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 population to be 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.

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.

Like many other Australian cities, Rockhampton's fortunes were assured with the discovery of gold, in this case at Canoona to the north. Later, the significant gold deposit at Mount Morgan to the southwest was discovered, and Rockhampton became a service town for the local area. The early tents and shanties were slowly replaced by more substantial buildings. 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.

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 mega litres 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 of the Gracemere and smaller surrounding towns), and the fourth areas was the Shire of Mount Morgan, (comprising of the town of Mount Morgan.)

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

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. 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

Information courtesy of Wikipedia

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 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 Denham Street. 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 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.

Climate

Rockhampton experiences a humid subtropical climate. 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 two most recent major floods occurred in January and March 2008. The highest recorded official temperature in Rockhampton was 45.3 degrees Celsius.

Rockhampton is home to 7 shopping centres, all of which include national major tenants and retail outlets:

• Allenstown Plaza
• City Centre Plaza
• East Street Mall
• Farm Street Marketplace
• Northside Plaza
• Red Hill Homemaker Centre
• Stockland Rockhampton (Recently joined with Kmart Plaza)

Attractions

The Rockhampton Art Gallery collection, also owned by the Rockhampton Regional Council, situated next to the Pilbeam Theatre 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 specialize in Australian native plants, especially those of Central Queensland. Their most striking feature 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 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 south side. 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 which features Time After Time clock collection, History of the Rockhampton District, Life before electricity, Hospital exhibition and a Vintage car collection.