Townsville, Queensland

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Townsville Queensland
The CBD from Museum of Tropical Queensland, Castle Hill in the background
Population:	143,328[1] (2006 census)  (13th)
• Density:	1061/km² (2748.0/sq mi)
Established:	1865
Area:	140.2 km² (54.1 sq mi)
Time zone:	AEST (UTC+10)
Location:	1300 km (808 mi) from Brisbane
LGA:	City of Townsville
County:	Elphinstone
State District:	Townsville, Thuringowa, Mundingburra & Burdekin
Federal Division:	Herbert
Mean Max Temp Mean Min Temp Rainfall 28.9 °C 84 °F 19.8 °C 68 °F 1,115.8 mm 43.9 in

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.^[1] Townsville is seen as the unofficial capital of North Queensland^[2][3] as it hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.

Popular attractions include 'The Strand', a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland 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.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Establishment 1.2 Townsville/Thuringowa 1.3 Japanese influence 1.4 World War 2 1.5 1970 onwards 2 Urban layout 3 Geography 4 Climate 5 Governance 5.1 Local 5.2 State 5.3 Federal 6 Economy 7 Demographics 7.1 Population statistics 8 Education 8.1 James Cook University 8.2 Vocational education 9 Culture, Events and Festivals 10 Media and communications 11 Sport and recreation 12 Infrastructure 12.1 Health 12.2 Transport 13 Defence facilities 14 Notable People From Townsville 15 References 16 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Establishment

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.

[edit] Townsville/Thuringowa

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.^[4] Between the two world wars Townsville continued to expand into many areas of Thuringowa Shire. Many of the settlements of Thuringowa became part of the City of Townsville.^[4] Thuringowa Shire Council often went though hard times due to continually building infrastructure for new suburbs which it was then forced to cede to Townsville City Council. It also lost the ratepayers who would have paid for that infrastructure over the long term.^[4]

Although historically the two City Councils and Mayors worked very well together and shared major infrastructure, there was an issue of unnecessary duplication of services.^[4] Since its transformation into a City, Thuringowa had become more densely populated as the urban sprawl spread beyond the original urban focus. Minor boundary adjustments were made recently to attempt the rationalise the border between the two Local Government Areas. Friendly rivalry between the two cities councils had positive benefits to Townsville resulting in such projects as Thuringowa's Riverway as an alternative to The Strand.^[5]

The two separate Cities and their councils merged in March 2008 as part of the Queensland State Government's Local Government Reform program which intends to merge more than half of the state's Local Governments. They now call it the New Townsville

[edit] Japanese influence

In 1896, Japan established its first Australian consulate in the then town, primarily to service some 4,000 Japanese workers who arrived to work in the sugar cane, turtle, trochus, beche de mere and pearling industries.^[6][7] With the introduction of the White Australia policy, the demand for Japanese workers decreased, causing the embassy to finally close in 1908.^[7]

[edit] World War 2

During World War II, the city played host to over 50,000 American and Australian troops as it became a major staging point for battles in the South West Pacific. A large United States Armed Forces contingent supported the war effort from various bases around the city and General Douglas Macarthur made Townsville his base for sometime. The first bombing raid on Rabaul on 23 February 1942 was carried out by six B-17s based near Townsville. It was common for B-26 Marauders, B-17 Flying Fortresss or B-25 Mitchell bombers to take off on long range bombing raids from Garbutt air base.

Within the town a great deal of construction occurred during World War II. For example there are numerous hidden air raid bunkers, reports of secret tunnels and similar secret units.

