Rockhampton to Mackay

Rockhampton is a sprawling city on the Fitzroy River. The central business district, particularly along Quay Street has one of the most elegant, and well preserved, streetscapes in the country. The concentration of beautiful old buildings, the tree lined streets, the gently flowing Fitzroy River beside Quay Street, all make this area of Rockhampton’s CBD a beautiful place to visit.

In 1856 the New South Wales Government (Queensland was not a separate colony at the time) decided to establish a settlement near the mouth of the Fitzroy River. The site chosen was the rocky upper limit of navigation on the river. The town’s first store and inn were opened that year. In 1859 Queensland became an independent colony. The people of Rockhampton tried to establish themselves as an independent state and hoped for success although it never happened.

The grand buildings along Quay Street reflect the importance of this gateway to the city in colonial days. There are many historic buildings that give it a feel of grandeur.

The Walter Reid Building was designed and constructed in 1883 as a warehouse for merchants Brabant and Co. In 1907, Walter Reid and Co. purchased the building and occupied it from at least 1915 until 1982 when the building was sold. The company imported general merchandise, hardware, wine and spirits and at its peak, employed around 1000 people.

This huge Customs Building was constructed in the Classic Revival style which was all the rage in Rockhampton around the turn of the century. In the colonial days, each colony chargd customs duty as a means of generating revenue. The building was designed by the Queensland Government architect, A B Brady, and is a demonstration of the importance of Rockhampton as the major Central Coast port. 

The former Harbour Board Building was erected in 1898 for the newly established Harbour Board of Rockhampton. The Harbour Board was the authority for the Port of Rockhampton from 1896 until 1979 and operated in this building from 1898 to 1977. Rockhampton was declared a Port of Entry in 1858 following the influx of gold seekers to nearby Canoona. The port was influential in establishing Rockhampton as the major trade and communication centre of the region and its operation soon became a vital commodity in Rockhampton’s economy.

Such was the wealth from the goldfields, people poured into Rockhampton in the 1880s that an architect was commissioned to build this extraordinary and ostentatious three storey Neo Classic Revival building in 1889. It was completed in October 1890. At the time it was characterised by a flagged marble entry. It is interesting that the colonnaded verandas have hoods to protect the rooms from the harsh Queensland sun.

Away from the quay and on the main highway is St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. It was constructed in 1893–1899 as the first catholic cathedral of Rockhampton manifesting the creation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockhampton in 1882. 

After a good look around the city to see these buildings, we began our three hour drive to Mackay where we will be spending the next two nights. This part of the highway travels inland and doesn’t meet the coast until just south of Mackay. Accordingly, we have little to report about this trip as there was nothing to see along the way other than a road lined with scrub and small trees.

A big difference from home was the number of wattles that were already in bloom. They are well ahead of what we would see in Victoria and the yellow border along the road was bright and cheerful.

The only place of any note was a location with the name of Marlborough. There is nothing there but a road house, even though a large sign points to something 1 kilometre  from the road.

It is the only place of importance on the 336 km long journey between Rockhampton and Mackay. In the 1980s a local man, Martin Hennessy, used his own money, to build the Marlborough Historical Museum. (which we couldn’t find).Hennessy would regale visitors with wonderful stories of the area and proudly declare “I am the history of Marlborough”. He also claimed to have trained his cow to be a dog. 

We came across the first sugar plantations about 60 kilometres south of Mackay. Sugar cane is related to grass and a lot of the plants were in flower. 

At Sarina , 30 kilometers south of Mackay) there is a large sugar cane mill. It has a tall chimney that spews out somehting that looks like smoke. It is much more likely to be steam and will not have pollutive affect.

We reached our overnight stop before 4.00 pm which is better than the last few days of our trip when we have arrived wel after 5.00 pm. Late in the afternoon, the winter sun is low on the horizon and whenever the road travels in anything like a north-west direction, the blinding sun bores directly into our eyes and makes it very hard to see. Our early arrival today saved us from that problem.