Blackwater.
Y’all know we are from Central Queensland, but we thought we would give you a little insight this week on the little town Country Allure call's home.
Blackwater is just shy of 200km West of Rockhampton, 850km from Brisbane and is situated on the Capricorn Highway.
I bet you're wondering, how did this small town in the middle of nowhere get its name? It's actually very simple! It was noted that the colour of the local waterholes and river was very dark and so it was then called Blackwater.
Blackwater is actually known predominantly for its coal mines! This small town of aprox 5,500 people houses one of Australia and the world's largest coal reserves. Infact, there are actually 6 open cut mines and 1 underground mine in Blackwater and is known as Queensland's Coal Capital.
Mining is the biggest attraction of Blackwater, and is the main source of employment in the area.
So what's there to do in Blackwater? Well, remembering that it's a small rural town, there isn't a whole lot BUT from a tourist perspective, there are a few notable mentions.
Blackwater has a large Japanese Garden, a coal centre museum, the Lions park, and a little further out you have the Bedford Weir and the Tableland National Park which is great for sightseeing, bushwalking, 4x4ing etc.
For a small town, it has quite a few facilities. This includes pubs, a shopping centre, Woolworths, a small hospital, hairdressers, mechanic's and even a McDonalds (yeah I'm serious!) And plenty of accomodation options.
Blackwater is only 50 minutes from Emerald, the nearest large town (3x the population). This town is more commonly known and visited, much like Rockhampton. Emerald offers multiple other tourist attractions such as gem fields, Lake Maraboon (one of the largest man-made lakes in Australia), the botanic gardens and the GIANT Van Gogh sunflower painting, just to name a few!
So if you're out travelling close by to Blackwater, don't hesitate to reach out and come for a visit to our shop. We absolutely love having visitors (it doesn't happen often) and love meeting all our wonderful supporters and customers, actually face to face! And you get to hold and see some of our products with your very own eyes.
We hope you liked this blog on the little town Country Allure calls home, and hope you learnt a thing or two.
Let us know, have you ever been to Blackwater, Queensland?
Have a great week lovelies.
Signing off for now,
Jess Price ✨