Situated 1300 kilometres north of Brisbane and 350 kilometres south of Cairns, lies Australia’s largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, the city of Townsville. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef and in the dry tropics of Queensland, Townsville sits on the shores of Cleveland Bay, protected to some degree form the predominantly southeast weather.

Captain James Cook first sighted the area on his first voyage to Australia in 1770. However the first European landing was in 1819, when Captain Phillip Parker King and explorer Alan Cunningham set down in Cleveland Bay. Sydney entrepreneur Robert Towns dispatched a small party to find suitable land in the area in 1864. After arriving and setting up camp below Castle Hill, Robert Towns visited the region in 1866. He agreed to provide ongoing financial assistance to the new settlement, and Townsville was named in his honour.

Originally inhabited by the Wulgurukaba people, Townsville now has a population of 196,219, and is considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland. The region enjoys a tropical savannah climate, where winter rainfall is not as high as elsewhere in the tropics. Lying on the section of Queensland coastline that runs east/west instead of the usual north/south means that the southeast trade winds don’t affect the area as much, giving the region a warmer winter than other areas. Townsville is also prone to tropical cyclones, most recently Cyclone Yasi in 2011.

Townsville has a diverse economy; significant industries include health and education services, government administration and defence, construction, mining and manufacturing. With Queensland Rail and the Port of Townsville, a transport hub has opened up for the region’s mining and agricultural industries, as well as local refineries for zinc, copper and nickel, and the Queensland Sugar Corporation Distribution Centre.

The local tourism industry is also on the rise, with local attractions including The Strand, the Riverway, the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Reef HQ Aquarium and Billabong Sanctuary, as well as beautiful natural settings in Blencoe Falls, Mount Elliot, Magnetic Island and Thorsborne Trail. Local events are also assisting tourism, with the Burdekin Water Festival, Magnetic Island Race Week and Xstrata Greek Festival all bringing visitors to the area.