Located 681 km north of Brisbane and 40 km east of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is a holiday resort which has grown in popularity due to the extraordinarily successful advertising campaign associated with Great Keppel Island and the growing awareness that Yeppoon is surrounded by attractive beaches where, for most of the year, the swimming is good and the living is easy. It is basically a series of flat, firm sand, well developed beaches with access via good roads.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In spite of this apparent holiday orientation there is also a real sense that Yeppoon is a commuter belt for Rockhampton. With 8000 permanent residents it is obviously much more than a holiday resort and the traffic which heads out of town each morning and returns each evening indicates clearly that for many people living in Yeppoon and driving to Rockhampton every day is a desirable option.
It is hard to imagine that the Ross family, the first settlers, arrived in 1865 and that the area, for over 100 years, was really nothing more than a fruit growing (pineapples), timber and cattle area. The town of Yeppoon was surveyed in 1867 but the road from Rockhampton was completed until the 1870s. The Yeppoon Sugar Company was established in 1883 and by 1910 the railway had arrived.
The holiday homes in the area were built by Rockhampton people eager to escape the city or by people from the south who found the peace and quiet of the area refreshing.
Things to see
Wreck Point Lookout
It is worth driving south from Yeppoon to Emu Park because the road passes through a number of delightful, and very unspoilt, beach resorts.
On the road south of the town there is a turnoff to Wreck Point Lookout which affords magnificent views over all the major islands, including Great Keppel and North Keppel islands, which lie off the coast from Yeppoon.
Coo-ee Beach
After crossing the Ross Creek estuary, and leaving Yeppoon beach behind, there is Coo-ee Beach (where, each year, there is a coo-ee ing competition. This rather extraordinary event also includes such all Australian activities as gum leaf blowing, husband calling, bottle-top flicking and a myriad of other equally unusual activities), Statue Bay, Kinka Bay, Rosslyn Bay (which is the departure point for Great Keppel Island), Mulabin Beach and Emu Point. Each area has its own charm and is ideal for quiet holidays focussing on fishing, swimming and just lazing around.
Stingers
However for all the apparent appeal of the area it is worth remembering that this is an area prone to the dangers of the tropics. A sign on the Yeppoon beaches declares: 'WARNING. Swimmers are warned that potentially deadly marine stingers may be present in these waters particularly between November and March.'
Tourist Information
Capricorn Coast Tourist Organisation
Ross Creek Roundabout
Yeppoon QLD 4703
Telephone: (07) 4939 4888
Facsimile: (07) 4939 1696
