Wowan
Postcode: 4702
About 80km south-west of Rockhampton – right on the Tropic of Capricorn – the attractive Wowan district is given over mainly to cattle, wheat and sorghum these days.
But in times gone by, cotton was big around here, until 1927 when they shut down the cotton gin and foreclosed on an industry now so important to southern Queensland and northern NSW. The closure restored the fortunes of the cattle kings.
You can get the full picture in the town’s museum, housed in the old butter factory and widely regarded as one of the best bush museums in Queensland. To the south-west, Baralba’s Historical Village gives another perspective on the pioneers who opened up the Capricorn Coast hinterland. Back up the road toward Rockhampton is the open-cut Mount Morgan Mine, which produced a king’s ransom in gold, silver and copper. Here, you can take a tour of one of the biggest man-made holes in the world.
The butter factory may have closed down, as has been the case throughout much of rural Australia, but the little town of Wowan has kept its old butter factory alive via a very good museum. Known as the Old Butter Factory Museum, much of the area’s history has been given to safe hands. Part of that history deals with the greater role the town had back in its earlier days, in that in 1944 Wowan was the centre of local government. History also recalls the input of the Chinese gold miners who worked the fields located about 10 kilometres out of town.
Wowan is a settlement situated in Queensland, Australia. Wowan is 1263 km from the Australian capital Canberra. Nearby places include Alma Creek, Buneru, Cooneel, Dixalea, Don River, Dululu, Vimy, Wura. Nearby landmarks include Lake Caroline, Lake Victoria, Mount MacDonald, Mount Spencer, Mount Wheal, Piebald Mountain.