Emu Park, Queensland

Emu Park
Queensland

The Singing Ship monument
Emu Park

Location in Queensland

Coordinates 23°15′25″S 150°49′35″E / 23.25694°S 150.82639°E / -23.25694; 150.82639Coordinates: 23°15′25″S 150°49′35″E / 23.25694°S 150.82639°E / -23.25694; 150.82639
Population 2,021 (2011 census)[1]
Postcode(s) 4710
Location
LGA(s) Shire of Livingstone
State electorate(s) Keppel
Federal Division(s) Capricornia

Emu Park is a small town and locality on the Capricorn Coast located 21 kilometres south of Yeppoon in Queensland, Australia. It is within the local government area of Shire of Livingstone (between 2008 and 2013, it was within the Rockhampton Region).[2][3] At the 2011 census, Emu Park had a population of 2,021.[1]

Home of the famous Singing Ship Monument, the Emu Park land area was first discovered by Captain James Cook in 1770. It overlooks the islands of Keppel Bay, including the Great Keppel Island. Emu Park is a popular tourist spot, and has won several tourism awards, and features fishing, surfing, boating, and unspoiled beaches.

History

Fisherman's Beach at Emu Park, Queensland, circa 1940
Prime Minister Stanley Bruce and Mrs Bruce at Emu Park, 1926
Passengers at the Emu Park Railway Station

Emu Park's European history dates to the 1860s when the Jardine family established a cattle grazing property south of the current town, at Zilzie, an anagram of Lizzie Jardine.[4]

Emu Park township was established in the 1870s when several Rockhampton families built seaside holiday houses on the hills overlooking the two beaches that are a feature of the town - Fisherman's Beach and Pine Beach. Emu Park was connected to Rockhampton by train in 1888 and became a popular, but fairly select, seaside resort from that time on. A branch to Yeppoon, further to the north was opened in 1910.[5]

Hewittville Post Office opened on 12 November 1883 (a receiving office had been open from 1876) and was renamed Emu Park in 1890.[6] By the 1920s the town boasted two large hotels, a cinema, court house, state primary school, public library, shops and many guest houses for visitors. A small pier was opened by Mrs Bruce, wife of the Prime Minister, Stanley Bruce, in 1926 and Bell Park, a shady park on the shores of Fisherman's Beach was established in the 1930s.[7]

The railway link from Rockhampton closed in the 1960s due to declining passenger numbers and the line to Yeppoon no longer exists.[5]Remnants of the Woppaburra people evicted from their homeland in the Greater and South Keppel islands lived on in both Emu Park and Yeppoon.[8]

Events

Emu Park hosts a variety of annual community events including the Festival of the Wind kite festival,[9] the Classics By The Coast vintage car show and Emu Park Lions Club Oktoberfest (now running over 30 years) celebrations.[10] The town's popular market days are held on the third Sunday of each month in Bell Park.[11]

Sport

A variety of local sporting organisations can be found within Emu Park, incorporating sports such as rugby league, rugby union, lawn bowls, croquet, swimming, surf lifesaving, fishing and golf. Livingstone Shire Council currently has plans to build a new multi-sports facility in Hartley Street.

In 2014, it was announced that Emu Park would be permitted to enter team into Rockhampton Senior Rugby League's A-grade, reserve and Under 20's competitions for the 2015 season. Home games will be initially be played at Bicentennial Oval in Emu Park before moving to the football fields at the new sports facility once it is built.

Heritage listings

Emu Park has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Emu Park (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  2. ↑ "Emu Park (entry 11720)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  3. ↑ "Emu Park (entry 48624)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "HISTORY IN PLACE NAMES.". Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton, Qld. : 1878 - 1954). Rockhampton, Qld.: National Library of Australia. 20 February 1950. p. 5. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Emu Park/Yeppoon Railway" (PDF). Archer Park Rail Museum. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Premier Postal History. "Post Office List". Premier Postal Auctions. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  7. 1 2 "Bell Park (entry 602326)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Rowland 2004, p. 9.
  9. ↑ "Emu Park Lions - Festival of the Wind | Enjoy a day of fun at Emu Park". www.festivalofthewind.com. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
  10. ↑ "Emu Park Lions Oktoberfest | the best festival in Emu Park!". www.emuparkoktoberfest.com. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
  11. ↑ "Lions Club of Emu Park | We Serve – Emu Park and Cap Coast". www.emuparklions.com. Retrieved 2015-08-27.
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