Population 2,021 (2011 census) State electorate(s) Keppel Local time Friday 6:52 PM Federal division Division of Capricornia | Postcode(s) 4710 Postal code 4710 Lga Shire of Livingstone | |
Location 681 km (423 mi) NW of Brisbane
45 km (28 mi) NE of Rockhampton
21 km (13 mi) SSE of Yeppoon Weather 27°C, Wind N at 24 km/h, 72% Humidity | ||
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). At the 2011 census, Emu Park had a population of 2,021.
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Map of Emu Park QLD 4710, Australia
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
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.
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.
Hewittville Post Office opened on 12 November 1883 (a receiving office had been open from 1876) and was renamed Emu Park in 1890. 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.
The railway link from Rockhampton closed in the 1960s due to declining passenger numbers and the line to Yeppoon no longer exists.Remnants of the Woppaburra people evicted from their homeland in the Greater and South Keppel islands lived on in both Emu Park and Yeppoon.
Events
Emu Park hosts a variety of annual community events including the Festival of the Wind kite festival, the Classics By The Coast vintage car show and Emu Park Lions Club Oktoberfest (now running over 30 years) celebrations. The town's popular market days are held on the third Sunday of each month in Bell Park.
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: