Coowonga, Queensland

Coowonga is located in coastal hills at the southern end of the Capricorn Coast. It is six kilometres from the Pacific Ocean and the nearest township of Keppel Sands.

Much of the district south of Coowonga Road is grazing and fruit-growing land, while to the north lie tidal salt flats that back onto Coorooman Creek.

The Rockhampton–Emu Park Road runs through from west to north.[4]

Coowonga is the traditional land of the Darumbal Aboriginal tribe, as is all of the Capricornia region.

Coowonga Provision School opened on 9 August 1897. It became Coowonga State School on 1 January 1909.[5]

In the 2006 census, Coowonga had a population of 558 people.[6]

Prior to local government amalgamations in 2008, the Capricorn Coast was administered by Livingstone Shire Council but became part of Rockhampton Region in 2008. In 2014, following a deamalgamation vote, the Shire of Livingstone was re-established.

In the 2011 census, Coowonga had a population of 260 people.[7]

In the 2016 census, Coowonga had a population of 254 people.[8]

In the 2021 census, Coowonga had a population of 255 people.[3]

Coowonga is a rural community with a focus on primary production.

The Koorana Crocodile Farm, on the banks of Coorooman Creek, opened in November 1981 as the first commercial crocodile farm in Queensland. It also operates as a tourist attraction.[9] At 2014, it had 3,000 crocodiles and supplies crocodile leather and crocodile meat.[10]

Coowonga State School is a government primary (Prep-6) school for boys and girls at 269 Coowonga Road (23.3026°S 150.7311°E / -23.3026; 150.7311 (Coowonga State School)).[11][12] In 2015, it had an enrolment of 19 students with 3 teachers (2 equivalent full-time).[13] In 2018, the school had an enrolment of 17 students with 4 teachers (2 full-time equivalent) and 5 non-teaching staff (2 full-time equivalent).[14]

There is no secondary school in Coowonga. The nearest government secondary school is Yeppoon State High School in Yeppoon to the north.[15]

• Coowonga State School (1987), A brief history of Coowonga State School 1897-1987, Coowonga State School, retrieved 2 November 2016