Yeppoon, Queensland

From Freepedia

Yeppoon is a coastal resort town situated in Central Queensland, Australia. The town is the administrative centre for the Livingstone Shire. Located on Keppel Bay, Yeppoon has a rapidly growing population of 20000+.

Yeppoon is the major town along the tourist strip of the Capricorn Coast, and is around 700 km north of the state capital, Brisbane, and 40 km from its nearest regional centre, the city of Rockhampton. Long stretches of beaches are the main tourist attraction, while the islands of the Keppel Group, in particular Great Keppel Island, are another drawcard. The Rosslyn Bay boat harbour caters for professional and privately owned vessels.

Pineapples and sugar were the major industries of the early town. The first European residents arrived in 1865. Along with other sugar growing areas of Australia, South Sea Islanders were used as labourers on the sugar plantations, usually without their consent (see blackbirding). No sugar is grown in the area today, however pineapples are still a major crop in the region.

North of the town is the Byfield State Forest and National Park. The State Forest is consists largely of pine plantations. The National Park is largely coastal and sand dune based geographical areas. It is popular with Four Wheel Drive enthusiasts.

Further north lies Shoalwater Bay and the Shoalwater military training grounds, and military exercises are regularly held there for soldiers of the Australian, Singapore and United States armed forces. Current controversy hangs around a proposed American expansion to the base, which local residents feel may have negative affects on the environment, roads and community infrastructure. This is largely due to the belief that depleted uranium will be used during exercises, though the government denies this.

It is home to St. Brendan's College, known for its production of Rugby League legends such as Julian O'Neill and Shane Martenee. Yeppoon also produced the famous woman rugby player Christina Hawken.