• No. 3 Fighter Sector RAAF, Wulguru & North Ward (at that time in Thuringowa)
• 1 Wireless Unit, Pimlico & Stuart & Roseneath (at that time in Thuringowa)
• North Eastern Area Command HQ, Townsville, Federation building, Sturt St
• Castle Hill, Townsville underground tunnels & bunkers
• Green St. Bunker, West End, Sidney St West End, Project 81 (SES building)

In July 1942, the city was subjected to three small air raids by the Japanese. Several 500 lb bombs were dropped in the harbour, near the Garbutt airfield and at Oonoonba, Queensland - at the latter location craters are still clearly visible.^[8] No lives were lost and structural damage was minimal, as the Japanese missed their intended target of the railway and destroyed a palm tree. While the Japanese aircraft were intercepted on two of the three raids, no Japanese planes were shot down.^[9]

[edit] 1970 onwards

On Christmas Eve 1971, Tropical Cyclone Althea, a category 4 cyclone, battered the city and Magnetic Island, causing considerable damage. Other tropical storms have threatened the area in the intervening years, but with less effect.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2000, a Solomon Islands Peace Agreement was negotiated in Townsville. ^[10]

[edit] Urban layout

Urban development continues to expand west, north and south into the former rural areas, and inner city high-density development has also created population growth and gentrification of the central business district (CBD). One significant contributor to CBD development was the construction of a new rail passenger terminal and moving the railway workshops, releasing prime real estate which formerly belonged to Queensland Rail for the development of residential units, retail projects and a new performing arts centre. The skyline of Townsville's central business district is set for dramatic changes over the next few years, with a number of new highrise buildings under construction or in planning.

Medium term expansion of Townsville/Thuringowa will be in two major urban developments starting shortly. Rocky Springs, a planned satellite city to the south of Townsville, is expected to eventually be home to 50,000 people. Additionally, expansion to the North includes a new $1 billion 5,000-lot housing estate, which will be located close to the Bruce Highway, just north of the Bohle River. It will be the largest planned housing estate in North Queensland to this point.^[11] The State Government announced in July 2007 the release of 10,000 ha of State-owned land to the north for future urban expansion.

[edit] Geography

Townsville lies approximately 1,300 km north of Brisbane, and 350 km south of Cairns. It lies on the shores of Cleveland Bay, protected to some degree from the predominately south-east weather. Cleveland Bay is mostly shallow inshore, with several large beaches and continually shifting sand bars. Magnetic Island lies 8 km offshore, to the north of the city centre.

The Ross River flows through the city. Three weirs, fish stocking and dredging of the river in these reaches has resulted in a deep, stable and clean waterway used for many recreational activities. Thirty kilometres from the mouth (at the junction of Five Head Creek) is the Ross River Dam, the major water storage for the urban areas. This is supplemented by pipelines from a smaller dam in the Paluma range to the north, and in times of drought, further water may be sourced by pumping from the Burdekin Dam. Because of the shifting sand bars at the mouth, Ross River is navigable only by small vessels, where speed and wash limits apply in most sections.

The historic waterfront on Ross Creek, site of the original wharves and port facilities, has some excellent old buildings mixed with the later modern skyline. However, the central city is dominated by the mass of red granite called Castle Hill, 292 metres high (just 8 metres short of being a mountain). There is a lookout at the summit giving panoramic views of the city and its suburbs, including Cleveland Bay and Magnetic Island. There are a number of parks scattered throughout the city, including three botanical gardens - Anderson Park, Queens Gardens and The Palmetum.

[edit] Climate

The Townsville Region is characterised by its "dry" tropical climate (where the Outback meets the sea), with very distinct wet and dry seasons. The wet runs from November to March and there is rarely any rain during the other part of the year. The area receives a lower annual rainfall than the "wet" tropics due to its northern coastal orientation, because the south east trade winds move parallel to the coast rather than perpendicular to it.

The average rainfall ranges from 2571 millimetres at Paluma (north west of the city) to 1136 millimetres at Townsville City to 853 millimetres at Woodstock (inland south of the city). Like most of North and Far North Queensland, Townsville is prone to Tropical Cyclones. They usually occur between November and May (the so-called Cyclone Season), forming mainly out in the Coral Sea, and usually tracking west to the coast. Notable cyclones to affect the Townsville Region have been: Cyclone Tessi (2000), Cyclone Joy (1990), Cyclone Althea (1971), Cyclone Leonta (1903) and Cyclone Sigma (1896).

