Townsville History and Heritage

Introduction

We have self-published two books related to Townsville. These are:

1. A Glimpse of Townsville History and Heritage (available as a standard and economy colour printed book, and as a PDF); and
2. Townsville Heritage – Through a Lens (available as a standard Photobook).

More information about these books is provided below.

Book 1: A Glimpse of Townsville History and Heritage

The heart of Townsville, a city of over 185,000 people, surrounds Castle Hill and Ross Creek, and follows Ross River inland. This entire scene can be surveyed from the summit of Mount Stuart, not to forget Castle Hill! Notably, Townsville City forms its own Local Government Area within the North Queensland Region and is commonly referred to as the Commercial Capital of North Queensland.
We frame the establishment of Townsville by investigating the opening of the Kennedy District; the founding of Townsville; the discovery of gold in its hinterland; and the development of the railways.
The Port of Townsville (one of Queensland’s four priority ports) is the reason for the city’s existence. Fittingly, it currently handles ‘10 million tonnes of cargo worth more than $10 billion to Queensland each year’. We chart the port’s astounding growth and investigate the exports of the meat, sugar and minerals industries – the three mainstays.
We discuss the Wulgurukaba people (traditional owners) and their initial contact with Europeans; initial European settlement; the impact of legislation, and the establishment of reserves, in particular Palm Island. Also, we overview the Mabo Case (and profile Eddie Mabo) and point to the subsequent Native Title claims in the Townsville area.
A key feature of our book is the presentation of contemporary colour photographs and brief descriptions of 23 heritage-listed buildings.
Highlights of contemporary Townsville are discussed by presenting aspects from the 2021 census; and overviewing Lavarack Barracks, James Cook University, North Queensland Stadium, The Strand and ANZAC Memorial Park.
By engaging with this story, you’ll immediately appreciate the remarkable history and heritage of Townsville.

Like to purchase our Townsville History and Heritage Book?

Our book is available in two versions: a standard colour version and an economy colour version. The books can be purchased on the Blurb website by clicking on the relevant image below:

Standard Version:

Economy Version

Book 2: Heritage Townsville – Through a Lens (A Photobook)

Welcome to our photobook: Townsville Heritage – Through a Lens. Our focus is heritage-listed buildings as anyone who has read our history and heritage books will attest. However, because Townsville has created so many other highlights, we have also included photographs from ANZAC Memorial Park, The Strand, and Other Highlights.

This photobook of Townsville’s Heritage contains a compilation of 47 colour images.

There are 29 images of 24 buildings placed in the heritage-listed building sections for the 19th Century (16); Early 20th Century (7); and Interwar Period Buildings (6). Another 18 images relate to ANZAC Memorial Park (6), The Strand (6), and Other Highlights (6).

OS Wayfarer captured the 47 photographs in this photobook.

This photobook is a companion to our other Townsville book: A Glimpse of Townsville History and Heritage.

Like to purchase our Townsville photobook?

The photobook is available for purchase on Blurb by clicking on the image below:

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