Bowen

Queensland (Central East Coast)

Bowen
Bowen situated on a peninsular in the shores of Port Deninson is Northern Queensland's oldest town. With a colourful past stretching back to 1770 the town was proclaimed in 1861. The historical museum and the Bowen Murals are some attractions. BOWEN, a quiet settlement an hour north of Prosperpine, was once under consideration as the site of the state capital, but it floundered after Townsville’s foundation. Today, rather stark first impressions created by the dry terrain and sterile bulk of the saltworks on the highway are offset by a certain small-town charm and some unexpectedly pretty beaches just off to the north. The other attraction is the prospect of seasonal farm work: Bowen’s mangoes and tomatoes are spoken of in reverential tones, and each April the town’s population is swelled by an influx of itinerant pickers. All three backpackers’ hostels can help with finding work, though nothing’s guaranteed. There’s no public transport in the Bowen area.

The town centre overlooks Edgecumbe Bay, at the harbour end of Herbert Street, where you’ll find the usual range of services and a couple of old colonial exteriors on the Grand View Hotel and the Harbour Office; buses stop outside Barrier Reef Trave. Mid-range options include Castle Motor Lodge, 6 Don St, about the closest to the centre of town. You can eat at the Club Hotel across from the post office and the late-night pizza shop down by the harbour, or stock up at Magees Supermarket on Williams Street and at numerous fruit and vegetable stalls. Bowen’s attractive beaches are a couple of kilometres north of the town centre. The best is Horseshoe Bay: small, and hemmed in by some sizeable boulders, with good waters for a swim or snorkel. Horseshoe Bay Resort makes an excellent base, two minutes’ walk from the sea, or you could simply borrow snorkelling gear and a bicycle from one of the hotels and make a day of it. Maps
Townsville Area (Tropical Coast) GreaterTownsville Area (Tropical Coast) Whitsunday Islands