Local Employment

Local Employment

With a population of over 68,000 Rockhampton offers the friendly and relaxed atmosphere of a large country city and also boasts city-sized shopping centres, quality restaurants, a leading university and a bustling business centre. Rocky (as it is affectionately called by locals) is so much more than you realise.

Located on the Tropic of Capricorn, Rockhampton is the gateway to the Capricorn coast. Within 30 minutes drive you can find yourself fossicking for gems, climbing a mountain, walking through a rainforest, snorkelling over the Great Barrier Reef or riding a horse along a pristine beach.

Rockhampton is also serviced by all three Australian airlines with direct flights to both Sydney and Brisbane.

The city of Rockhampton is divided by the Fitzroy River, the catchment of which covers an area of 150,000 square kilometres, making it the second largest river catchment in Australia, after that of the Murray- Darling system. The river is formed by the joining of the Mackenzie and Dawson rivers. The catchment stretches from the Carnarvon Ranges in the west to the river mouth in Keppel Bay, near Rockhampton. It is bounded to the north by the Burdekin River catchment area and to the south by the Burnett River catchment area. Predominant industries in the catchment are coal mining, grazing and cotton.

The lower reaches of the river are home to salt water crocodiles, a recently captured example (2003) being in excess of 4 metres long. The prized Australian fish, the barramundi, also breeds in the river.

The Fitzroy was named by Charles and William Archer on May 4th, 1853, in honour of Sir Charles Fitzroy, Governor of the Colony of New South Wales, as Queensland wasn't to become a separate colony until 1859.

The city of Rockhampton is situated on the river, 40 kilometres from the coast. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the city was a major port; however rocky bars in the river prevented the Fitzroy from being used for navigation any further inland. As ships became larger, the lower reaches became less viable for commercial traffic, and today only pleasure craft and small commercial fishing boats use the river. Wharves which once lined the town reach at Rockhampton have now almost all disintegrated or been removed.

Lighthouse Baptist Church grounds are located on 7 acres of land, on the north side of the river. Our church property shares a boundary with Juds Park Cricket Oval, thus providing extra fields for sporting activities.

The Rockhampton area is a booming economy with a wide diversity of employment opportunities. Our administration works diligently to assist new students and returning students find the right job. We make it a priority to help our students graduate debt-free. At present, in order to help students with work commitments, most of our lectures are at night.