Rowes Bay 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 ...

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

in the

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

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 , Rowes Bay had a population of 541 people.

Geography

Rowes Bay is located in a low-lying area adjacent to the Cleveland Bay beach. Its borders are determined by the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...

, Townsville Airport and Mundy Creek, and only a small portion of the suburb's area is taken up by housing. Neighbouring suburbs include Garbutt, West End and Belgian Gardens; however, Rowes Bay is relatively isolated from other suburbs due to its location surrounded by the Town Common. The Townsville Cemetery (also known as Belgian Gardens Cemetery) and a retirement village are located within the suburb.

History

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

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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

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

Academy (North Queensland campus) commenced training in October 1996.

Demographics

In the , Rowes Bay had a population of 539 people. In the , Rowes Bay had a population of 573 people. In the , Rowes Bay had a population of 541 people.

Education

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

Townsville State High School Townsville State High School, also colloquially known as Town High, is a secondary school in Railway Estate, Townsville (Queensland, Australia), an area administered by Townsville City Council. History Townsville State High School was e ...

in Railway Estate to the south-east.

Facilities

Cleveland Youth Detention Centre is for young people aged between 10 and 17 years who have been sentenced to detention or are being held on remand by the courts. It is on Old Comons Road (). Despite the name, Belgian Gardens Cemetery is within Rowes Bay at 62 Evans Street, but access to the cemetery is via the suburb of Belgian Gardens (). It is managed by the Townsville City Council. The Townsville War Cemetery is within the Belgian Gardens cemetery (). It has 222 burials from World War II. The Office of Australian War Graves is within the cemetery (). The war cemetery is managed by the

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

Amenities

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

Attractions

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

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

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

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...

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

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

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

Gallery

Image:Rowes Bay Townsville Queensland.jpg, View from Castle Hill towards Pallarenda, showing the Rowes Bay caravan park. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-Pallarenda-20110526.jpg, Walking path and bikeway towards Pallarenda. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-MagneticIsland-20110526.jpg, Looking towards Magnetic Island. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-towards-channel-20110526.jpg, Looking towards Pallarenda. Image:Rowes Bay (5430057065).jpg, Post-cyclone beach near Heatleys Parade, on dusk. Looking towards Pallarenda. Image:Rowes Bay, Townsville - detail of public art.jpg, Detail of public art sculpture, Soroptimist Park, Townsville. Image:Soroptimist Park Mosaics - Public Art.JPG, Public art sculpture, Soroptimist Park, Townsville. Image:AU-Qld-Townsville-Rowes-Bay-QldPoliceAcademy-NQ-campus-20110526.jpg,

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

References

{{Suburbs of Townsville Suburbs of Townsville Bays of Queensland