Rockhampton

Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately 40 km from the river mouth, and some 600 km north of the state capital, Brisbane.

The 2006 census recorded the Rockhampton Statistical Subdivision to have a population of 74,530 people. Rockhampton hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the central part of the state.

Rockhampton experiences over 300 days of sunshine each year, which lends itself to tourism activities all year round and an abundance of outdoor activities. Popular attractions include Riverbank Parklands, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Fitzroy River; the Capricorn Coast, the coastal strip between Yeppoon and Emu Park and Great Keppel Island, a large neighbouring island off the Capricorn Coast, the vast majority of which is national park.

History
The Rockhampton district is the traditional home of the Darumbal Aboriginal people.

The European history of the area began in 1853, when the area that would become Rockhampton was visited by the Archer brothers Charles and William, who were seeking grazing lands. They were acting on information from earlier expeditions by Ludwig Leichhardt 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 and Leichhardt (roughly today's Fitzroy Region), and settlement began in earnest in 1855.

The Fitzroy River provided a convenient waterway for shipping of supplies for those who followed them, and a settlement grew on the riverbanks just downstream of a bar of rocks which prevented further upstream navigation from the coast. These rocks were incorporated with the traditional English term for a village, and the name "Rockhampton" was born around 1856, though was not proclaimed officially until 25 October 1858. The town was surveyd at this time and the first sales of building allotments were held that year.

Small amounts of gold were found at Canoona, to the north of the site of Rockhampton, in 1859. 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 infant town's population. 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. During the 1860s and 1870s Rockhampton developed as the main port for the developing Central Queensland hinterland; the main export at that time being wool.

In the 1880s and 1890s, 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, the railway to Broadmount opening on 1 January 1898 and the line to Port Alma opened 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 nineteenth century buildings include the Post Office (1892), the Supreme Court House (1888), and St Joseph's Cathedral (1892).

The City of Rockhampton was proclaimed in 1902. The rail connection south to Brisbane 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, 700 kilometres 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 10 kilometres 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.

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 Ocean and New Guinea.

The Fitzroy River Barrage was commissioned in 1971. The barrage has a capacity of 81,300 megalitres and holds back a lake 60 kilometres long. The barrage was funded by the City Council to provide a reliable source of water to the city, and to effectively drought proof Rockhampton.

In 2003, Rockhampton was the centre of significant national media interest after local teenager Natasha Ryan was found in her boyfriend, Scott Black's North Rockhampton home after being missing for five years. Ryan had been presumed to be murdered.

Governance
Rockhampton is governed by the Rockhampton Regional Council. The Council consists of a mayor and ten councillors. The Mayor is elected by the public, and the Councillors are elected from ten single-member divisions (or wards) using an optional preferential voting system. Elections are held every four years. Brad Carter is the current mayor, having won the mayoral election in March 2008, for his first term.

The Rockhampton Regional Council local government area consists of four former local government areas. The first was the original City of Rockhampton, consisting of the Rockhampton City region as listed above. The second was the Shire of Livingstone (comprising of the Capricorn Coast and Byfield). The third area was the Shire of Fitzroy, (comprising Gracemere and smaller surrounding towns), and the fourth area was the Shire of Mount Morgan, (comprising the town of Mount Morgan.)

Before the time of the 2008 amalgamation, Rockhampton City had a population of approximately 74,530, Livingstone Shire approximately 28,266, Fitzroy Shire approximately 11,357, and Mount Morgan Shire approximately 2,925 people.

Geography


Rockhampton lies just north of the Tropic of Capricorn in Central Queensland. A sculpture originally marking the latitude 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 500 km 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 40 kilometres from the river mouth. The Berserker Range lies on the eastern side of the city, with the Athelstane Range to the west, leaving the city in what many refer to as a hole. The coastal area to the east of the city is known as the Capricorn Coast, with the rapidly growing town of Yeppoon its major centre.

