[edit] Economy of Rockhampton from Wiki
Grazing is still a dominant industry in Central Queensland. Two large abattoirs are located in the Rockhampton area. Due to a long term drought and general economic conditions, one of these facilities has experienced a number of closures over the years and was closed from 2002 until 2004, but has now reopened.[citation needed] The Gracemere Saleyards, one of the largest livestock sales facilities in the country, lies just to the west of the city. Rockhampton promotes itself as the Beef Capital of Australia[16]
QR National has a large workforce in the city, which is the meeting point for the main north coast rail line and the line to the major coalfields to the west. Enormous coal trains regularly pass from the west to the coal port of Gladstone to the south. The coal fired 1440 megawatt Stanwell Power Station lies 30 kilometers west.[17]
Tourism is increasingly playing a role in the development of city and surrounds. The city is a convenient distance north from Brisbane to provide an overnight stop for tourists, who can then branch out to visit local attractions. The Capricorn Coast is a 30 minute drive from Rockhampton, with the islands of the Keppel group easily accessible from there.
To the north of the city lies the extensive Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area, where large scale ground, air and amphibious operations can be conducted. A detachment office of the Singapore Armed Forces has been based in Rockhampton since 1995.[18]
[edit] Retailers
Rockhampton has many large retailers, including a Coles, Woolworths, Big W, Target, Harvey Norman, JB Hi-Fi, Kmart, Mitre 10 Home & Trade, Bunnings, IGA.
[edit] 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 (held at the Heritage Village) 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.[19]
The Annual "Big River Jazz" is a three day program showcasing a variety of jazz bands from the 12–14 September.[20]
The city also has a vibrant pub and night-club scene, many of them located in the city precinct, bordered by East, Archer, William and Quay Streets. 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 & comedy 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.
Rockhampton Events Information, can be found on this site: Rockhampton Events on e-Rockhampton.com.au.
[edit] Climate
View of the swollen Fitzroy River, which surrounded the western half of Rockhampton in early 2011.
Rockhampton experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa/Cwa). 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.[citation needed] 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.[21] More recently, it was affected by the 2010–2011 Queensland floods as the Fitzroy runs through the centre of the city and poor conditions in other areas drove snakes and crocodiles into the city.
The highest recorded official temperature in Rockhampton was 45.3 degrees Celsius.[22]
| [hide]Climate data for Rockhampton |
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) |
42.5
(108.5) |
43.3
(109.9) |
42.1
(107.8) |
35.4
(95.7) |
32.6
(90.7) |
32.3
(90.1) |
30.6
(87.1) |
35.1
(95.2) |
37.1
(98.8) |
41.1
(106) |
45.3
(113.5) |
41.3
(106.3) |
45.3
(113.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) |
31.9
(89.4) |
31.3
(88.3) |
30.5
(86.9) |
28.8
(83.8) |
26.0
(78.8) |
23.4
(74.1) |
23.1
(73.6) |
24.7
(76.5) |
27.3
(81.1) |
29.6
(85.3) |
31.2
(88.2) |
32.1
(89.8) |
28.3
(82.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) |
22.1
(71.8) |
22.1
(71.8) |
20.8
(69.4) |
17.9
(64.2) |
14.2
(57.6) |
10.9
(51.6) |
9.5
(49.1) |
10.6
(51.1) |
13.5
(56.3) |
17.0
(62.6) |
19.5
(67.1) |
21.2
(70.2) |
16.6
(61.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) |
16.3
(61.3) |
16.2
(61.2) |
11.0
(51.8) |
4.7
(40.5) |
2.9
(37.2) |
-1.0
(30.2) |
-0.9
(30.4) |
-0.3
(31.5) |
3.4
(38.1) |
7.0
(44.6) |
9.4
(48.9) |
10.2
(50.4) |
-1.0
(30.2) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) |
127.6
(5.024) |
143.0
(5.63) |
95.5
(3.76) |
44.4
(1.748) |
48.1
(1.894) |
39.0
(1.535) |
29.6
(1.165) |
27.6
(1.087) |
23.1
(0.909) |
50.2
(1.976) |
69.8
(2.748) |
101.4
(3.992) |
799.0
(31.457) |
| Source: Australian Bureau of Meteorology[23] |
[edit] Attractions
The Rockhampton Art Gallery collection, also owned by the Rockhampton Regional Council, is situated next to the Pilbeam Theatre and consists mainly of works by Australian artists from the 1940s to the 1970s.[24] 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.[25] 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.[citation needed]
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 specialise in Australian native plants, especially those of Central Queensland. The most striking feature of the gardens 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.[26] The Dreamtime Cultural Centre is Australia's largest Cultural Centre[27] and is 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 southside. 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.[28]
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. The Heritage Village features the Time After Time clock collection, and the History of the Rockhampton District, Life before electricity, and Hospital exhibitions and a Vintage car collection.
