Westwood, Queensland

The township of Westwood is located in Central Queensland, Australia, approximately 50 kilometres 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 west. The major industry of the area is cattle grazing.

Westwood is today a handful of houses, a hotel, and a police station. In 1867, the Great Northern Railway [now known as The Central Line] reached the area from Rockhampton, and Westwood became the railhead ["The Centenary of the Central Line" Knowles, J.W. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin, September, 1967 pp181-202] . The first load of wool was railed from the town on August 23. The town was meant to be the railhead for only a short time, however, bureaucracy and financial difficulties for the state meant that the next section of the line did not commence construction until 1873. The significance of Westwood declined when the railhead moved further west.

References