Townsville has an average daily temperature between 19.7 °C to 28.8 °C. December is the warmest month of the year with daily temperatures ranging from 24.0 °C to 31.4 °C. July is the coolest month with daily temperatures ranging from 13.5 °C to 25.0 °C. Townsville experiences an annual average of 8.4 hours of sunshine per day.

[edit] Governance

Townsville is the Northern Queensland administrative centre for many State and Federal Government agencies, housing the area offices of many departments and governmental bodies such as Centrelink and the Australian Taxation Office.

[edit] Local

Townsville is governed by a City Council, composed of a Mayor and 12 Councillors. Following local government reform undertaken by the Government of Queensland, NQ Water, the City of Townsville and the City of Thuringowa were merged. The City Council has no divisions however it may go back to divisions for individual Councillors for the 2012 election. The Mayor of Townsville is Les Tyrell (Independent) who was elected on 15 March 2008, Tyrell is the former Mayor of 17 years of the former local government authority of Thuringowa. The previous Mayor of Townsville for 19 years was Tony Mooney (Australian Labor Party).

[edit] State

In the Unicameral Queensland Parliament four electorates cover the Townsville Region:

• Electoral district of Burdekin (southern suburbs): Rosemary Menkens MP (National Party of Australia) -- Opposition Shadow Minister for Environment, Multiculturalism and Women
• Electoral district of Mundingburra (central/southern suburbs): Hon Lindy Nelson-Carr MP (Australian Labor Party) -- Government Minister for Communities, Disability Services, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Partnerships, Multicultural Affairs, Seniors and Youth
• Electoral district of Thuringowa (western/northern suburbs): Hon Craig Wallace MP (Australian Labor Party) -- Government Minister for Natural Resources and Water and Minister Assisting the Premier in North Queensland
• Electoral district of Townsville (CBD + Magnetic & Palm Islands): Hon Mike Reynolds MP (Australian Labor Party) -- Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the Queensland Parliament

[edit] Federal

Townsville is represented in the Australian House of Representatives by Peter Lindsay MP (Liberal Party of Australia), the Member for the Division of Herbert. Historically a swinging seat, it is currently held by a small margin..

Senator Ian Macdonald, one of twelve Australian Senators elected by Queensland, is the only one based in Townsville.

[edit] Economy

The Townsville Regional Economy is widely credited as being the most broad based economy in Australia outside of a capital city. Recent economic performance has been very strong, with 2004-05 economic growth estimated at 12.0%. Over the last 15 years the local economy has outperformed the rest of the Queensland and Australian economy.^{[citation needed]} Tourism has of late helped in the city's expansion, though its traditional role is as an industrial port (via Port of Townsville) for exporting minerals from Mount Isa and Cloncurry, also beef and wool from the western plains and sugar and timber from the coastal regions, and this continues to be of importance. Residents in Townsville have average household incomes about 10 per cent above the state average, in 2003/04 it was closer to the New South Wales average than the Queensland average.^[12]

In 2004 there were 11,762 businesses in Townsville and 4,610 businesses in Thuringowa^[13]

The city also has its own manufacturing and processing industries. Townsville is the only city globally to refine three different base metals - Zinc, Copper and Nickel - and it is currently in strong contention for an aluminium refinery.^{[citation needed]} Nickel ore is imported from Indonesia, the Philippines and New Caledonia and processed at the Yabulu Nickel refinery, 30 kilometres north of the port. Zinc ore is transported by rail from the Cannington Mine, south of Cloncurry, for smelting at the Sun Metals refinery south of Townsville. Copper concentrate from the smelter at Mt Isa is also railed to Townsville for further refining at the copper refinery at Stuart.