[edit] Health
The Rockhampton Hospital, Rockhampton is situated in the suburb of The Range, and is located around 4km from Rockhampton City, and is the major hospital for the Central Queensland Region. The smaller Hillcrest and Mater private hospitals are located nearby. The Australian Red Cross Blood Service is located across from the Base Hospital on Canning Street.
Rockhampton is a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Rescue Helicopter which operates clinics and provides emergency evacuations in remote communities throughout the region.
[edit] Shopping
Rockhampton is home to 7 shopping centres, all of which include national major tenants and retail outlets. All shopping centres have 7 day trading as of January 2010:
[edit] Education
The first school, The Rockhampton National School was opened in 1859. Rockhampton is a major education centre for the region and has numerous state and private primary and high schools.
[edit] Primary/Prep
[edit] Secondary
Rockhampton Girls Grammar School ca.1895
[edit] Tertiary
[edit] Transport
Rockhampton is an important transport hub in the Central Queensland region. Rockhampton provides important transport links between the Central Highlands and Capricorn Coast regions and the areas to the north and south of the state. Rockhampton Airport is essential to the viability of the tourism industry.
The Rockhampton region is well serviced by the National and State highway system, with the city being located at the main junction of the coastal highway, the Bruce Highway, the central western highway, the Capricorn Highway, and the Rockhampton Hinterland is serviced by the Burnett Highway. Driving time is seven and a half hours from Brisbane to Rockhampton, Central Queensland's Tourism Hub.
Rockhampton is also served by long distance coaches to Brisbane in the south, and as far as Cairns in the North. Daily services operate into Rockhampton with Greyhound Pioneer Australia. The Hinterland and Central Highlands are also serviced daily by Rothery's Coaches, Pacific Coaches and Emerald Coaches.
An extensive bus services are operated by Capricorn Sunbus, which operates under the QConnect public transport system. Two bus interchanges are located in Rockhampton City through which the majority of services operate. Service include most parts of the city, Parkhurst in the north to Allenstown and Depot Hill in the south and to The Range and Lakes Creek in the west
Rockhampton has one major taxi company, Rocky Cabs who service the City of Rockhampton, Gracemere, and also some services in Yeppoon and Emu Park.
Rockhampton is located on the North Coast railway, and is the terminus of the electrified section of line from Brisbane. The line north of Rockhampton station runs along the middle of Denison Street. The Electric Tilt Train service travels from Brisbane to Rockhampton six days per week, with Rockhampton also a stop on the Diesel Tilt Train service to Cairns.
Rockhampton Airport is operated by Rockhampton Regional Council and is located 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Rockhampton City. It is Australia's twelfth busiest domestic airport. The airport handles flights to major Australian cities, tourist destinations, and regional destinations throughout Central Queensland. It is an important base for general aviation serving the Central Highlands and Capricorn Coast commununities. The Airport is also a base for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and the Rescue Helicopter.
[edit] Infrastructure
The catchment area of the Fitzroy River is approximately 145,000 square kilometres (almost the size of England). It contains six major rivers, and Rockhampton and Central Queensland accordingly enjoy abundant good water. The existing and future dams under construction ensure on-going needs for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes are met. The Fitzroy River Barrage at Rockhampton separates tidal salt water from upstream fresh water, and provides the supply for Rockhampton's domestic and industrial needs.[29] Rockhampton cities tap water is also treated with fluoride.
