| Type: | suburb |
| Cape Cleveland | |
| City: | Townsville |
| State: | qld |
| Coordinates: | -19.3155°N 147.0097°W |
| Pop: | 128 |
| Postcode: | 4810 |
| Area: | 224.0 |
| Timezone: | AEST |
| Utc: | +10:00 |
| Dist1: | 32.7 |
| Dir1: | E |
| Location1: | Annandale |
| Dist2: | 35.7 |
| Dir2: | ESE |
| Location2: | Townsville CBD |
| Dist3: | 1305 |
| Dir3: | NNW |
| Location3: | Brisbane |
| Lga: | City of Townsville |
| Stategov: | Burdekin |
| Fedgov: | Dawson |
| Near-N: | Coral Sea |
| Near-Ne: | Coral Sea |
| Near-Nw: | Cleveland Bay |
Cape Cleveland is a rural locality in the City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia.[1] In the, Cape Cleveland had a population of 128 people.
The locality is bounded to the north-west by Cleveland Bay (-19.2142°N 146.8998°W),[2] to the north by the Coral Sea, to the north-west by Bowling Green Bay (-19.3653°N 147.2533°W).[3]
Cleveland Bay has smaller side bays of:
while Bowling Green Bay has smaller side bays of:
The locality has a number of headlands, including:
The coastline of the locality has the following beaches:
The locality has a number of mountains, from north to south:
The Bruce Highway and North Coast railway line form a small section of the south-west boundary with Mount Elliot. The locality was once served by the now-abandoned Clevedon railway station (-19.3964°N 147.022°W) beside the junction of the Bruce Highway and Cape Cleveland Road.[14]
Much of the locality is within the Bowling Green Bay National Park and the Bowling Green Bay Conservation Park, which extend into the neighbouring localities of Mount Elliot, Cromarty, and Giru, and beyond. Apart from these protected areas and marshland in the west of the locality, there is a small area of rural residential development centred on Riley Road, some grazing on native vegetation, and some unused marshland. Around Cape Ferguson at the end of Cape Cleveland Road is a 207.4ha land parcel which is the headquarters of the Australian Institute of Marine Science, where research into tropical marine science is undertaken.[15]
The area takes its name from the headland Cape Cleveland, named by Captain Cook on his first voyage to the Pacific in 1770. Cook gave no reason for the name, but it is possible it was in honour of John Clevland, a former Secretary to the British Admiralty. Cook's original choice of name was "Iron Head", but this was crossed and replaced in a revision of his log shortly after leaving the cape.[16]
In the, Cape Cleveland had a population of 124 people.
In the, Cape Cleveland had a population of 155 people.
In the, Cape Cleveland had a population of 128 people.
Cape Cleveland has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:
There are no schools in Cape Cleveland. The nearest government primary schools are Giru State School in neighbouring Giru to the south-east and Wulguru State School in Wulguru to the west. The nearest government secondary school is William Ross State High School in Annandale, Townsville.
The public can book tours of the Australian Institute of Marine Science between March and October. As at 2021, the tours have been suspended due to the COVID pandemic.[18]
The Cape Cleveland Lighthouse is in private ownership, but visitors are welcome by arrangement and basic camping facilities are available. There is no road access, so the options are either a long bushwalk or by ferry or with an organised tour.[19] [20]