Emu Park - Places to See

The Singing Ship
The great attraction of the area, apart from the swimming, fishing and lazing about, is the remarkable Singing Ship musical sculpture in Kele Park on the headland, south of the main beach.

It is dedicated to James Cook who named Keppel Bay on 27 May 1770. 'At Noon we were about 2 Leagues from the Main land and by observation in the Latitude of 22�53'S, Longitude made from Cape Capricorn 20 Miles west. At this the northernmost point of land we had in sight bore NNW distant 10 Miles, this point I named C. Manyfold from the number of high hills over it. Latitude 22�43'S. It lies N26� West distant 17 1/3 Leagues from C. Capricorn, between them the shore forms a large bay in and off it are known by the same name. In this Bay is good anchorage where there is a sufficient depth of water.' It is clear that Cook was not poetically inspired by the moment.

The Singing Ship sculpture really works. It sings almost constantly because of the on-shore breezes. The effect, particularly on a clear day when the white ship gleams in the sun, is quite stunning. The design was by Mrs C. M. Westmoreland who won a local competition aimed at commemorating the 200th Anniversary of Cook's discovery of Australia. It was constructed by S. W. Kele, a Rockhampton steel and concrete contractor, and the specific engineering and acoustic problems were handled by George Cain and David Thomas from the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education. It is a notable and interesting landmark.

Emu Park Historical Museum
The Emu Park Museum is located at 17 Hill St and is open weekdays from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., Saturdays from 10.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m., tel: (07) 4939 6080 or check out: http://www.emuparkmuseum.org.au/