Yeppoon and Great Keppel Island Weekend – Friday 21st June – Tuesday 25 June 2019
This is an opportunity for members to visit Great Keppel Island and explore a part of the Great Barrier Reef. It is also an opportunity for some of the Wide Bay members to join us on this weekend. While the SE members will depart on Friday and return on Tuesday the Wide Bay members will be able to join us at Bundaberg on Saturday morning and return home on Monday.
Yeppoon is situated 38 kilometres north east of Rockhampton, and is the gateway to the Capricorn Coast and the wonders of the Southern Great Barrier Reef and Keppel Bay Islands. The township has retained its village style appeal with a variety of wonderful restaurants, accommodation, shops and galleries. A charming esplanade with grassy knoll, palms and covered picnic and play areas form a backdrop to a vista of sea, sand, sky and islands. Great Keppel Island lies 15 kilometres from the coast off Yeppoon along the Capricorn Coast of Central Queensland, Australia. The island is the largest of the eighteen islands in the Keppel Group, and covers an area of more than 14.5 km². It is within the local government area of Shire of Livingstone.
Agnes Water takes its name from pastoral holding first leased by Daniel Clowes in 1883, which he named after the coastal schooner Agnes, which was lost at sea in the area. The schooner left Bustard Head on 15 June 1873, en route from Mackay to Brisbane. Daniel Clowes remained there until his death in 1891. The gravestones of Clowes and his wife are near the present township. There was saw milling in the locality in the 1890s and the wide beach was a popular venue, particularly as buggies could be driven onto the beach. It became a holiday destination, and weekend residences were built, notably on Round Hill where the Town of 1770 was officially named in 1936. However, the town was regarded as somewhat remote, and it was not until the road into the town was completely sealed in the mid 1990s that development really took off.
Seventeen Seventy, also written as 1770, is a town and locality in Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia, built on the site of the second landing in Australia by James Cook and the crew of HM Bark Endeavour in May 1770 (Cook’s first landing in what is now the state of Queensland). Originally known as Round Hill – after the creek it sits on – the name was changed on 24 June 1936 after the town allotments were surveyed in 1935 to recognise the historical importance of the town.
Turkey Beach is a small coastal township south of Gladstone in Queensland, Australia. It is a laid back coastal fishing village that sits in the protected Rodds Bay. Turkey Beach is geographically closer than virtually anywhere else in Queensland to the Great Barrier Reef. The name Turkey relates directly back to the bustard or bush turkey shot by Captain Cook‘s crew back in 1770 when they discovered the area aboard HMS Endeavour.
The area south of the Boyne River was originally known as Wild Cattle Creek (being the name of the creek that flows through the area) and had been a popular fishing and picnic location for the people of Boyne Island, but remained unsettled due to its inaccessibility. Closer settlement began in the late 1930s when 12 beach front lots were auctioned. The town received its original name Tannum when a group of children returned from a Sunday School picnic to the beach quite sunburnt. The comment was made “we can really tan ‘um over there.” One of the people present worked for the Queensland Land Department thought it would be a good name for the area and registered the name. On 12 April 1951, the town was renamed Tannum Sands.
Boyne Island was named after the Boyne River, which was named by John Oxley in 1823. Originally the island was used for sheep grazing, this was followed by small crops, horticulture, fishing and timber.
Gladstone: In May 1770, the HM Bark Endeavour, under the command of James Cook, sailed by the entrance to Gladstone Harbour under the cover of darkness. Matthew Flinders, during his 1801–1803 circumnavigation of Australia, became the first recorded European to sight the harbour in August 1802. He named the harbour Port Curtis, after Admiral Roger Curtis, a man who was of assistance to Flinders a year earlier at the Cape of Good Hope. John Oxley conducted further exploration of the harbour and surrounding countryside in November 1823. Oxley was dismissive of the region, noting the harbour was difficult to enter, the countrysidewastoo dry, and the timber useless for construction purposes.Nevertheless, in 1847 the British attempted to establish the new colony of North Australia at Port Curtis.[6] Colonel George Barney was chosen to lead this experiment in colonisation and his expedition was eventful. On 25 January 1847, the Lord Auckland, carrying 87 soldiers and convicts, arrived off the southern entrance of Port Curtis and promptly ran aground on shoals off the southern tip of Facing Island. The settlers spent seven weeks on the island before being rescued by the supply ship Thomas Lowry and delivered the intended site of settlement, the region now known as Barney Point. On 30 January at a proclamation ceremony, Barney was sworn in as Lieutenant Governor of the colony of North Australia. The convict settlement lasted barely two months and cost the Imperial government ₤15,000. A change of government in Britain ordered the withdrawal of Barney and the settlers. However, interest in the region remained.
