Westwood, Queensland

Westwood is a town in the Rockhampton Region and a locality split between the Rockhampton Region and the Shire of Banana in Queensland, Australia. It was the first town gazetted by the Queensland Government. In the 2011 census, Westwood had a population of 220 people.GeographyWestwood is 50km south west of the city of Rockhampton. The Capricorn Highway passes through the town, and the intersection with the Leichhardt Highway is a few kilometres to the southwest. The town of Westwood consists of a handful of houses, a hotel, and a police station.The major industry of the area is cattle grazing. The northern half of the locality of Westwood is in Rockhampton Region while the southern part is in the Shire of Banana.HistoryAlthough towns such as Brisbane, Maryborough and Rockhampton had been gazetted by the New South Wales Government prior to the separation of Queensland, Westwood was the first town to be gazetted by the newly established Queensland Government on 23 May 1860. Although the area was named Prestone on the original survey plan, Queensland Governor George Bowen decided to name the town Westwood after Westwood House, the home of Sir John Pakington, the Secretary of State for the Colonies and War in 1852.