Suburbs
Rockhampton is made up of a number of suburbs or neighbourhoods, including:


 * Allenstown
 * Berserker
 * Depot Hill
 * Fairy Bower
 * Frenchville
 * Greenlake
 * Ironpot
 * Kalka
 * Kawana
 * Koongal
 * Lakes Creek
 * Limestone Creek
 * Mount Archer
 * Norman Gardens
 * Nerimbera
 * Oasis Gardens
 * Park Avenue
 * Parkhurst
 * Port Curtis
 * Rockhampton City
 * Rocky View
 * The Common
 * The Range
 * Wandal
 * West Rockhampton

Economy
Grazing is still a dominant industry in Central Queensland. Two large abattoirs are located in the Rockhampton area. Due to a long term drought and general economic conditions, one of these facilities has experienced a number of closures over the years and was closed from 2002 until 2004, but has now reopened. The Gracemere Saleyards, 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

Queensland Rail 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. Enormous coal trains regularly pass from the west to the coal port of Gladstone to the south. The coal fired 1440 megawatt Stanwell Power Station lies 30 kilometers west.

Tourism is increasingly playing a role in the 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. The Capricorn Coast is a 30 minute drive from Rockhampton, with the islands of the Keppel group easily accessible from there.

To the north of the city lies the extensive Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area, where large scale ground, air and amphibious operations can be conducted. A detachment office of the Singapore Armed Forces has been based in Rockhampton since 1995.

Retailers
Rockhampton has many large retailers, including a Coles, Woolworths, Big W, Target, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Kmart, Mitre 10 Home & Trade, Bunnings, IGA.

Culture, events and festivals
The Rockhampton region has many renowned festivals, celebrating some of the various international cultures that call the region home. The annual Multicultural Festival (held at the Heritage Village) and CQU Open Day held at the CQUniversity, showcases hundreds of market stalls and displays, international foods, music and cultures are popular with the locals and tourists alike.

The Annual "Big River Jazz" is a three day program showcasing a variety of jazz bands from the 12–14 September.

The city also has a vibrant pub and night-club scene, many of them located in the city precinct, bordered by East, Archer, William and Quay Streets. Local and national music groups can often be found performing live in these venues. The East and Denham Streets streetscape was renewed in 2002 and now caters for sidewalk dining at many new cafes located in the street.

The Pilbeam Theatre, seating 1200 people, and is host to many national and international music & comedy shows, as well as sporting and trade shows. Since its opening in 1978, the Theatre has been a centre of entertainment and performing arts, providing an environment to further develop the performing arts in Rockhampton and the region.

Rockhampton Events Information, can be found on this site: Rockhampton Events on e-Rockhampton.com.au.

Climate


Rockhampton experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa/Cwa). The city is situated on the Tropic of Capricorn and lies within the southeast trade wind belt, too far south to experience regular north west monsoonal influence, and too far north to gain much benefit from higher latitude cold fronts. Typical daytime temperature ranges are 32 max 22 min in the summer /wet season and 23 max 9 min in the winter/dry season.

Rockhampton lies within the cyclone risk zone and the area is subject to summer thunderstorms. There is a high incidence of winter and early spring fogs. Maximum temperatures in the low to mid 40's have been recorded in October to March. The Fitzroy River 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 10.11 metres on the Rockhampton gauge. The most recent major flood occurred in December 2010/January 2011. The highest recorded official temperature in Rockhampton was 45.3 degrees Celsius.

Attractions
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. Plans have been released to redevelop the downtown art gallery into a shopping haven with a new fully glass-walled 2-storey art gallery, a new 16-storey hotel and a 16-storey apartment/office block right behind it. The Pilbeam Theatre will not be affected by the construction. Established in 1869, the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens 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.

Rockhampton Zoo is located between the Botanic Gardens and Murray Lagoon. Animals and birds include Koalas, Chimpanzees, Saltwater Crocodiles, Freshwater Crocodiles, Red Kangaroos and the rare Cassowary.

A second public garden, the Kershaw Gardens, was officially opened in 1988 on the site of the former Rockhampton rubbish dump. Located on the 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 village, Didgeridoo playing, Djarn Djarn dancers, and throwing the returning boomerang.

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.

The tram is believed to be the only one of its kind in the world, and is a wonderful relic of Rockhampton's tram history dating back to 1909.

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.

The Rockhampton Heritage Village is an active township museum, where visitors can experience Rockhampton's rich and colourful history. The Heritage Village features the Time After Time clock collection, and the History of the Rockhampton District, Life before electricity, and Hospital exhibitions and a Vintage car collection.

Health
The Rockhampton Hospital, Rockhampton is situated in the suburb of The Range, and is located around 4km from Rockhampton City, 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 across from the Base Hospital on Canning Street.