Townsville has several large public assets due to its relative position and population. These include the largest campus of the only university in northern Queensland, James Cook University, the CSIRO Davies Laboratory, the Australian Institute of Marine Science headquarters, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the large Army base at Lavarack Barracks and RAAF Base Townsville.

The city remains popular with tourists, and backpackers are particularly drawn to Magnetic Island and the Great Barrier Reef. The city has excellent diving and snorkelling facilities, with a variety of vessels using the port as a home base for their reef tourism activities. Conference tourism has become lucrative with national and international organisations choosing the area for many business forums.^{[citation needed]}

See also: Shopping in Townsville

[edit] Demographics

For a full list of suburbs in Townsville and surrounding region see Suburbs of Townsville

Townsville has a younger population than the Australian and Queensland averages. The city has traditionally experienced a high turnover of people, with the army base and government services bringing in many short to medium term workers. The region has also become popular with mine workers on fly in/fly out contracts. Major improvements to the lifestyle infrastructure over the past 10 years has led to a higher living standard, and consequently the population boom.^{[citation needed]} In 2005-06, the Townsville Statistical District grew at just over 3 per cent and was the fifth fastest growing district or division in Australia.^[14]

The annual average rate of change in population in the Townsville/Thuringowa between 30 June 2000 and 30 June 2005 was 2.5%, compared with 2.2% for Queensland.^[13]

[edit] Population statistics

2001 Census Category	Townsville	Australia
Education Industry of Employment	5.1%	4.0%
Defence Industry of Employment	4.8%	0.4%
Health Services Industry of Employment	4.4%	3.8%
Business Services Industry of Employment	4.1%	5.4%
Personal and Household Good Retailing Industry of Employment	3.7%	3.5%
Indigenous Persons	5.4%	2.2%
English only spoken at home	90.7%	80.0%
Italian only spoken at home	0.7%	1.9%
Greek spoken at home	0.4%	1.4%
Born in Australia	83.2%	72.6%
Born in England	2.9%	4.5%
Born in New Zealand	2.1%	1.9%
Born in PNG	0.5%	0.1%
0-4 years old	7.2%	6.6%
5-14 years old	14.5%	14.2%
15-24 years old	17.5%	13.7%
25-54 years old	43.3%	43.5%
55-64 years old	7.9%	9.4%
65 years old +	9.5%	12.6%

Medium range population projections before Amalgamation

Projection year	Townsville[15]	Thuringowa[16]
2006	102 936	61 072
2011	111 885	70 066
2016	118 358	78 431
2021	122 467	85 769
2026	126 908	93,228

Yearly population statistics^[17]

year (30 June)	Townsville Stat. District (urban Townsville/ Thuringowa)	Townsville	Thuringowa	category of population estimate
2005	148 767 (+3%)	100 772 (+2.7%)	59 231 (+2.9%)	ABS preliminary
2004	144 417 (+2.6%)	98 075 (+2.2%)	57 538 (+2.8%)	ABS revised
2003	140 761 (+2.4%)	95 947 (+2.1%)	55 951 (+2.6%)	ABS revised
2002	137 507 (+2.6%)	94 007 (+2.1%)	54 520 (+3.4%)	ABS revised
2001	134 073 +9.5% since 1996	92 074 +6.2% since 1996	52 715 +16.1% since 1996	figures from 2001 Census
2000	131 100	90 531	51 185	ABS final
1999	127 873	88 939	49 279	ABS final
1998	125 203	87 559	47 762	ABS final
1997	123 551	87 009	46 417	ABS final
1996	122 415 +1.4% since 1991	86 715 +0.1% since 1991	45 410 +5.1% since 1991	figures from 1996 Census
1995	121 081	86 559	43 904	ABS final
1994	119 189	86 352	41 814	ABS final
1993	121 700	87 700	40 062
1992	118 400	86 600	36 962
1991	114 063	86 245	35 331	figures from 1991 Census
1990
1989			32 930
1988	110 300	83 200

[edit] Education

See List of schools in Townsville.

