Townsville, Queensland

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census population of 143,328, and a 2007–2008 estimated population of 162,73. Considered the unofficial capital ofNorth Queensland, 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; and Magnetic Island, a large neighbouring island, the vast majority of which is national park.

Culture, Events and Festivals

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music is an international chamber music festival held over ten days each July in Townsville, North Queensland.The festival has been running since 1991, and attracts many acclaimed international and Australian musicians. Townsville also has its own orchestra, the Barrier Reef Orchestra, which presents concerts throughout North Queensland. The Townsville Entertainment Centre, seating over 5000 people, is host to many national and international music shows, as well as sporting and trade shows.

The region has many renowned festivals, many which celebrate the international heritage of many that call North Queensland home. The Annual Greek and Italian Festivals are popular with the locals and tourists alike. The Townsville South hotel and restaurant strip hosts an annual Palmer Street Jazz Festival, as does nearby Magnetic Island (The Great Tropical Jazz Party). The Stable on the Strand is celebrated each Christmas.

The Townsville Civic Theatre is North Queensland's premier cultural facility. Since its opening in 1978, the Theatre has been a centre of entertainment and performing arts, providing an environment to further develop the performing arts in Townsville and the North. The Tropic Sun Theatre Company is a professional theatre company based in Townsville. Tropic Sun showcases the talents of local actors, designers, directors and playwrights. It presents four major shows a year.

The Perc Tucker Regional Gallery is the public art gallery of Townsville. Located on the eastern end of Flinders Mall, the Gallery focuses on artwork relevant to North Queensland and the Tropics. Every second September the gallery presents sculpture artworks and art festival called Strand Ephemera, exhibited over the two kilometre beachfront strip.

The city has many restaurants, concentrated on Palmer Street in South Townsville, Flinders Street and to a lesser extend along the Strand. The city also has a vibrant pub and night-club scene, many of them located in Flinders Street East. Local and national music groups can often be found performing live in these venues.

Sport and recreation

ownsville hosts several sporting teams that participate in national competitions. These include the North Queensland Cowboys (National Rugby League), the Townsville Crocodiles, (National Basketball League), the Townsville Fire (Women's National Basketball League) and the North Queensland Fury, a new A-League football (soccer) team. Rugby League is the dominant football code in North Queensland and the Cowboys are therefore the highest profile team.

The Dairy Farmers Stadium is the home ground for the Cowboys and the Fury. Built in 1995 the stadium has a capacity of 30,302. Dairy Farmers Stadium was an official venue the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup, with three matches played in Townsville. Townsville hosted the popular Japanese national rugby union team. The Super 14 rugby union team Queensland Reds have also played at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Tony Ireland Stadium, in the suburb of Thuringowa, has an international standard cricket and AFL stadium.

Townsville also hosts three Touch Football associations. The Townsville/Castle Hill Touch Association (TCHTA) conducts competitions annually at its grounds at Queens Park, Townsville. Thuringowa Touch Association (TTA) also conducts competitions at Greenwood Park, Kirwan.

AFL Townsville operate a regional Australian rules football league in the region. Jake Spencer is the first local player to play in the AFL.

Several Australian Test and ODI cricket players have come out of Townsville including current fast bowler Mitchell Johnson and also former Australian squad member Andrew Symonds who both honed their skills as juniors at Wanderers Cricket Club.

A V8 Supercars race track is located in Townsville, and the inaugural annual Townsville 400 was held in July 2009.

source: Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Townsville,_Queensland