Rockhampton is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Rescue Helicopter which operates clinics and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the region.

Shopping
Rockhampton is home to 7 shopping centres, all of which include national major tenants and retail outlets. All shopping centres have 7 day trading as of January 2010:
 * Allenstown Plaza
 * City Centre Plaza
 * East Street Mall
 * Farm Street Marketplace
 * Northside Plaza
 * Red Hill Homemaker Centre
 * Stockland Rockhampton (Recently joined with Kmart Plaza)

Education
The first school, The Rockhampton National School was opened in 1859. Rockhampton is a major education centre for the region and has numerous state and private primary and high schools.

Primary/Prep

 * Glenmore State School
 * Frenchville State School
 * Crescent Lagoon State School
 * Park Avenue State School
 * Lakes Creek State School
 * The Hall State School
 * The Caves State School
 * Parkhurst State School
 * Allenstown State School
 * Berserker Street State School
 * Depot Hill State School
 * Heights College Rockhampton
 * Rockhampton Grammar School
 * Rockhampton Girls Grammar School
 * Lighthouse Christian School

Secondary

 * Glenmore State High School
 * Rockhampton State High School
 * North Rockhampton State High School
 * Rockhampton Grammar School
 * Rockhampton Girls Grammar School
 * The Cathedral College Rockhampton
 * Heights College Rockhampton
 * Emmaus College

Tertiary

 * CQUniversity
 * Central Queensland TAFE

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 is essential to the viability of the tourism industry.

The Rockhampton region is well serviced by the National and State highway system, 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 to Rockhampton, Central Queensland's Tourism Hub.

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 Pioneer Australia. The Hinterland and Central Highlands are also serviced daily by Rothery's Coaches, Pacific Coaches and Emerald Coaches.

An extensive bus services are operated by Capricorn Sunbus, which operates under the QConnect public transport system. Two bus interchanges are located in Rockhampton City 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, Rocky Cabs who service the City of Rockhampton, Gracemere, and also some services in Yeppoon and Emu Park.

Rockhampton is located on the North Coast railway, and is the terminus of the electrified section of line from Brisbane. The line north of Rockhampton station runs along the middle of Denison Street. The Electric Tilt Train service travels from Brisbane to Rockhampton six days per week, with Rockhampton also a stop on the Diesel Tilt Train service to Cairns.

Rockhampton Airport is operated by Rockhampton Regional Council and is located 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Rockhampton City. 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 commununities. The Airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Rescue Helicopter.

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. Rockhampton cities tap water is also treated with fluoride.

Power
Central Queensland's major generating facilities, including the Stanwell, Gladstone and Callide power stations, produce the majority of the State's power. Queensland's newest and most technologically advanced powerhouse at Stanwell, 28 km 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.

Media
Rockhampton has a number of newspapers.


 * The Morning Bulletin
 * CQ Extra
 * Rockhampton and Fitzroy News
 * Under the Capricorn Sun
 * Central Queensland News

Radio
Rockhampton is serviced by a number of commercial, community and ABC stations

4RO is the main local commercial AM station, owned by Prime Radio. 4RO broadcasts a local talk back breakfast program each weekday but it is the only locally produced program on the station with all other programming syndicated from stations elsewhere. A large proportion of 4RO's programming is talk back such as the Greg Carey Show, The Best of Alan Jones, The Stuart Bocking Night Show and New Day Australia. 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 Prime's Sunshine Coast hub, especially for 4RO and its sister station Zinc927.

Zinc927 (previously known as 4CC) also owned by Prime Radio, is the other AM commercial station servicing Rockhampton on a local AM frequency, although its local breakfast show is presented from the Zinc studio in Gladstone. Zinc has a classic rock format and also relies heavily on networked programming from their Sunshine Coast studios.

Sea FM, owned by Southern Cross Media, is a popular commercial FM station broadcasting from their Rockhampton studios during the day, and then taking the networked Localworks programming at night from the Gold Coast such as The School Of Rock, Talking Back The Night, The Best Mix Overnight, The PartyMix and The Sunday Barbie originating out of Gold FM on the Gold Coast. Sea Fm also produces a local news service with a journalist based in Rockhampton reading bulletins for them and for their sister station Hot FM.

