Ross Creek is a creek in the
Shire of Livingstone
The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal to ...
in
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an imprecisely-defined geographical division of Queensland ( a state in Australia) that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton. The region extends from the Cap ...
, Australia. It rises in the
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
of
Taroomball
Taroomball is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Taroomball had a population of 1,136 people.
Geography
'' Ross Creek'' rises in the south of the locality and flows to the north before exiting.
Demogra ...
and flows into the
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down t ...
between the localities of
Yeppoon
Yeppoon () is a coastal town and locality in the Shire of Livingstone, Queensland, Australia. Yeppoon is renowned for its beaches, tropical climate, and the islands out on the bay. Located from the city of Rockhampton, Yeppoon is the seat of ...
to the north and
Cooee Bay
Cooee Bay is a coastal locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Cooee Bay had a population of 942 people.
Geography
Cooee Bay is bounded to the east by the Coral Sea. It is centrally located on the Capricorn Coast, ...
to the south.
Geography
The
Scenic Highway
A scenic route, tourist road, tourist drive, scenic byway, or holiday road is a specially designated road or waterway that travels through an area of natural or cultural beauty. It often passes by scenic viewpoints. The designation is usually det ...
connects Yeppoon with Cooee Bay and other southern towns; it crosses Ross Creek via the Henry Beak Bridge ().
Amenities
There is a park, boat ramp, and public barbecues at the mouth of the creek. Markets are held every month.
Ross Creek is known for its fishing. On the incoming tide, the creek fills to near capacity. Man-made stone walls on either side of the creek, plus a sandy beach at the mouth provide plentiful fishing spots.
Whiting,
flathead, and
silver bream Silver bream is the common name of several species of fish:
* ''Blicca bjoerkna'' (white bream), freshwater species of cyprinids from Europe and Western Asia
* ''Acanthopagrus australis'' (surf bream), marine and freshwater species of sea bream from ...
are common catches.
On the low tide, muddy sandbars on the southern side of the bridge are revealed and are a popular place for pumping for yabbies.
Flora and fauna
Sandy at its mouth, Ross Creek becomes muddier on the other side of the bridge and is popular for mud crabs. Hectares of low-lying land either side of Ross Creek fills at high tide, providing the perfect environment for mangroves to grow. In turn, the mangroves give shelter to crustaceans, prawns, and fish. Queensland Government studies have identified ten different species of mangrove in the Ross Creek-Fig Tree Creek system.
Ross Creek is also famous as a breeding ground for colonies of flying foxes. The mangroves provide a permanent home for approximately 2,000
black flying fox
The black flying fox or black fruit bat (''Pteropus alecto'') is a bat in the family Pteropodidae. It is among the largest bats in the world, but is considerably smaller than the largest species in its genus, ''Pteropus''. The black flying fox ...
es (''Pteropus alecto''), as well as a seasonal camp for several hundred thousand
little red flying fox
The little red flying-fox (''Pteropus scapulatus'') is a megachiropteran bat native to northern and eastern Australia. The species weighs about half a kilogram, one US pound, and is the smallest species of ''Pteropus'' in mainland Australia. '' ...
es (''Pteropus scapulatus'').
History
The Livingstone Bridge was built across Ross Creek in 1926 to facilitate land development in Cooee Bay. It was replaced in 1972 by the Henry Beak Bridge, named after former
Livingstone Shire Council
The Shire of Livingstone is a local government area located in the Capricornia region of Central Queensland, Queensland, Australia, to the immediate north and east of the regional city of Rockhampton. The shire, administered from the coastal to ...
Chairman Henry Beak.
Several trawlers still berth in Ross Creek, the remnants of an intensive
sea scallop
''Placopecten magellanicus'', previously listed as ''Pecten tenuicostatus'' and as ''Pecten grandis'' and once referred to as the "giant scallop", common names Atlantic deep-sea scallop, deep sea scallop, North Atlantic sea scallop, American se ...
fishing industry based at Ross Creek up until
Rosslyn Bay Rosslyn can refer to: Places
Africa
* Rosslyn, Gauteng, South Africa
* Rosslyn Academy, a school in Nairobi, Kenya
Australia
* Rosslyn, Queensland, a town on the Capricorn Coast in the Shire of Livingstone
Europe
* Roslin, Midlothian, Scotl ...
took shape in the 1970s.
Also visible on the eastern wall by the creek mouth are the remains of a concrete-and-stone saltwater pool that was built in the 1950s as a safe swimming place for children.
See also
*
List of rivers of Australia
Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Although the Murray River forms much of the bor ...
References
{{Rivers of Queensland
Rivers of Queensland
Central Queensland