Capricorn Way

Rockhampton offers much more that its status as the beef capital of Australia might suggest. For example, only 30 minutes away is Mount Hay where the tourist gemstone park is famous for its ‘thunder eggs’.

Or there’s Mount Archer, which offers a panoramic view of the town. Or just a little to the south, Mount Morgan is the site of the goldfields of the 1880s and 1890s.

Just north of the town are the Capricorn Caves with their limestone formations. Duaringa is a little more than a 1-hour drive from ’Rocky’ as it’s known. Head west to Dingo with access to the sandstone wonders of the Blackdown Tableland National Park.

Further along the way is Blackwater, site of one of the largest flag displays in the world, each one representing the country of origin of the 37 nationalities that first worked the region’s coal industry. Next is Emerald, where you can visit the National Trust-listed Emerald Railway Station, then make the short drive south to picturesque Lake Maraboon.

As you travel west from Emerald, you can take a detour to see the sapphire fields around the towns of Sapphire and Anakie, and try your luck at fossicking. Next comes the town of Alpha, best known as the town of murals. And finally you reach Barcaldine, at the junction of the Capricorn and Matilda Ways, famous for its Tree of Knowledge memorial commemorating the Great Shearers Strike of 1891.

Places of Interest

ROCKHAMPTON - Rockhampton, or ‘Rocky’, is the fourth largest city in Queensland known as the Beef Capital of Australia.

DUARINGA - The small rural town of Duaringa is the oldest township in the shire of Duaringa, with buildings dating back to the 1870s.

DINGO - Named after the native Australian dog the dingo, the town of Dingo is situated in grazing country west of Rockhampton.

BLACKWATER - Blackwater in the Central Highlands region is a significant coal mining area known as the ‘Coal Capital’ of Queensland.

EMERALD - Emerald is the regional hub of the Central Highlands and gateway to the largest sapphire gemfields in the southern hemisphere.

GEMFIELDS - Gemfields contains four small townships; Anakie, Rubyvale, Sapphire and Willows Gemfields. The sapphire fields date back to 1857, covering almost 900 square kms.

BARCALDINE - Located at the junction of the Landsborough and Capricorn Highways, Barcaldine is often referred to as the Garden City of the West.