ENVI RONMENTAL HI STORY OF ROWES BAY - Townsville State ...

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7Environmental history of Rowes BayThe rate of sand movement along the beaches by longshore drift was probably quite slow, asCleveland Bay is a very low wave energy environment. Observations in recent years suggest thatnett northward longshore drift rates are probably around 2000 m 3 /year. At this rate it would takemany years for sand to be moved from Ross River mouth north around Kissing Point and intoRowes Bay. This slow rate of sand movement is significant as it means there would be a long delaybetween changes in sand supply at Ross River mouth, and subsequent changes along the foreshore.4.6 VegetationThe vegetation would have showed a distinctive character that reflected the underlying rock, soiland drainage conditions. The dunes behind the beach would have supported vines, with Casuarinaforming the first line of trees along the modern beach ridge. Behind this, a narrow strip of vinethicket would have given way to mangrove and Melaeluca swamps, with Eucalypts on the drierbeach ridge crests behind.5. History of Urban Development along the Rowes Bay Shoreline5.1 IntroductionThe shoreline of Rowes Bay extends along parts of the suburbs of North Ward, Belgian Gardensand Rowes Bay. Urban development has resulted in this landscape being substantially changed fromits natural state. Today, about 1800 people live within 0.5 km of the Rowes Bay shoreline (an areaof about 160 ha), and urban development has covered over 70 % of the land area. Most of thelandscape has been changed considerably over the last 135 years. Parts of Kissing Point and CastleHill have been quarried away; the beach ridges and alluvial fans have been covered by suburbandevelopment; streams have been replaced with drains; sand spits have gone and the shoreline haseroded. Estuarine mudflats have been reclaimed, as have parts of the swamps, and of the originalvegetation complexes probably only the wetlands behind the RSL Villas and Rowes Bay housesbear any similarity to the original vegetation. Mangroves have become established along the innerforeshore where before they were confined to the estuarine mudflats. Only parts of Kissing Point,Castle Hill, and the beach ridge and swale between Rowes Bay and the cemetery retain anythinglike their original character.5.2 Early SettlementRowes Bay area has had European settlement since almost as soon as Townsville was established inNovember 1864, although it was not until the 1940s that major urban development began and thelandscape began to be substantially changed. The original Townsville settlement was ~2.5 km to thesoutheast of Rowes Bay on the other side of Castle Hill. Initially, the main road north (theDalrymple Track) went around this north side of Castle Hill. By 1865 a dairy farm and marketgardens were established around lagoons near Jimmy’s Lookout, and a vineyard had been plantednear Kissing Point. By 1870, the vineyard had failed, and the market garden area was being calledGerman Gardens. This name was changed to Belgian Gardens during World War One. North Wardhad been one of the first Townsville suburbs to be established, but residential housing did notextend towards Rowes Bay until about 1900. Kissing Point was by then being used as a militaryfacility.5.3 Suburban Development 1900 - 2000The main Warburton/Bundock Street route had been established by 1865, but it was not until theearly 1930s that Heatley’s Parade and the road to the Quarantine Station at Cape Pallarenda werebuilt. In the late 1930’s there were only a few side streets in addition to these main roads. However,by 1950 most of the Belgian Gardens and North Ward streets had been laid out, and the Rowes Baystreet system was established by 1960.The 1938 aerial photographs provide the first accurate picture of urban development in the RowesBay area (see Figure 3 which has been drawn from these photos.). In the strip 0.5 km inland fromthe shoreline there were only 16 houses in North Ward and 56 houses in Belgian Gardens.
Environmental history of Rowes BayAssuming 5.5 persons per dwelling, there were about 400 people living here. There were also some35 small buildings in Rowes Bay on the western side of Heatley’s Parade. These were probablyholiday huts, and presumably were not permanently occupied. In 1941, there were only 25 of theseleft, and it may have been that some were lost during the cyclone of the previous year. Much of thearea between Kissing Point and Castle Hill was tidal mudflat, and housing did not extend beyondHowitt Street until after these were reclaimed in the early 1940s.Over the 1940s and 1950s, the area grew steadily, and by 1961 there were over 315 dwellings(North Ward 113, Belgian Gardens 129, Rowes Bay 76), with a population of about 1,600. Themudflats between Castle Hill and Kissing Point had been reclaimed in the 1940s and slowly thatarea was occupied. In the 1950s, the huts in Rowes Bay were removed. By 1959 the Rowes BayCaravan Park had been established, and the new Rowes Bay suburb had been started, with thisbeing almost fully developed (76 houses) two years later. In 1961 the One Mile Creek drain wasnearing completion, replacing the lower 0.8 km of the Mundy Creek channel.Figure 3 Rowes Bay in 1938 mapped from aerial photographs. (1 = mudflats reclaimed 1938-1941;2 = mudflats reclaimed 1961-1962; 3 = mouth of One Mile Creek drain, constructed in 1961.)By 1974 the suburbs around the Rowes Bay foreshore had been almost fully developed. The 0.5 kmstrip of shoreline between Kissing Point and the RSL Villas contained about 370 houses (NorthWard 129, Belgian Gardens 151, Rowes Bay 88), with a population of ~1850. The last areas ofmudflats and the Mundy Creek channel had been reclaimed and built on. The only area available forsuburban growth has been along the Pallarenda Road in Rowes Bay, and on the lower slopes ofCastle Hill. In the 1990s the RSL retirement village was built, and this currently comprises some 70villas.8
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ENVI RONMENTAL HI STORY OF ROWES BAY - Townsville State ...

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