Maximum No: 60
Friday 21st June – BP Caboolture Roadhouse, lunch at Waverley’s, Bundaberg
Approx. distance: 320km Approx. Travel Time: 4 hrs (excluding stops)
Meet at BP Roadhouse South Caboolture [UBD Map 58 L18] for a 9:00am departure to Waverley’s residence at 22 Sea Eagle Drive, Yengarie for lunch. We will make a brief pit stop at Lake Alford Park (on the right as we arrive in Gympie from the south. It has the fountain!!). We should arrive at Waverley’s at approximately 12 noon. Following lunch we should have an easy drive to Best Western Boulevarde Lodge (breakfast at members’ expense), 10 Johanna Blvd, Bundaberg between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.
5:00pm – Cheese (supplied) and BYO drinks – by the pool
6.30pm – Dinner – Darcy’s on Boulevarde (included in the package) – 2 course alternate drop
Saturday 22nd June – Bundaberg, Rosedale, Miriam Vale, Rockhampton, Yeppoon
Approx. distance: 340km Approx. Travel Time: 4.5 hrs (excluding stops)
This a free travelling day where members can decide which route they take. There will be time to visit the towns of Agneswater, 1770, Tannum Sands, Gladstone and/or Rockhampton either on the way to Yeppoon or on the return journey. The only requirement is that you plan your journey to arrive at The Coast Motel (breakfast at members’ expense), 52-72 Scenic Hwy, Yeppoon between 3:30pm and 4:30pm.
5:00pm – Cheese (supplied) and BYO drinks – by the pool with a possible appearance by Mick aka “Jim the Barber”
6.30pm – Dinner – Capricorn Tavern (included in the package) – 2 course alternate drop
Sunday 23rd June – Great Keppel Island
8:15am – bus transfer to Rosslyn Harbour.
9:15am – ferry to Great Keppel Island including 1 hour reef tour in glass bottom boat, morning tea, smorgasbord lunch on board, and free time on Great Keppel Island.
5:00pm – Cheese (supplied) and BYO drinks – by the pool
6.30pm – Dinner – Capricorn Tavern (included in the package) – BBQ
Monday 24th June – Yeppoon, Rockhampton, Miriam Vale, Rosedale, Bundaberg
Approx. distance: 340km Approx. Travel Time: 4.5 hrs (excluding stops)
Any towns you missed going up can be visited on the return journey. Once again, the only requirement is that you plan your journey to arrive at Best Western Boulevarde Lodge (breakfast at members’ expense), 10 Johanna Blvd, Bundaberg between 4:00pm and 5:00pm.
6.30pm – Dinner – Darcy’s on Boulevarde (included in the package) – 2 course alternate drop
Tuesday 25th June – return home and recovery!!!
We will offer three weekend packages:
Option 1 – Cost: $874/couple – (Friday – Tuesday) 4 nights which includes Friday lunch (at Waverley’s), 4 nights’ accommodation, 4 dinners, tour of Great Keppel Island, return bus transfer to Rosslyn Harbour, and cheese.
Option 2 – Cost: $718/couple – (Friday – Monday) 3 nights which includes Friday lunch (at Waverley’s), 3 nights’ accommodation, 3 dinners, tour of Great Keppel Island, return bus transfer to Rosslyn Harbour, and cheese.
Option 3 – Cost: $538/couple – (Saturday – Monday) 2 nights which includes 2 nights’ accommodation, 2 dinners, tour of Great Keppel Island, return bus transfer to Rosslyn Harbour, and cheese.
For those single members, please contact Geoff Greensill to receive a price for your package.
Deadline for payment is Friday 17th May. Direct deposit into the club’s Suncorp Account: BSB 484 799, A/C No. 200009415 with the reference membership number/name/yep.
Please Note: When you make your payment please contact either Terry Philip Ph: 0488049497 (philip.terrance@yahoo.com) or Geoff Greensill on 32633672 (vice-president@mbclubqld.com ) so your payment can be registered.
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