Townsville, Queensland

Townsville Queensland
Townsville's CBD viewed from Central Park, with Castle Hill in the background.
Townsville
Coordinates	19°15′23″S 146°49′6″E / 19.25639°S 146.81833°E / -19.25639; 146.81833Coordinates: 19°15′23″S 146°49′6″E / 19.25639°S 146.81833°E / -19.25639; 146.81833
Population	180,333 (2015) (13th)
• Density	259.025/km2 (670.87/sq mi)
Established	1865
Area	696.2 km2 (268.8 sq mi) (2011 urban)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10)
Location	1,348 km (838 mi) from Brisbane 348 km (216 mi) from Cairns 1,267 km (787 mi) from Sunshine Coast 1,434 km (891 mi) from Gold Coast
LGA(s)	City of Townsville
County	Elphinstone
State electorate(s)	Townsville Thuringowa Mundingburra Burdekin
Federal Division(s)	Herbert
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 28.9 °C 84 °F 19.8 °C 68 °F 1,134.7 mm 44.7 in

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. It is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2015 population estimate of 180,333. Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland by locals, Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.

Popular attractions include "The Strand", a long tropical beach and garden strip; Riverway, a riverfront parkland attraction located on the banks of Ross River; Reef HQ, a large tropical aquarium holding many of the Great Barrier Reef's native flora and fauna; the Museum of Tropical Queensland, built around a display of relics from the sunken British warship HMS Pandora; Castle Hill, the most prominent landmark of the area and a popular fitness destination; The Townsville Sports Reserve; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is national park.

Such indigenous groups as the Wulgurukaba, Bindal, Girrugubba, Warakamai and Nawagi, among others, originally inhabited the Townsville area. The Wulgurukaba claim to be the traditional owner of the Townsville city area; the Bindal had a claim struck out by the Federal Court of Australia in 2005.

James Cook visited the Townsville region on his first voyage to Australia in 1770, but did not actually land there. Cook named nearby Cape Cleveland, Cleveland Bay and Magnetic(al) Island. In 1819, Captain Phillip Parker King and botanist Alan Cunningham were the first Europeans to record a local landing. In 1846, James Morrill was shipwrecked from the Peruvian, living in the Townsville area among the Bindal people for 17 years before being found by white men and returned to Brisbane.