The Shoalwater Bay Training Area has been one of
Australia’s prime military training areas since 1965. The
training area was first used by troops who were deployed
to the Vietnam War. The base is located approximately 80
km to the north of Rockhampton and lies within a primary
conservation zone surrounded by national parks including
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, pastoral leases and the
Waterpark Creek catchment (drinking water catchment).
The Shoalwater Bay Training Area is approximately 453,700
hectares (ha) with 289,700 ha occupied by terrestrial
environments and the remaining area 164,000 ha occupied
by marine environments. The property comprises a large
parcel of land which includes the Warginburra Peninsula,
part of the Torilla Peninsula, Townshend and Leicester Islands, and a sizable land parcel of the
Shoalwater Bay hinterland north of the village of Byfield.
