Rockhampton

Rockhampton is a city and local government area in Queensland, Australia. The city lies on the Fitzroy River, approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the river mouth, and some 600 kilometres (370 mi) 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 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.

Quay Street, Rockhampton in 1912, taken from the Riverbank. The old Fitzroy River Bridge can be seen in the background.

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.

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.

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.