Koongal is a

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

in the

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

Queensland 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 , Koongal had a population of 4,252 people.

Geography

The suburb is located on a small section of the Fitzroy River. The

Rockhampton–Emu Park Road Rockhampton–Emu Park Road is a continuous road route in the Rockhampton and Livingstone local government areas of Queensland, Australia. The route is designated as State Route 4 (Regional) and Tourist Drive 10. It is a state-controlled re ...

runs through from south-west to south-east. Koongal railway station is an abandoned railway station on the former North Rockahampton to Emu Park railway ().

History

In January 1901,

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Joseph Higgins opened and dedicated a new Catholic church in Koongal. It was known as St Nicholas Catholic Church. It was enlarged in 1920 and was demolished in 1958 to make way for a new church building. On Sunday 17 May 1914,

George Halford dedicated the Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist. The church was in Harbourne Street (approx ) and operated until 1977. St Maria Goretti Catholic Church opened in 1958 at 192 Thozet Road (corner Dunbar Street, ). It closed on 19 February 2017. Mount Archer State School opened on 25 January 1982. In September 2000, Enid O'Toole Park was officially opened in Koongal, named in honour of a local Rockhampton woman who is credited with pioneering the roles of women in the banking sector as one of the first female bank managers in Queensland. Koongal was one of the worst affected Rockhampton suburbs during the 2009 bushfires in the

Mount Archer National Park Mount Archer National Park is a national park in Central Queensland, Australia, northwest of Brisbane. It makes up the backdrop to the city of Rockhampton which marks the start of Tropical Queensland. It comprises of open forests and woodland ...

in October 2009. A Koongal home in Poinciana Street was destroyed in the bushfire. After an archaeological investigation, the graves of famous Australian botanist

Anthelme Thozet Anthelme Thozet (25 May 1826 – 31 May 1878) was a French-Australian botanist and ethnographer. Early life He was born 25 May 1826 in Cheignieu-la-Balme, Chegnieu-la-Balme (Register of Contrevoz), and fled Calais for London (giving his profess ...

, his son Auguste Thozet and his daughter-in-law Lucy Thozet were discovered in Koongal in 2010. They were located in Norris Park on what was Thozet's sprawling "Muellerville" 70-acre experimental garden. In 2015, the Rockonia Road Store in Koongal sustained damage during

Cyclone Marcia Severe Tropical Cyclone Marcia was a powerful tropical cyclone that made landfall at its peak strength over central Queensland, near Shoalwater Bay on 20 February 2015. The cyclone went on to affect various areas including Yeppoon and Rockhampto ...

when its roof was torn off in the strong winds. The store was quickly repaired and promptly resumed trade.

Demographics

In the , Koongal had a population of 4,728 people. At the , Koongal had a population of 4.286 people. In the , Koongal had a population of 4,252 people.

Heritage listings

Koongal has a number of

heritage-listed This list is of heritage registers, inventories of cultural properties, natural and human-made, tangible and intangible, movable and immovable, that are deemed to be of sufficient heritage value to be separately identified and recorded. In ma ...

sites, including: * Lakes Creek Hotel, 431 Lakes Creek Road ()

Education

Despite the name, Mount Archer State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 242 Thozet Road in Koongal (). In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 650 students with 48 teachers (44 full-time equivalent) and 32 non-teaching staff (20 full-time equivalent). It includes a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

program. There are no secondary schools in Koongal. The nearest government secondary school is

North Rockhampton State High School North Rockhampton State High School is a co-educational State High School at Beserker Street, Frenchville, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. It currently has over 1000 students enrolled and over 80 teaching staff. North Rockhampton High Scho ...

in neighbouring Frenchville to the north-west.

References

{{Rockhampton Region Suburbs of Rockhampton