Agnes Water to Emerald (500km)

Today we had a rather long drive from the coast to Queenslands outback.

The morning started with a visit from some kangaroos on our campground near Agnes Water.


After a more than 5 hours drive with only one break we reach our campground on the shores of lake Maraboon.

Fairbairn Dam is located 25 kilometres southwest of Emerald, in Central Queensland, almost on top of the Tropic of Capricorn line. Fairbairn Dam was constructed in 1972 across the Nogoa River "Gap" creating Lake Maraboon and is Queensland's second largest lake. Maraboon is the Aboriginal for "where the black ducks fly".

The primary purpose of Fairbairn Dam is for irrigation. About 300 irrigators are supplied with water for cotton, citrus and other horticulture operations. The dam is relatively shallow with large areas of standing timber. There are no boating restrictions and one concrete boat ramp.

Emerald is a town located in the Central Highlands district of Central Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Emerald had a population of 10,999. The town is the business centre for the Central Highlands Regional Council.

Emerald lies on the Nogoa River, a tributary of the Fitzroy River. The town lies almost 300 kilometres from the coast and approximately 270 kilometres west of the city of Rockhampton on the junction of the Capricorn and Gregory highways. The Tropic of Capricorn intersects the Gregory Highway just north of Emerald.

The area was first explored by the European Ludwig Leichhardt. Emerald was established in 1879 as a base for the Central Line from Rockhampton.
Fairbairn Dam overflowed for the first time in 17 years on the 19 January 2008. Major flooding in Emerald occurred a few days after as the Nogoa River broke its banks. The floods, resulted in 1,000 houses being affected and more than 2,500 people being evacuated. The 2008 floods did not reach the heights of flooding in previous years.

Emerald is a service town for a large number of industries in the area. Extensive coal mining operations are carried out in the district. Cotton is grown in the area, and is processed at the Yamala Cotton Gin, while other agricultural activities include grape, citrus and grain growing.

The citrus industry was severely affected by a citrus canker outbreak that started in 2004 and was declared over in early 2009. More than half a million citrus trees located around Emerald had to be destroyed.

To the west of the town is an area known as The Gemfields, with small towns such as Sapphire and Rubyvale indicating the type of gems found there. The sapphire fields located here are the largest in the southern hemisphere.
Tomorrow we will visit the gemfields.
Location of the campground on the shores of Lake Maraboon:





(c) Dirk Frantzen 2012 — published via iPad

Position:Fairbairn Dam Rd,Gindie,Australien