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Located due west of Rockhampton and roughly the same distance as Brisbane, Longreach was for a long time marketed as “the edge of the outback”. AI now insists that Longreach is not at the edge, but “firmly in its heartland”. No matter, I spent a year there in 1985, and ever since it’s had a place in my heart. My recent visit was part of a mother’s day gift. My wife has an interest in birds – small ones in particular – the ones that flitter and tweet and show incredible and

Raised in Rockhampton, I’m sometimes asked why I chose to go to university in Adelaide. Decades on it’s still an interesting question. Advice from a senior Commonwealth economist ranks as amongst the most sensible response, but perhaps I deserve some credit for sensing that the economic good brought by the Bjelke-Petersen Government, was a foil for a now well-documented undercurrent of organised crime and police corrup tion. More flippantly, the 1986 Flinders University Ha

Ringed by clear blue water, 17 white sandy beaches and numerous fringing reefs, Great Keppel is by ferry, just 30 minutes from the mainland. Even better, Central Queensland is not often included in visitor itineraries and so Great Keppel is much less crowded than the Whitsundays and further north. Walk around a couple of headlands and you might have the beach to yourself – or close to it. As locals, our routine for Great Keppel is normally based around bushwalking, or snork

Whether enjoying a few days in paradise or just a day trip, Great Keppel’s white sandy beaches and fringing reefs are easily accessible from Roslyn Bay Boat Harbour, just 45kms from Rockhampton and 9km from Yeppoon. The distance from the ferry terminal at Rosslyn Bay to Great Keppel Island is about 16 kilometres (10 miles), and on a reasonably calm day, the trip takes about 30 minutes. The first thing you should do before planning a trip to Keppel is to look at the weather fo

Ringed by clear blue water, 17 white sandy beaches and numerous fringing reefs, Great Keppel is by ferry, just 30 minutes from the mainland. Even better, Central Queensland is not often included in visitor itineraries and so Great Keppel is much less crowded than the Whitsundays and further north. Walk around a couple of headlands and you might have the beach to yourself. As locals, our routine for Great Keppel is normally based around bushwalking, or snorkelling. It’s pos