Central Queensland's major generating facilities, including the Stanwell, Gladstone and Callide power stations, produce the majority of the State's power. Queensland's newest and most technologically advanced powerhouse at Stanwell, 28 km west of the city, came on line in 1993. The Stanwell facility is a key element in the State's program to expand electricity supply and is a major exporter of power station technology.[30]
Rockhampton has a number of newspapers.
- The Morning Bulletin
- CQ Extra
- Rockhampton and Fitzroy News
- Under the Capricorn Sun
- Central Queensland News
Rockhampton is serviced by a number of commercial, community and ABC stations
4RO is the main local commercial AM station, owned by Prime Radio. 4RO broadcasts a local talk back breakfast program each weekday but it is the only locally produced program on the station with all other programming syndicated from stations elsewhere. A large proportion of 4RO's programming is talk back such as the Greg Carey Show, The Best of Alan Jones, The Stuart Bocking Night Show and New Day Australia. The music played on 4RO is of the classic hits genre. 4RO broadcasts a local news service in the morning, although the bulletins are prepared and read by journalists based at Prime's Sunshine Coast hub, especially for 4RO and its sister station Zinc927.
Zinc927 (previously known as 4CC) also owned by Prime Radio, is the other AM commercial station servicing Rockhampton on a local AM frequency, although its local breakfast show is presented from the Zinc studio in Gladstone. Zinc has a classic rock format and also relies heavily on networked programming from their Sunshine Coast studios.
Sea FM, owned by Southern Cross Media, is a popular commercial FM station broadcasting from their Rockhampton studios during the day, and then taking the networked Localworks programming at night from the Gold Coast such as The School Of Rock, Talking Back The Night, The Best Mix Overnight, The PartyMix and The Sunday Barbie originating out of Gold FM on the Gold Coast. Sea Fm also produces a local news service with a journalist based in Rockhampton reading bulletins for them and for their sister station Hot FM.
Hot FM, also owned by Southern Cross Media, is also a popular commercial FM station. While it services Rockhampton on a local FM frequency, its breakfast show is broadcast from their Gladstone studio. Hot FM is skewed towards the younger listeners with a Top 40/pop music format. Following the local breakfast show, the station takes the Hit Music Network programming such as JK's workday, The Benchwarmers and The Hit List originating out of Sea FM on the Gold Coast.
ABC Capricornia, originally known as 4RK, is the local ABC station servicing Rockhampton. It broadcasts a local breakfast show and a local morning show. The station also broadcasts an afternoon show which is locally produced, but broadcast throughout the ABC Local Radio network across regional Queensland. The final hour of each Friday's local morning show is also broadcast around the network to enable ABC Local Radio listeners across the state to call in to the popular gardening talk back program. The station also has a local news service, produced by local journalists, broadcasting local bulletins five times a day. There is also a local Saturday breakfast show, which is followed by a local Saturday morning sports program. Apart from local programming, ABC Capricornia takes national programs like AM, The Conversation Hour, The World Today, PM, Nightlife, Grandstand, and Saturday Night Country along with a regional drive program from Toowoomba, and an evening show from Brisbane.
Other ABC stations that service Rockhampton include Triple J, Radio National, ABC Classic FM and ABC News Radio. These stations are all broadcast on separate FM frequencies.
4YOU is the local community station, broadcasting local programs from their Rockhampton studio, presented by a number of volunteers. The station is skewed towards the older demographic and plays a lot of easy listening and country music. All programs are locally produced apart from the regular Sunday evening programs the station takes from the national community radio network.
4US is the local indigenous community station, broadcasting from a studio at the Dreamtime Cultural Centre in Rockhampton servicing the local Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander population featuring traditional music and focusing on indigenous issues and event within its programming content.
Kix is a narrowcast broadcasting service originating out of the 4BU/Hitz FM studios in Bundaberg. While Kix transmits on a narrowcast license, the station is allowed to broadcast commercials. The station has a lively country music format and its programs are all produced in Bundaberg although the station has an ever growing network of transmitters, now broadcasting in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia.
Other narrowcast radio services broadcasting in Rockhampton include racing station, Radio TAB (formerly 4TAB), Vision FM (Christian radio) and Radio 88 (Tourist Information).
