Towns in Australia

Exploring Australia, town by town

Bowen QLD

Bowen

Postcode: 4805

Bowen is a town on the eastern coast of Queensland, Australia.

Bowen is located on the north-east coast of Australia, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator. In fact, the twentieth parallel crosses the main street. Bowen is halfway between Townsville and Mackay, and 1,130 kilometres by road from Brisbane.

The town of Bowen sits on a square peninsula, with ocean to the north, east, and south. On the western side, where the peninsula connects with the mainland, the Don River’s alluvial plain provides fertile soil that supports a prosperous farming industry.

The surrounding Bowen Shire covers an area of 21,085 square kilometres and includes the principal towns of Bowen and Collinsville, plus the smaller townships of Mount Coolon, Scottville, Heronvale, Merinda, Gumlu, and Guthalungra. The Bowen Shire is bounded by Wangaratta Creek to the North, Greta Creek to the South and the Inland Highway in the West. The Shires of Burdekin, Dalrymple, Belyando, Nebo, Mirani, Mackay and Whitsunday all border the Shire of Bowen.

The town of Bowen is in the dry tropics. This means it has all the warm sunny weather of a tropical climate, but it is much dryer than one would expect for tropical beaches overlooking the Great Barrier Reef.

At Bowen’s latitude, the Trade Winds provide a pleasant breeze. In summer the hottest part of the day is usually about 9am and then the wind kicks in and keeps you cool.