There are over 60 private and State schools of primary and secondary education within the Townsville area. The largest Pimlico.

[edit] James Cook University

The largest of James Cook University's campuses is located in Douglas. The University is planning a billion dollar expansion, including extra student accommodation, a Student Village (i.e shopping mall, cafes, restaurants, etc.), and extra faculties. The Veterinary Sciences undergraduate facility is the newest in Australia, while the Physical and Sports Recreation Science faculty was recently opened to students. James Cook University also has a Medical School which is linked with the tertiary level Townsville Hospital.

[edit] Vocational education

The city is home to the Barrier Reef Institute of TAFE^[18] - a Technical and Further Education College, a campus of the Australian Agricultural College Corporation and a new Australian Technical College – North Queensland^[19] campus which opened in 2007 in Douglas.

[edit] Culture, Events and Festivals

Townsville is the venue for the Annual Australian Festival of Chamber Music, which runs over ten days each year in July. The festival has been running since 1991, and attracts many acclaimed international and Australian musicians. The city also has its own orchestra, the Barrier Reef Orchestra, which presents concerts throughout North Queensland.

The region has many renowned festivals, celebrating some of the various international cultures that call the region home. The Annual Greek and Italian Festivals (Italian based in Ingham, north of Townsville and Greek based at Thuringowa's Riverway) are popular with the locals and tourists alike

The annual Great Tropical Jazz Party on Magnetic Island^[20] presents a quality musical experience. Another quality jazz experience is that of the Townsville Brass Showband which presents a quartlery concert series entitled "Brass on the Grass".

The Palm Creek Folk Festival takes place every year, over the Queens Birthday Weekend.

The city has a large and diverse range of restaurants representing many different cuisines of the world. The Palmer Street restaurant strip in South Townsville is home to many of these, and is the scene for an annual Jazz Festival, bringing together food, wine and music from all parts of the world.

The city also has a vibrant pub and night-club scene, many of them located in Flinders Street East. Local and national music groups can often be found performing live in these venues. The streetscape was renewed in 2003 with mixed reviews^{[citation needed]}, and now caters for sidewalk dining at many new cafes located in the street.

The Townsville Entertainment Centre, seating 4500 people, is host to many national and international music shows, as well as sporting and trade shows. The Townsville Civic Theatre is North Queensland's premier cultural facility. 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 Townsville and the North. The Theatre offers performances in dance, music, opera, comedy and drama from major Australian companies with international and national artists that complement the work of local performing arts groups.

[edit] Media and communications

Main article: Media in Townsville

Townsville is the media centre for North Queensland, with 5 commercial radio stations, North Queensland ABC radio station, 3 commercial television stations, one regional daily newspaper and one community weekly newspaper (both owned by News Ltd). There are no local Sunday papers although The Sunday Mail (Qld) - based in Brisbane - does have a North Queensland edition.

[edit] Sport and recreation

Townsville/Thuringowa both host a National Rugby League team, the North Queensland Cowboys, a National Basketball League team, the Townsville Crocodiles, a Women's National Basketball League team, the Townsville Fire. Discussions are also underway for a new A-League association football side to be based in Townsville. The team will be known as the Northern Thunder FC and will play their home games at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

The Cowboys play at Dairy Farmers Stadium in the suburb of Kirwan. The stadium was first built in 1995 after it was announced that Townsville would be home to a new NRL Rugby League Team. The stadium was extensively upgraded in 2005-6, including increased capacity by extending the eastern terrace. The stadium has a capacity record of 30,302, set in 1999. Additionally the Dairy Farmers Stadium was an official venue the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, with three matches played in Townsville. Townsville also hosted the enormously popular Japanese national rugby union team during the World Cup, with the team playing the majority of the preliminary round games at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

In 2006, the Super 14 rugby union team Queensland Reds played their final home fixture of the season at Dairy Farmers Stadium, after playing all of their previous home fixtures in their regular home of Brisbane.