[edit] Television
Rockhampton is serviced by four commercial stations and one non-commercial station.
Each broadcasts television services in both analogue and digital formats, with analogue transmissions to be deactivated in the second half of 2011.[31]
SBS offers digital high-definition simulcasts of their main channel, SBS ONE on SBS HD. Ten digital-only channels are also available: ABC2, ABC3, ABC News 24, SBS Two, One HD, Eleven, 7Two, 7mate, GEM and GO!. Austar Limited provides subscription satellite television services.
Rockhampton has two main local news bulletins. Seven Local News is presented by Rob Brough, Joanne Desmond, Nathan Spurling and Livio Regano from Seven Qld's Sunshine Coast studios and is screened every weeknight at 6:00 pm on the Seven Network. WIN News, is presented by Paul Taylor, Dave McLenaghan and Peter Byrne and is screened every weeknight at 6:30 pm on WIN Television, broadcast from the RTQ studios in North Rockhampton. On weekends, news is relayed from the Nine Network and the Seven Network in Brisbane.
Southern Cross Ten has a physical presence in Rockhampton, but local news programs do not exist on this channel. Instead, they carry news from Network Ten although Southern Cross Ten do screen local updates throughout the afternoon and evening, broadcast from their Canberra studio. The Southern Cross Ten updates do not contain any actual news footage.
There is also a small television facility at the ABC studios in Rockhampton with an ABC television journalist and camera operator employed locally to produce stories for ABC News and Stateline on ABC1. The journalist can also be required to do live crosses to ABC News 24.
[edit] Sports teams
- Australian Football (AFL) – Rockhampton Panthers, Brothers Rockhampton in AFL Capricornia (total of 6 clubs)
- Cricket – Senior – Frenchville Falcons, North's Tigers, Gracemere Bulls, Capricorn Coast, Brothers, Colts Junior – Frenchville Falcons, North's Tigers, Gracemere Bulls, Capricorn Coast,
A Rocky road for racism
Why was a sick Aboriginal man left in the middle of a busy road?to die?
NATIONAL: AMY MCQUIRE* tells the story of a blatant act of racism, which is even more shocking when you consider the attempts to justify it.
It happened at 2:30 on a Friday afternoon, as parents rushed to pick up their children from the nearby primary school.
Car after car drove past the man, who lay heaped on the heated tarmac, his body touching the hard white lines in the middle of the road.
It was unclear how long he had been lying there, vulnerable to the fury of oncoming traffic. It was as if this was a casual occurrence in the Central Queensland town of Rockhampton, a regional centre of 60,000 people, 5.7 percent of them Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The man was middle-aged and dark-skinned, an Aboriginal man from the nearby community of Woorabinda. Despite this, he looked much older, and had the health of an elderly man.
His identity smudged out by traffic, his motionless body went largely unnoticed that afternoon. That was until one person stopped.
Stella Dempsey, a local who lived right around the corner, was driving her car towards the shopping centre when she spotted a dark mass through the flurry of wheels.
Horrified, she watched as seven cars drove past him as fast as the 50 kilometre speed limit would allow, while she hurriedly tried to help.
“I didn’t know what it was,” Ms Dempsey told me. “Then I said, ‘Oh my God, it’s a man! I pulled up and got out of the car. I said ‘mate what’s wrong?’
“He was hitting his chest, hitting his chest with his hand.”
Deeply concerned, Ms Dempsey asked the man what was wrong. He said it was a heart attack. “I freaked when he said that,” she says.
Panicked and without her mobile phone, Ms Dempsey began stopping traffic. After slowing a few cars, and gaining assistance from another man, she was finally able to call for an ambulance. She says it took them about 15 minutes to get there.
Ms Dempsey says that rather than evoking compassion for a clearly sick Aboriginal man, the incident attracted spectators.
“I got cranky at a couple of cars. I swore at them. They really were just gawking. There was a woman who lived across the road. She was standing there… I was nasty to her, she was only a hop, skip and jump away and all she was doing was watching.
“The point was, if you don’t want to get out of your cars, just call the police. Ring the police or the ambulance.”
By then, police had also arrived. An Aboriginal Liaison Officer was on the scene, but didn’t speak to the man.
