Lying between Brisbane and Cairns on the North Queensland coast, Townsville is a laid-back city of over 160,000 people, the gateway to koala habitat Magnetic Island and a jumping off point for the Great Barrier Reef. Townsville has a fine climate with sunny, dry and warm days as well as a wealth of green areas, a distinct cosmopolitan feel and plentiful hotels, shops, restaurants and bars.

Townsville is twinned with Thuringowa and extends north to Mission Beach, south to Bowen, west to Charters Towers and east to the Coral Sea islands. Most people come here for the fantastic surroundings that include the Great Barrier Reef, Magnetic Island, lush tropical rainforests, and the dry, unforgiving outback, while the city centre itself is like no other in northern Queensland with its bustling shopping streets and heritage.

The centre of Townsville has plenty of interest. There is a fair amount of history here which can best be seen in its many restored historic buildings in the city centre and its brilliant museums. There are also a couple of good beaches in the city and the Strand Waterfront is a good place for a stroll to take in the Magnetic Island and Cleveland Bay backdrop.

Shopping options are aplenty in Townsville with the bustling Flinders Mall another great place for ambling about and taking in the atmosphere. This street is pedestrianised and stages a fun market every Sunday with numerous stalls selling everything from Townsville tucker to locally made handicrafts and souvenirs, as well as lively entertainment.

Naturally, there are loads of watering holes in the city, and many pubs have been lovingly restored to feature fine décor inside and out. One of the most popular Townsville night spots is Jupiters Casino in the Jupiters Townsville Hotel. The casino has a superb setting on the Stand overlooking the waterfront and comes complete with blackjack, roulette and poker tables as well as five bars.

All sorts of sporting and leisure activities can be had in and around Townsville including diving and snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef; koala spotting on Magnetic Island; fishing, sailing and water sports on the beaches and waterways; golfing; and many other activities such as walking and cycling. There is even a free aqua park at the beach.

Townsville is easy enough to get to. It has an airport situated just outside the city centre with connections from all over Australia with Qantas, Virgin, and other smaller airlines. There is also a railway station in town with access from major regional centres as well as good bus connections with Cairns, Brisbane and cities farther afield. The quality roads make driving here from other major destinations also an option.

Townsville has an excellent tourist infrastructure which includes a broad range of accommodation from hotels and resorts to self-contained apartments. Most hotels are located within reach of the city’s attractions and shops and are well priced outside of the peak Christmas and New Year periods.

The Aborigines were the first to inhabit these regions. In fact, it wasn’t until 1770 that the white man set eyes on the area, when Captain Cook sighted and named Cleveland Bay during his circumnavigation of Australia.

The area was duly noted when Sydney Cove was established in 1788 and several explorers made a return to Cleveland Bay. Phillip King stopped by here for three days while exploring the Northern Territory in 1819 and Captain John Wickham also passed by in the Beagle while chartering the coastline 20 years later.

It was another generation before any real interest was focused on the area, however, when Robert Towns asked John Melton Black to choose a useful site for a port in Northern Queensland in order that he could trade his vast holdings.

John Melton Black eventually chose a site on Cleveland Bay and it was named Castletown after a small settlement was established in 1861. The new town was renamed after its founder, Townsville Robert Towns, in 1865 and was officially declared a port. Trade increased in the region with flat-bottomed boats mooring between Townsville and Magnetic Island.

A year before Robert Towns’ death in 1873 gold was discovered at Ravenswood, which led to a breakwater being built and the dredging of the harbour in 1884. The discovery of gold together with the production of sugar and the establishment of pastoral industries and subsequent meat works saw a boom in the Townsville area.

The building of a railway further added prominence and growth to the region, which expanded to Charters Towers in 1882, Ravenswood in 1884, Hughenden in 1887, Winton in 1900, Cloncurry in 1908 and eventually to Mount Isa in the 1920s.

Townsville’s inspiring rise to prominence has given it great wealth and charm. The town boasts some grand buildings, often unseen in other Australian towns of its size and remoteness.

The establishment of the tourist industry after the jet age and the realisation of the attractions of the Great Barrier Reef and Magnetic Island put Townsville on the map. The tourist infrastructure quickly gained numerous hotels and resorts. Today, most tourists come for the snorkelling and diving on the reef, the koalas on Magnetic Island and the laid-back charm of the town itself.

Townsville has a dry tropical climate with over 300 days of unbroken sunshine per year and a distinct wet season. The wet season runs from November/December to March/April, when the city sees around three feet of rainfall, which is actually a lot less than other regions in tropical Queensland due to the favourable direction of the trade winds to the south of Townsville.

Average daily temperatures in Townsville range between 20°C and 30°C. December is the hottest month with an average temperature of 28°C and highs in the upper 30s (°C). Even in July, the coolest month, temperatures rarely dip below 13°C even at night. The average daily amount of sunshine across the year in Townsville is over eight hours.

Townsville is prone to tropical cyclones, as with other regions of northern Queensland, and they mainly occur in the cyclone season between November and May. If you are here during this time, always heed weather warnings and head for a city cyclone shelter if conditions get bad.