Keppel Sands is a coastal rural town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

Livingstone Shire 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 ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , the locality of Keppel Sands had a population of 374 people.

Geography

Keppel Sands is the southernmost town on 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 Island ...

. The town is located in the Livingstone Shire Council

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...

, north west of the state capital,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. Separated by Coorooman Creek from the larger towns of

Emu Park Emu Park is a coastal town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality on the Capricorn Coast located south of Yeppoon, Queensland, Yeppoon in Queensland, Australia. It is within the local government in Australia, local government area of ...

and

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 ...

to the north, Keppel Sands is a charming village-style township centred on fishing and holiday making. Facilities in Keppel Sands include a hotel, caravan park, motel, Australia Post outlet, local store, and two boat ramps. The Coast Guard are located at Pumpkin Creek at the southern edge of the town. Keppel Sands is home to many retirees and families and is also a popular location for fishing and

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

bing.

House Market

The House market in keppel sands is through the roof with very little options the local market start around $400,000 and ends at $1,500,000 **These prices are based on realestate.com 22/1/25

What To Do

explore many creeks and the beach, have a feed at the keppel sands hotel, go fishing in pumpkin or cooroman creek, go for a nice bush walk up Mary Daniels look out.

History

Originally known as Sandhills, the town takes its current name from

Keppel Bay Keppel Bay is a bay in Central Queensland, Australia, at the mouth of the Fitzroy River on the coast of the Coral Sea. Extent Keppel Bay extends from Station Point on Curtis Island () in the Gladstone Region to Zilzie Point at Zilzie () ...

, which in turn was named on 27 May 1770 by Lieutenant

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

, commander of

HMS Endeavour HMS ''Endeavour'' was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Tahiti, New Zealand and Australia on his First voyage of James Cook, first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. She was launched in 1764 as t ...

, after Admiral Augustus Keppel, the

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

. Keppel Sands has long been a popular beach to visit for people from Rockhampton and the surrounding area. Over the years beach huts and weekenders gradually gave way to the more permanent housing of today. Boarding houses were popular until the road improved and daytripping to the beach became possible. The Savoy Theatre was a place for both movies and dances. Mount Barlow Provisional School opened in 1903 and became Mount Barlow State School on 1 January 1909. It was renamed Sandhills State School about 1930 and then renamed Keppel Sands State School about 1938. Keppel Sands Post Office opened on 1 September 1927. Near to Keppel Sands is

Joskeleigh Joskeleigh is a coastal rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Joskeleigh had a population of 60 people. Geography The waters of the ''Coral Sea'' form the eastern boundary. History Joskel ...

which was home to a large

South Sea Islander South Sea Islanders, formerly referred to as Kanakas, are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands ...

community, imported as

indentured labour Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an "indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or serv ...

ers from various islands in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

and

Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...

. Between 2008 and 2013, Keppel Sands and the rest of

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 ...

was within the

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

Demographics

In the , the locality of Keppel Sands had a population of 332 people. In the , the locality of Keppel Sands had a population of 302 people. In the , the locality of Keppel Sands had a population of 360 people. In the , the locality of Keppel Sands had a population of 374 people.

Education

Keppel Sands State School is a government primary (Prep–6) school for boys and girls at 1325 Keppel Sands Road (). In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 27 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 28 students with 3 teachers and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent). There are no secondary schools in Keppel Sands. The nearest government secondary school is Yeppoon State High School in

to the north.

References

External links

* {{authority control Shire of Livingstone Capricorn Coast Towns in Queensland Localities in Queensland