“I’m disgusted at people. Disgusted at the ambulance. Disgusted at the liaison officer who didn’t come over,” Ms Dempsey says.
“Disgusted that it took over seven phone calls to get the ambulance, and it took them 15 minutes to get there.”
The man was later transported to the local hospital, where Ms Dempsey was unable to contact him.
“I was unable to confirm what happened after that, because the man was discharged from the hospital, and had not returned to Woorabinda by the time of press. But the incident was picked up in the local newspaper – the Morning Bulletin, which lead with the headline: Motorists ignore sick man on road.
I read of it with disgust and complete disbelief that this could happen in my own hometown.
It had uncomfortable similarities to an incident in Brisbane in 2006, when respected Aboriginal opera singer Delmae Barton was left to lie for five hours in a pool of her own vomit at a busy Brisbane bus stop while bystanders passed her by.
It was only after a group of Japanese students stopped to help her that she was able to receive some assistance. Ms Barton was actually an elder-in-residence at the nearby Griffith University, and was on her way to work when she suffered a stroke.
The inexcusable racism of the case put protestations against Australia’s racist present to shame.
On reading the Morning Bulletin’s story, I immediately thought there would be some sort of community outrage, or at least some soul-searching about how this could happen in a city that claims it isn’t racist.
Ms Dempsey thought so too.
Instead, she was confronted by excuses from those who read her story. She says people have asked her “well, what if he was drunk?”
“No he wasn’t drunk, but even if he was, at the end of the day, it wasn’t about that,” she says. “He was lying in the middle of the road.”
And he was sick. Comments of this sort were also reflected in the feedback section of the Morning Bulletin’s website.
One commenter wrote: “Good on you for stopping Stella. I agree with the idea ALL people should receive help in instances such as this. What I do not agree with is media reporting and comments suggesting this person was not assisted due to his race. We all know many people/motorists will not stop or get involved in instances such as this.”
Ms Dempsey is infuriated by those comments.
“It was racist. I didn’t make it racist. They did, by not stopping. They didn’t stop and help him. People just drove past. Whether they’re black, white or brindle, you should stop and help them.
“People said he might have jumped up. But for God’s sake, he was in pain! He wasn’t jumping up anywhere!”
When incidents like this happen, I think we should all pose the obvious questions: Could you imagine if this would have happened if the victim were white?
Could you imagine an elderly white man, lying in the middle of a busy road, being refused help?
Could you imagine people pondering whether he was drunk, or whether he would “jump” you if he was white? Could you imagine this even being an issue if he was white?
If the answers to these questions are a unanimous no, then I think it’s pretty clear we have a racist incident. This is black and white. There are no shades of grey.
It is not a “good Samaritan” issue. Otherwise there wouldn’t be these sort of excuses. People wouldn’t be using stereotypes to justify a deep failure, one that could have killed a sick man.
I’m not saying that Rockhampton is any different to most towns around Australia, where racism is outwardly frowned upon, but inwardly accepted because white Australia still can’t admit the deep debt owed to Aboriginal people.
Racism is tolerated because people are scared to confront it. This is reflected when incidences of such blatant racism occurs.
The community withers from discussing the real issue because they still somehow believe that it mustn’t be their fault. They don’t want to believe it.
Because that would involve admitting it, and then taking the necessary steps to make amends.
But let’s be clear. This happened because an in-built prejudice, whether conscious or not, prevented everyone, except one person, pulling over and calling an ambulance.
I’ve learnt a little bit about this man. He has had a hard life, marred by jail time. His brothers have died, and his own health is precarious.
He’s a victim too, not only the blatant racism that left him lying in the middle of the road, but also an infuriating institutionalised and intergenerational racism.
Australia has failed him, just like it is failing Aboriginal people all around the country. Racism is a disease that needs to be stamped out around the country.
We can’t keep ignoring it. Because if we don’t confront it now, we will continue to hear about these cases, and the disgusting attempts to justify them, for many years to come.
Otherwise next time, that person lying on the pavement could be my family. Or yours.
* Amy McQuire is a Darumbal and South Sea Islander journalist from Rockhampton. She is editor of Tracker.