a c ...
, 9Gem and 9Go!. Austar Limited provides subscription satellite television services. All three main commercial networks produce local news coverage - Seven Queensland and WIN Television both air 30-minute local news bulletins at 6pm each weeknight, produced from newsrooms in the city but broadcast from studios in Maroochydore and
Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...
respectively. Southern Cross 10 airs local news updates during the day from its studios in Hobart. There is also a small television facility at the ABC studios in Rockhampton with a journalist and camera operator employed locally to produce stories for ABC News and programs such as ''
7.30 ''7.30'' is an Australian nightly television current affairs program which broadcasts on ABC and ABC News at on Monday to Thursday nights. The program is currently hosted by Sarah Ferguson. History The program first aired on 7 March 2011, re ...
'' and ''
Landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...
''. The journalist can also be required to do live crosses for ABC News 24. The ABC had also previously produced a nightly local TV news bulletin for Rockhampton and Central Queensland but it was axed in 1985.


Infrastructure


Transport

Rockhampton is an important transport hub in the Central Queensland region. Rockhampton provides important transport links between the Central Highlands and Capricorn Coast regions and the areas to the north and south of the state.
Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Me ...
is essential to the viability of the tourism industry. The Rockhampton region is well serviced by the national and state highway systems, with the city being located at the main junction of the coastal highway, the Bruce Highway, the central western highway, the Capricorn Highway, and the Rockhampton Hinterland is serviced by the Burnett Highway. Driving time is seven and a half hours from
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
to Rockhampton. Rockhampton is also served by long-distance coaches to Brisbane in the south, and as far as Cairns in the north. Daily services operate into Rockhampton with
Greyhound Australia Greyhound Australia is an Australian coach operator that ran services in all mainland states and territories until reduction of services in the 2000s. It is owned by KordaMentha (85%) and the Chapman Group (15%). The company was established i ...
. The
Hinterland Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
and Central Highlands are also serviced daily by Rothery's Coaches, Pacific Coaches and Emerald Coaches. Bus services are operated by
Sunbus Rockhampton Sunbus Rockhampton previously Capricorn Sunbus was the principal bus operator in Rockhampton, Queensland operating services under the QConnect scheme in Regional Queensland. It was one of Sunbus' operations. As of 2022 Sunbus has changed its n ...
, which operates under the
QConnect ''qconnect'' was a network of integrated public passenger transport services that cover subsidised and/or regulated bus, coach and aviation networks in Regional Queensland, Australia. It was introduced by the Queensland Government in December ...
public transport system. Two bus interchanges are located in
Rockhampton City Rockhampton City is the central suburb of the city of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the . Rockhampton City had a population of 1,953 people. It is informally known as Rockhampton central business district (C ...
through which the majority of services operate. Service include most parts of the city, Parkhurst in the north to Allenstown and Depot Hill in the south and to The Range and Lakes Creek in the west Rockhampton has one major taxi company, Yellow Cabs, who service the
City of Rockhampton The City of Rockhampton was a local government area in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing most of the suburban area of the regional city of Rockhampton. The city covered an area of , and existed as a local gove ...
,
Gracemere Gracemere is a rural town and locality in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Gracemere had a population of 11,315 people. Geography Gracemere is approximately west of the city of Rockhampton. Because of ...
, and also some services in
Yeppoon Yeppoon is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of the ...
and
Emu Park Emu Park is a coastal town and locality on the Capricorn Coast located south of Yeppoon in Queensland, Australia. It is within the local government area of Shire of Livingstone (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Rockhampton Region). In ...
. Rockhampton railway station is located on the North Coast railway, and is the terminus of the electrified section of line from Brisbane with through diesel service continuing beyond; services are provided by Queensland Rail. Denison St, Rockhampton is one of the few places where the main line runs down the middle of the street. An Electric Tilt Train services connects it to Brisbane, and the Diesel Tilt Train services the station en route to Cairns.
Rockhampton Airport Rockhampton Airport (''Connor Park'') is a major Australian regional airport in West Rockhampton that services the city of Rockhampton, with direct flights to the cities of Brisbane, and Mackay. Flights have previously operated to Sydney and Me ...
is operated by Rockhampton Regional Council and is located (3.7 mi) west of
Rockhampton City Rockhampton City is the central suburb of the city of Rockhampton in the Rockhampton Region, Queensland, Australia. In the . Rockhampton City had a population of 1,953 people. It is informally known as Rockhampton central business district (C ...
. It is Australia's twelfth busiest domestic airport. The airport handles flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional destinations throughout Central Queensland. It is an important base for general aviation serving the Central Highlands and
Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...
communities. The airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Rescue Helicopter.


Road train access to Rockhampton

The project for upgrading between Gracemere saleyards and the Rockhampton abattoirs to provide access for Type 1 Road Trains was completed by early 2021 at a total cost of $30 million. It involved about of road improvements on four roads: * Capricorn Highway - from Saleyards Road at Gracemere to the Bruce Highway roundabout at Rochhampton (). * Bruce Highway - from the Capricorn Highway roundabout to the Yaamba Road intersection (). * Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road - from the Bruce Highway intersection south-west to the Emu Park Road intersection (. * Rockhampton-Emu Park Road - from the Rockhampton-Yeppoon Road intersection to St Christophers Chapel Road at ().


Water

The catchment area of the Fitzroy River is approximately 145,000 square kilometres (almost the size of England). It contains six major rivers, and Rockhampton and Central Queensland accordingly enjoy abundant good water. The existing and future dams under construction ensure on-going needs for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes are met. The Fitzroy River Barrage at Rockhampton separates tidal salt water from upstream fresh water, and provides the supply for Rockhampton's domestic and industrial needs.


Power

Central Queensland's major generating facilities, including the
Stanwell Stanwell is a village close to two of the three main towns in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, about west of central London. A small corner of its land is vital industrial land serving Heathrow Airport – most of the rest is residential ...
, Gladstone and Callide power stations, produce the majority of the State's power. Queensland's newest and most technologically advanced powerhouse at Stanwell, west of the city, came on line in 1993. The Stanwell facility is a key element in the State's program to expand electricity supply and is a major exporter of power station technology.Rockhampton Power Infrastructure
''Rockhampton Regional Council'' – Accessed 23 June 2008


Sister city

*
Ibusuki is a city located in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, founded on April 1, 1954. In March 1, 2012, the city had an estimated population of 43,931, with 19,119 households and a population density of 294.82 persons per km2. However the census of 2020 con ...
, Japan (since 20 November 1980)


See also

* List of people from Rockhampton *
Capricorn Coast The Capricorn Coast is a stretch of coastline in Central Queensland, Australia and is part of the Shire of Livingstone (formerly part of Rockhampton Region). Geography The Capricorn Coasts takes its name from Cape Capricorn () on Curtis Is ...


References


Further reading

* McDonald L. (1981) Rockhampton: A History of City and District. University of Queensland Press, St Lucia, Qld. * Bird JTS. (1904) The Early History of Rockhampton. The Morning Bulletin, Rockhampton, Qld. *


External links

* * * {{Authority control 1858 establishments in Australia Populated places established in 1858 Port cities in Queensland Rockhampton Region