Hot FM, also owned by Southern Cross Media, is also a popular commercial FM station. While it services Rockhampton on a local FM frequency, its breakfast show is broadcast from their Gladstone studio. Hot FM is skewed towards the younger listeners with a Top 40/pop music format. Following the local breakfast show, the station takes the Hit Music Network programming such as JK's workday, The Benchwarmers and The Hit List originating out of Sea FM on the Gold Coast.

ABC Capricornia, originally known as 4RK, is the local ABC station servicing Rockhampton. It broadcasts a local breakfast show and a local morning show. The station also broadcasts an afternoon show which is locally produced, but broadcast throughout the ABC Local Radio network across regional Queensland. The final hour of each Friday's local morning show is also broadcast around the network to enable ABC Local Radio listeners across the state to call in to the popular gardening talk back program. The station also has a local news service, produced by local journalists, broadcasting local bulletins five times a day. There is also 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, The Conversation Hour, The World Today, PM, Nightlife, Grandstand, and Saturday Night Country along with a regional drive program from Toowoomba, and an evening show from Brisbane.

Other ABC stations that service Rockhampton include Triple J, Radio National, ABC Classic FM and ABC News Radio. These stations are all broadcast on separate FM frequencies.

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 is the local indigenous community station, broadcasting from a studio at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton servicing the local Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander population featuring traditional music and focusing on indigenous issues and event within its programming content.

Kix is a narrowcast broadcasting service originating out of the 4BU/Hitz FM studios in Bundaberg. While Kix transmits on a narrowcast license, the station is allowed to broadcast commercials. The station has a lively country music format and its programs are all produced in Bundaberg although the station has an ever growing network of transmitters, now broadcasting in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia.

Other narrowcast radio services broadcasting in Rockhampton include racing station, Radio TAB (formerly 4TAB), Vision FM (Christian radio) and Radio 88 (Tourist Information).



Television
Rockhampton is serviced by four commercial stations and one non-commercial station.


 * Seven Queensland
 * Southern Cross Ten
 * WIN Television
 * ABC TV (ABC 1)
 * SBS TV (SBS ONE)

Each broadcasts television services in both analogue and digital formats, with analogue transmissions to be deactivated in the second half of 2011.

SBS offers digital high-definition simulcasts of their main channel, SBS ONE on SBS HD. Ten digital-only channels are also available: ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24, SBS Two, One HD, Eleven, 7Two, 7mate, GEM and GO!. Austar Limited provides subscription satellite television services.

Rockhampton has two main local news bulletins. Seven Local News is presented by Rob Brough, Joanne Desmond, Nathan Spurling and Livio Regano from Seven Qld's Sunshine Coast studios and is screened every weeknight at 6:00pm on the Seven Network. WIN News, is presented by Paul Taylor, Dave McLenaghan and Peter Byrne and is screened every weeknight at 6:30pm on WIN Television, broadcast from the RTQ studios in North Rockhampton. On weekends, news is relayed from the Nine Network and the Seven Network in Brisbane.

Southern Cross Ten has a physical presence in Rockhampton, but local news programs do not exist on this channel. Instead, they carry news from Network Ten although Southern Cross Ten do screen local updates throughout the afternoon and evening, broadcast from their Canberra studio. The Southern Cross Ten updates do not contain any actual news footage.

There is also a small television facility at the ABC studios in Rockhampton with an ABC television journalist and camera operator employed locally to produce stories for ABC News and Stateline on ABC1. The journalist can also be required to do live crosses to ABC News 24.

Sports teams

 * Australian Football (AFL) - Rockhampton Panthers, Brothers Rockhampton in AFL Capricornia (total of 6 clubs)
 * Cricket - Senior - Frenchville Falcons, North's Tigers, Gracemere Bulls, Capricorn Coast, Brothers, Colts Junior - Frenchville Falcons, North's Tigers, Gracemere Bulls, Capricorn Coast, Brothers, Grammar, St Brendan's
 * Basketball - The Stadium Rockets (Men's); Rockhampton Cyclones (Women's)
 * Rugby League - Central Comets in the Queensland Cup
 * Rugby League - Central Queensland Capras
 * Rugby Union - Rockhampton Brahmans
 * Soccer - ''Capricorn Cougars

Notable residents or persons born in Rockhampton


Sister city

 * 🇯🇵 Ibusuki, Japan (since November 20, 1980)