The Riverway Project, a new major urban and recreational development in the Suburb of Condon has an international standard Cricket and Australian rules football stadium known as Tony Ireland Stadium.

Townsville also hosts three Touch Football associations. The Townsville/Castle Hill Touch Association (TCHTA) conducts many competitions annually at its grounds at Queens Park, Townsville.^[21] Thuringowa Touch Association (TTA) also conducts competitions at Greenwood Park, Kirwan.^{[22] [23]} Townsville/Thuringowa sides are regular combatants in the annual North Queensland Tropical Cyclones Touch Association's Championships.^[24] For the past two years, representative sides from both associations have featured heavily in the finals series with either of the two associations claiming the coveted Men's Opens division.

The first NQ Championships were held in Townsville in June 1978, with the teams from the then 10 affiliated bodies competing in Mens Over 25. The Championships have still been held in Townsville for many years due to its central location and the strength of the sport in the district.^[25]

AFL Townsville operate an Australian rules football league in the region.

Townsville is also the stronghold of Zone 6 of the Queensland Darts Association.^{[citation needed]} Current and past players include Tony David, winner of the 2002 Embassy World Championships, David Nogar Jnr, the first Queensland player to throw a nine dart game in a sanctioned match, Wiggy Solomon and Jeremy Fagg, both currently in the top 10 Queensland players (as rated by the Darts Federation of Australia).^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Infrastructure

[edit] Health

Townsville is within Queensland Health's Townsville Health Service District which also includes Ingham and Palm Island.^[26]

The primary health facility for the region is Townsville Hospital. It is a teaching hospital located close to the James Cook University School of Medicine in Douglas and is the largest hospital in Australia outside of a capital city, it services communities all the way up to Papua New Guinea. Townsville Hospital has 460 beds with services. The Hospital employs approximately 72 full-time specialist staff and 48 visiting specialists.^[27]

There are three additional health campuses in Townsville, Kirwan Health Campus^[28], the Magnetic Island Health Service Centre^[29] and the North Ward Health Campus^[30].

Townsville Hospital Dentist is the public dental health facility for the Townsville region, it is located in North Ward.

Townsville has the highest reported rate of skin cancer in the world - 3% of the population of Townsville.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Transport

See also: Transport in Townsville, Queensland

This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

Townsville is connection point of two major National Highway routes, the A1 (Bruce Highway), and the A6 (Flinders Highway). The A1 connects Townsville to Cairns in the north, and Mackay, Rockhampton, and Brisbane in the south. The A6 connects Townsville to Charters Towers and Mount Isa in the west.

Numerous road projects are under construction or planned in the future, especially the Townsville Ring Road, which will eventually become the new A1 route bypassing the urban areas of the city.

The North Coast railway line, operated by Queensland Rail, meets the Western line in the city's south. Rail services from Brisbane pass through Townsville and continue through to Cairns, including the regular Tilt Train service between Brisbane and Cairns. Townsville is a major destination and generator of rail freight services. Container operations are also common in the city. The products of the local nickel and copper refineries as well as minerals from the western line (Mt Isa) are transported to the port for trans-shipment to other destinations.

Townsville has a significant port at the mouth of Ross Creek. The Port of Townsville has bulk handling facilities for importing cement, nickel ore (for processing at the Yabulu Nickel Refinery), and fuel, and for exporting sugar and products from North Queensland's mines. The port has three sugar storage sheds, with the newest being the largest under-cover storage area in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

Townsville's public transport system consists of bus services operated by Sunbus. Sunbus provides regular services between many parts of the city, and also operates several express routes. Public transport is also available from the CBD to Bushland Beach, a route run by Townsville's Hermit Park Bus Service, Townsville's biggest Charter Bus Service.

