Calliope, Queensland

Calliope is a town and locality in the Gladstone Region, Queensland, Australia. At the 2011 census, Calliope had a population of 3,058.GeographyCalliope is near the 'cross-roads' of the Bruce Highway and the Dawson Highway in Central Queensland, 20km SSW of the port city of Gladstone.The town is reputedly named after the ship Calliope, which brought the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Charles Augustus FitzRoy to Port Curtis in 1854. Industries of the town and surrounds since that time have included gold mining, beef, timber, and more recently heavy industry (Aluminium, Coal, LNG), shipping and tourism.HistoryCalliope Post Office opened on 1 March 1864. Alluvial gold was mined in the area after its discovery in 1862. The following year Queensland's first goldfield was officially proclaimed. In 1872, a state primary school was opened.Local attractionsThe Port Curtis Historical Village is situated on the banks of the Calliope River, as well as the Boyne River. Lake Awoonga resulted from the construction of a dam on the Boyne River. Lake Awoonga supplies water to the city of Gladstone, and Calliope and other townships in the region, as well as supplying the major industries for which the Gladstone region is known. Total capacity of Lake Awoonga is 777,000 megalitres (203,412,500,000 gallons). The catchment area contributing to the Lake is 2,240 square kilometres (864.87 square miles) and is surrounded by the Boyne, Dawes and Many Peaks Ranges.