panoramic

North Ward is one of the oldest and most popular suburbs of Townsville. Wedged between towering Castle Hill and the deep blue Coral Sea, North Ward overlooks the tourist drawcard of Magnetic Island and the Port of Townsville. The suburb of North Ward also contains fine examples of early Queensland architecture including pre-war hotels and church buildings dating back to the late 1800s. Jezzine Barracks, located at the end of The Strand, is a perfect outing for history buffs with access to the Military Museum and a collection of outdoor sculptures and walkways that provide historical insight into the days of the war and Townsville's development. Head up to Kissing Point Jezzine Barracks for some of Townsville best ocean views. Not far from The Strand and Jezzine Barracks is Queens Gardens, one of three fine botanical gardens in the city. Established in 1870, Queens Gardens includes a formal rose garden, two small hedge mazes, a rainforest walk and a small aviary featuring peacocks, lorikeets and sulfur-crested cockatoos. Source: www.queensland.com/au/en/places-to-see/destination-inform...

Gladstone was originally known as Port Curtis, which was named by Matthew Flinders in 1802 after Sir Roger Curtis who had been Commandant at the Cape of Good Hope when he had called there for victuals and resupply. Port Curtis enjoyed a brief three months of temporary settlement as the administrative centre of the colony of North Australia (1847). George Barney (Barney's Point, Gladstone) commanded the settlement but a change of government in England led to its disbandment. Within a few years pastoral occupation of the hinterland brought about pressure for the port to be a livestock shipping outlet. In 1853 the town of Gladstone was surveyed and the first sale of town and suburban allotments took place the following year. Gladstone served well as a harbor, but the absence of plentiful water and agricultural land hindered its development. A gold rush at nearby Canoona (1858) then overshadowed Gladstone for a period. Although declared a municipality in 1863, Gladstone's growth was slow: a customs house was erected in 1860, the first school in 1864, a Presbyterian church in 1869 and Catholic and Church of England churches in 1874. Gladstone's wharves were at Auckland Point (named after the ship Lord Auckland that brought the first European settlers in 1847), where Auckland Inlet enters Port Curtis. The short waterway involved navigating a strait that was obstructed by submerged rock and passable only at high tide. Intermittent blasting and dredging went on until the 1890s in an attempt to improve access through the passage, with less than adequate results. Funds were spent on alternative harbors at Port Alma and Rockhampton, leaving Gladstone's population convinced they were being unfairly overlooked. Gladstone remained convinced that it had the best potential shipping harbour in central Queensland. The state government appointed the Gladstone Harbour Board in 1914, and the town formed its own Gladstone Harbour League to lobby the Railways minister for fairer haulage rates and for freight from surrounding shires. Progress was slow, and the town's economic mainstays remained the Port Curtis dairy factory (which achieved maximum production during the 1940s-50s) and the meat works. Tourism was still a distant prospect, although Heron Island emerged as a local holiday destination in the 1930s. Flying boats, bound for Singapore and connections to England called at Auckland Inlet from 1935 and a land aerodrome, jointly backed by Gladstone and Calliope Shire, opened in 1956. Source: www.queenslandplaces.com.au/gladstone

Enjoying the view from Victoria Park on the hill.