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50 KM W of Mackay
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Belyando, Broadsound and Nebo Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Explorer Ludwig Leichhardt first explored parts of the region in 1845; followed by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1846. One of the first settlers to the region was Jeremiah Rolfe who established a station on Mistake Creek, west of Clermont in 1854. The region grew quickly following the discovery of gold near Clermont, which was proclaimed as a town in 1864. Copper was also found at the newly established town of Copperfield and was the location of Queensland’s first copper mine. However, the area experienced a downturn during the 1870s; partly due to the drought, the financial collapse in London, the discovery of richer goldfields and the decline in the quality of copper. It was the pastoral industries, coal mining at BlairAthol, timber collection and some gold mining which sustained the area into the present times.
Indigenous Tribes – Barna or Panabal, Wirin, Jangaa, Jambina, Wangan, Kalabarra, Koinjimaland Barada people
Industries – mining, beef and cattle, mining, sugar, aquaculture, goat farming and agriculture(wheat, sorghum, sunflower crops, cotton)
- Clermont – often called the “ Shifting Town” after it was moved to higher grounds in 1916 following the devastating impacts of a number of floods in the region over 40 years. Is the country’s biggest exporter of steaming coal.
- Moranbah – was a pastoral lease with parts of it sold off to the Utah Development Company in 1968 to form a town to house the employees of the Goonyella Coal Mine
- Dysart – where Ludwig Leichhardt noted coal. Its name comes from the Scottish town of the same name.
- St Lawrence – originally established as a port to ship out cattle grazed in the land. The existence of St Lawrence was based on it being a half way point between Mackay and Rockhampton.
1061 KM N of Brisbane
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Mackay City Council and the Mirani Shire and Sarina Shire Councils)
History – Captain JamesCook was the first European to explore the Mackay region from the coastline; naming Cape Palmerston, Point Slade and Cape Hillsborough. However, the city’s first settler was John Mackay who had assembled a party of eight people to travel up to the region from Armidale in New South Wales. John Mackay founded Greenmount station in 1862 and was responsible for Mackay becoming a port of entry after he surveyed the Mackay River. Further settlement to the area saw the development of sugar as the area’s main crop, which has continued on to the present day. Mackay now produces one third of the country’s total sugar output and is the Sugar Capital of Australia.
Indigenous Tribes – Wiri, Koinjma, Yuibera, Barada and Birri peoples
Industries – Sugar, tourism, fishing, mining, dairy, horticulture, goat farming, fruit processing and beef
- Marian – home to the largest sugar mill in the area and also where one of the World famous Opera singers Dame Nellie Melba lived.
- Eungella – comes from the Aboriginal word meaning ‘land of the clouds’. Home to Australia’s longest, oldest sub-tropical rainforest.
- Sarina - was discovered by John Atherton during the mid 1800s. It is one of the largest sugar growing areas in Australia. It is also now known for the Hay Point Coal Terminal which is the largest coal export facility in the world.
125 KM N of Mackay
(Formed after the amalgamation of the Bowen and Whitsunday Shire Councils - 15 March 2008).
History – Captain James Cook sailed through the Whitsunday Passage during his voyage around Australia in 1770. It’s believed he travelled through the area on the ancient British festival of Whit Sunday (the Seventh Sunday after Easter), thus where the name Whitsunday comes from. It was the mid 1800s when people settled in the area. Explorer George Dalrymple passed through the area on his way north in 1859, naming the area Proserpina – the Roman name for the Greek goddess of fertility, Persephone. The early European settlers were mainly timber-getters, pastoralists and sugarcane farmers. The islands were opened up for grazing leases in the 1880s but it was not until the 1920s when tourism developed as another industry to service the area. Airlie Beach was formed in 1936. Almost 100 islands sit in the Whitsunday Passage – most of them remain uninhabited and have been gazetted national parks. Meanwhile, James Morrill was the first European to settle in the Bowen region after he was shipwrecked just north of the area. Bowen is North Queensland’s oldest town and was established in 1861, two years after the former governor of New South Wales, Sir William Denison, posted a reward of one thousand pounds for anyone who found a suitable port north of Rockhampton. Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair was the person to do this in 1859. Captain Sinclair discovered Port Denison whilst sailing up the coast and it was described as second only to Sydney’s Port Jackson. Captain Sinclair led a sea party back to the area in 1861 (this included George Dalrymple) and Bowen was then founded. However, no reward was given to Captain Sinclair because during this time the colony of Queensland was declared and SirDenison was less keen to hand out the reward. Bowen was named after the first governor of Queensland Sir George Ferguson Bowen. Bowen initially had a significant role as a service port for the vast hinterland but that reduced over time as more towns were opened up in north Queensland. Now it has the largest single coal mining area in Australia.
Indigenous Tribes – Ngaro and Girudala people
Industries – Tourism, sugar, grazing, and agriculture ( mangoes, tomatoes, capsicum, sugar), Aquaculture (fish and prawns), mining, fishing, cattle.
- Airlie Beach – is the coastal hub of the Whitsundays and the launch pad for travellers visiting the islands.
- Proserpine – an historic sugar cane town and is the administration centre for the Whitsunday Shire Council.
- Bowen - is known as the mango capital of Australia and has a variety of mango that is named after it.
The Whitsunday Passage includes the popular Hayman, Hamilton and Daydream Islands. |