Cooee Bay & Wreck Point
Access
The seaside locality of Cooee Bay is a major centre on the Capricorn Coast. Access is easy from Rockhampton, Yeppoon, and Emu Park.
Part of the LGA of Livingstone Shire Council, it is located 41 kms northeast of Rockhampton City, and 18 kms north of Emu Park.
Cooee Bay is a picturesque seaside community. Adjacent to the town of Yeppoon, the difference is noticeable as you drive over Ross Creek. You suddenly enter a smaller village where the pace is considerably more laid back. Around 1000 people call Cooee Bay home.
Lammermoor Beach borders Cooee Bay to the south, with Taranganba to the west, and Yeppoon in the north. It takes in the seaward bank of Ross Creek, and the full length of the scenic Matthew Flinders Drive which goes over the top of Wreck Point.
Its coastline encompasses two sandy coves, including Fisherman’s Beach and Ocean Parade, which are amongst the most desirable addresses on the Capricorn Coast for their uninterrupted access and view to the Pacific Ocean.
Cooee Bay features two rocky headlands, the remnants of long-ago volcanic activity in the region. The most famous of these is Wreck Point which includes a new lookout and stunning views across Keppel Bay.
On a clear day, you can see as far south as the mountains of Broadmount near the mouth of the Fitzroy River, and the ranges of Byfield in the north.
Cooee Bay History
Cooee Bay, along with all the other seaward land between Mulambin and Yeppoon, was originally staked out by Robert Ross and family in the 1860s.
Very little development happened in the area until the early 1900s. Much of the land was mangrove swamp, inundated each year by king tides and summer storms.
Post World War 2, fibro shacks began to spring up in Cooee Bay, particularly in the sheltered back streets. The little township quickly became synonymous with fishing. My childhood memories of the area feature a tinnie on a rusty trailer in every single yard.
Two corner stores graced the main street, Matthew Flinders Drive. One sat at the base near Ross Creek called Zonca’s – later Cooee Corner – with the other midway by Daniel Park, before the climb to Wreck Point.
An old train locomotive held pride of place in Daniel Park from 1970 for around 20 years. A passing railway historian one day realised the machine was quite rare. It was subsequently whisked away, along with the melted ice cream hand prints of the thousands of children who had climbed aboard over the years.
In recent years, Cooee Bay has enjoyed massive reinvention as a prestigious location. Its many attributes include close proximity to the sea, schools and commercial facilities in neighbouring Yeppoon.
Suggested further reading: Early history of Capricorn Coast
Photo Gallery
If you enjoy this type of article, you can find more on the Central Queensland Places page. Feel free to leave any related comments at the end of this page.
Andrew loves history. And geography. And coding. And dogs. That’s pretty much it. And cycling. OK, now that’s pretty much it. Oops, forgot the grandkids. They’re pretty cool too.