Coowonga Queensland | |||||||||||||||
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Coordinates | 23°18′42″S 150°43′29″E / 23.3116°S 150.7247°E | ||||||||||||||
Population | 255 (SAL 2021)[1] | ||||||||||||||
Postcode(s) | 4702 | ||||||||||||||
Area | 25.3 km2 (9.8 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Time zone | AEST (UTC+10:00) | ||||||||||||||
Location |
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LGA(s) | Shire of Livingstone | ||||||||||||||
State electorate(s) | Keppel | ||||||||||||||
Federal division(s) | Capricornia | ||||||||||||||
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Coowonga is a rural locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Central Queensland, Australia.[2] In the 2021 census, Coowonga had a population of 255 people.[3]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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°18′09″S 150°43′52″E / 23.3026°S 150.7311°E).[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]