Residents are also demanding that a local rail system be put in place, if only during certain times/events, to ease the traffic congestion in certain parts of the city and to certain events, namely the Bruce Highway north during peak-hour and to events such as Cowboys home-games and Racedays at Cluden Racecourse. Community leaders are urging the councils and governments to consider setting aside pockets of land for future commuter rail lines.^{[citation needed]}

Regular ferry and vehicular barge services operate to Magnetic Island and Palm Island. The ferry service to both islands is operated by Sunferries.

The City is served by Townsville International Airport, but hasn't handled regular international flights since 2002. The Airport handles daily flights to Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne, as well as to regional destinations such as Cairns, Mount Isa and Mackay.

The airfield is actually owned by the Defence Department as RAAF Base Townsville, and is shared with the commercial operators. It was the largest airbase in the southern hemisphere during World War II^{[citation needed]}.

[edit] Defence facilities

This section does not cite any references or sources. (March 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The Australian Army maintains a very strong presence in the north of Australia and this is evident by the basing of the Army's 3rd Brigade in Townsville. The 3rd Brigade is a light infantry brigade with significant air-mobile assets. The brigade consists of two Light Infantry Battalions 1st Battlion Royal Australian Regiment and the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment and Cavalry contingent. It has integral Artillery, Engineer, Aviation Reconnaissance and Combat Service Support Units. It is a high readiness brigade that has been deployed frequently at very short notice on combat operations outside mainland Australia. These include Somalia, Rwanda, Namibia, East Timor, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition to the 3rd Brigade, a number of other major units are based in Townsville. These include the 5th Aviation Regiment, equipped with Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters, co-located at the RAAF Base in Garbutt and the 10th Force Support Battalion based at Ross Island. 10 FSB is a force logistics unit that provides back up logistic support to deployed units. The battalion provides specialist transport (including amphibious) and supply support. Along with this there is also 11 Combat Service Support Unit and 3Combat Engineer Regiment.

The Army also maintains an Army Reserve Brigade in Townsville designated the 11th Brigade. This formation is similar in structure to the 3rd Brigade but comprises reserve soldiers only. There is also an active cadet unit, 130ACU located within Heatley Secondary College.

As with the Army, the Royal Australian Air Force also maintains a presence in Townsville. RAAF Base Townsville, which is located in the suburb of Garbutt, houses a detachment of DHC-4 Caribou aircraft from No. 38 Squadron RAAF. This detachment provides support to the Army units in Townsville. The base is also a high readiness Defence asset and is prepared to accept the full range of RAAF aircraft types as well as other international aircraft including the huge US C-17 Globemaster and the Russian Antonov transport aircraft.

Townsville is also the staging point for the movement of men and materials to the remote parts of Northern Australia and many overseas locations.

[edit] Notable People From Townsville

• Tony David, Professional darts champion
• Libby Trickett (nee Lenton), Australian Olympic Swimmer
• Gorden Tallis, Australian Rugby League player
• Scott Donald, Australian Rugby League player
• Mitchell Johnson, Australian cricketer
• James Hopes, Australian cricketer
• Natalie Cook, Olympic beach volleyball player
• Aaron Payne, Australian Rugby League player
• Sir Lawrence Wackett, Australian aircraft industry pioneer
• Clem Christesen, journalist and editor of the Australian literary magazine, Meanjin.
• Jake Spencer, Australian Football League player
• Michael Luck, Australian Rugby League player, was educated in Townsville

[edit] References

[edit] External links

This article or section may contain an excessive amount of external links. Please improve this article by incorporating them into the appropriate end section, or by converting them to inline citations

• Townsville travel guide from Wikitravel

• Townsville, Queensland is at coordinates 19°15′36″S 146°49′01″E / -19.260, 146.817 (Townsville, Queensland)Coordinates: 19°15′36″S 146°49′01″E / -19.260, 146.817 (Townsville, Queensland)

Fact Sheets

• Department of Defence
• Energy Efficient Housing in North Qld
• Townsville City population stats
• Thuringowa City population stats
• Townsville Region Social Atlas (2001 Census)

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