Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland.
Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef it is in the dry tropics region of
Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast
with the 2006 census recording the Townsville Statistical District (the urban centre)
population to be 143,328 people. Townsville is seen as the unofficial capital of North
Queensland as it hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major
business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.
Townsville enjoys 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 'The Strand', a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront arkland
attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, a large tropical aquarium holding
many of the Great Barrier Reef's native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical
Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS
Pandora; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is
national park.
Townsville is on the coast and enjoys an average of 320 days of sunshine a year. It is a
green and appealing place for locals and a great jumping off point for visitors. A great spot
for visitors wanting a taste of outback Australia while not venturing far from the coast. It
offers a quiet cosmopolitan feel with its good choice of restaurants & bars but also has a
relaxing siesta style during the hottest parts of the day in high summer.
The city started life inauspiciously in 1859 when a sea captain by the name of Robert
Towns commissioned John Melton Black to build a wharf on Cleveland Bay to service the
new cattle industry inland. The location for the town was dictated by its location between
the Burdekin and Herbert rivers, which, when in flood, could isolate access to the area by
land for months at a time. The town was gazetted in 1865 and was declared a city in 1903.
In 1864, Townsville covered a very small area of land at the mouth of Ross Creek (an arm
of the Ross River) and around Castle Hill. Originally just a Road Board, in 1882 the (then)
Thuringowa Shire had to cede land to the growing city of Townsville by the State, and by
1916 Townsville had progressively expanded into a large amount of previously Shire land.
Between the two world wars Townsville continued to expand into many areas of
Thuringowa Shire.
PLACE TO VISIT
Dairy Farmer's Stadium - If you have the chance to see a football (rugby league) match while your in the area, I would advise do so. The atmosphere in Dairy Farmers' Stadium, the home of the North Queensland Cowboys, is abuzz at all home matches.
Castle Hill - Castle Hill at the center of the city has amazing views both east to Magnetic Island and west to the suburbs and hills. There is a road to the top, but the steep uphill walk is also popular, particularly in the evening when it is cooler
Reef HQ Aquarium - Reef HQ is an aquarium focusing on Great Barrier Reef fish
life. It is built around two large tanks each several metres high, and some twenty meters
in length. The larger of the two tanks contain smaller non-predatory reef fish, and the
smaller tank contains reef fish and predators including several species of shark. $21.50
adults, $16.50 concession and $10.50 children. Family and group discounts are available.
Museum of Tropical Queensland - The Museum of Tropical Queensland's
main drawcard is the display of artefacts from the HMS Pandora, the ship that the British
sent in pursuit of the 'HMS Bounty. Other exhibits include the wildlife of the tropical areas
of Queensland
The Strand Beach - The Strand Beach is a sandy beach right in front of the main
waterfront area of Townsville. It is a generally a calm swimming spot thanks to the shelter
of Magnetic Island; don't bother trying to surf. An artificial swimming lagoon is located at
one end
Water Playground - This playground is at the southern end of the Strand, free and more fun than the kids can handle on a hot day.
WHAT TO DO
Coral Sea Skydivers - Coral Sea Skydivers offer both tandem skydiver and solo
skydiving training. A tandem jump will take 2 hours from pickup to floating in over the town
and landing on the sand on The Strand beach. Training to conduct a solo jump starts a
one day for your first jump and a complete five day course is available.
Sailing
Great Barrier Reef Trips
Day Trips to Outback or Rainforest.
Diving - Townsville is further from the reef than the Cairns region to the north and does
not have as strong a scuba diving industry, but is the closest big center to the well known
Yongala Wreck. The Yongala was a luxury passenger ship sunk in a cyclone on 23rd
March 1911. The wreck was found in 1958. The wreck is primarily interesting for the
marine life that it attracts and is one of Australia's top dive sites.
Pro Dive Townsville - Pro Dive run 3 day/3 night/10 dive liveaboard trips to the reef, spending 1 day diving on the Yongala weather permitting. Trips board at 8pm Tuesday and Friday, travel to the reef overnight and return at 5pm on the 3rd day. The base price is $495, $425 if only snorkeling. Full equipment hire is an extra $95. PADI certification courses are available, including the introductory Open Water ($685 including equipment hire and the liveaboard trip) and Advanced Open Water ($725 including hire and the trip). As of late 2005, all trips were incurring an extra $55 on top of these fares covering reef tax, insurance and a fuel levy.
Adrenalin Dive - Adrenalin Dive offers 2 dive day trips to the Yongala departing
Townsville and Magnetic Island. PADI certification courses are available via the Pro Dive
liveaboard for the Pro Dive prices. The base price is $179, equipment hire $35. Divers
must have at least 6 logged dives, and divers with less than 15 logged dives will need to
pay $30 for a guided dive.
Tropical Cruise and Dive - Tropical Cruise and Dive operates one day
snorkeling and diving trips to Wheeler Reef most days. The diving is primarily aimed at
inexperienced or uncertified divers with lots of supervision available. They also operate
full diving certification courses Snorkeling trips $145 adults and $79 children, certified
scuba dives from $40, introductory scuba dives from $75, Open Water certification $499
HOW TO REACH
By Air - Townsville airport is 12 kilometres west of the city. http://www.townsvilleairport.
com.au/.
Qantas 13 13 13, . flying from Sydney, Brisbane, Mackay, Cairns and Hamilton Island. edit
Jetstar 13 15 58, . flying from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. edit
Virgin Blue 13 67 89, . flying from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne. edit
Macair 1300 622 247, . flying from Mt Isa and Brisbane
By Car - Townsville is easily accessible via the A1 (Bruce Highway) either from Cairns
to the north, Mackay and Brisbane to the south. The city is also served by the A6 (Flinders
Highway) to Charters Towers and Mt Isa to the West.
By Train - Queensland Rail, Traveltrain (4 kilometers south of Townsville City) operate
Tilt Train services to both Cairns and Brisbane three times a week each direction, The
Sunlander also serves Cairns and Brisbane twice a week. The Inlander to Mt Isa is
operated twice a week.
