Local History
Discover the rich history of Townsville and the surrounding region online and in the Local History Collection Room at Citylibraries Flinders Street.
Make an appointment with our Local History staff by calling 07 4727 9667 or emailing us at historyandheritage@townsville.qld.gov.au.
Local History staff are able to provide a one-hour research standard per query, collection tours and guidance as well as inductions to our free digitisation equipment and family history research computer service.
Our usual desk hours are 9am to 1pm Monday to Friday, however this may vary due to staff availability.
Stories of Townsville
Unlock the rich history of our region with Stories of Townsville, our interactive online resource that brings our community’s collective memory to life.
Dive into a treasure trove of digital photographs, videos, documents, oral histories and more.
Want to get involved? Register your account to upload your own items, add information to existing items and build your own personal collections.
Join us in preserving and celebrating the stories that make Townsville unique.
Watch a Townsville Local History Video
Open for Business: Influential business families of Townsville's past
Read about the History of Townsville in an eBook
- Lecture Series - Sir Robert Philp (PDF)
- Lecture Series - Lectures in Queensland History (PDF)
- Looking Back... Memories of Townsville project
- Serving Thuringowa: Chairmen and Mayors 1897-2004 (PDF)
- Paluma: The First Eighty Years (PDF, 15.1 MB)
- A Short History of Thuringowa (PDF, 11.1 MB)
- Thuringowa Past and Present (PDF, 13.7 MB)
- A History of the Bohle Plains (PDF)
- In the Shadow of Castle Hill (PDF, 11.9 MB)
- Minutes Through the Years
- Paluma, The First Eighty Years (PDF, 14.5 MB)
- Highways and Byways: The meanings behind street names in Townsville (PDF)
Heritage Education Kits
T150 Education Kit
A comprehensive collection of information featuring 150 years of Townsville's history; neatly organised and presented for your use.
T150 Education – Activity Kits
The following are zip files for downloading to complement the above T150 Education Kit.
World War 1 Education Kit
The World War 1 Education Kit has two aims, first to illustrate the relevance of Townsville Citylibraries's Local History Collection to the Australian History Curriculum and second to assist teachers in creating a meaningful and interesting history unit relevant to Anzac Day.
The kit includes a range of activities with relevant sources for Year 2, 3 and 6 which align with the relevant aspects of the Australian History Curriculum.
Whilst the pack has been made with specific activities attached to specific sources it is hoped that teachers look upon the pack as a flexible teaching tool which they can use in a variety of ways.
The teachers guide for the World War 1 Education Kit can be downloaded below.
Please visit our For Schools page to access additional kit resources.
Heritage Information Sheets
These Heritage Information Sheets are a really valuable local history resource and are particularly useful for school assignments. Learn something new about our city's history.
Visit our Heritage Information Sheets page to view.
From Selection to Discovery – T150 Minutes Through the Years
Funding was made available to support Council's Minutes Through the Years: T150 Townsville City Council Minutes Online pilot project to begin the digitisation and cataloguing of Townsville’s historic minute books and to make them available online. Through the From Selection to Discovery pilot project, was made available from January 2016 for the commencement of the 150th anniversary year of Townsville City Council and one set of minutes is available online:
Building on the process established through the From Selection to Discovery project further historical minute books were digitised and made available during the anniversary year of 2016.
From Selection to Discovery was funded by the Queensland Government through the State Library of Queensland and provided five councils with a grant and training to support the completion of a digitisation project of their choice. It aimed to increase the presence and accessibility of Queensland’s heritage collections online, and to build the capacity of councils and communities to continue selecting digitising and making collections accessible online into the future.
Other the Local History Collection at Citylibraries Flinders Street
- Search our catalogue for books and magazines
- Historical newspapers on microfilm (PDF)
- Almanacs, indexes and directories on microfiche (PDF)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community – family History and resources
Look out for Local History programs on What's On Townsville.
For more information, please ask your friendly staff at Citylibraries.
Get Active Sign On
Find a new sport or fitness activity at Council’s free Get Active Sign On event on Sunday 1 February from 9am – 1pm at Townsville Stadium, Murray Sporting Complex.
Citylibraries School Holiday Program
Check out the exciting programs and activities at Townsville Citylibraries this December - January School Holidays!
Capital Works Program
To keep Townsville growing, Council is actively involved in the delivery of projects to provide vital infrastructure and exciting development opportunities.
Australia Day
Reflect. Respect. Celebrate. Join us this Australia Day – Monday 26 January at Jezzine Barracks, The Strand.
What's On Townsville
What's On Townsville is the North's Ultimate Event Guide! Browse performing and visual arts, children's activities, music, film, festivals, markets, sporting events and more.