[6][7] Bowen is located on the north-east coast in North Queensland, at exactly twenty degrees south of the equator.

[citation needed] Bowen sits on a square peninsula, with the Coral Sea to the north, east, and south.

[9] 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.

[10] Two of Bowen's main streets are named after officers of the British colonial paramilitary Native Police force.

[16] In 1859 Captain Henry Daniel Sinclair led an expedition to the area in response to a reward offered by the colony of New South Wales for finding a port somewhere north of Rockhampton.

[18] On 11 September 1860, George Elphinstone Dalrymple on his naval excursion in the schooner Spitfire to search for the mouth of the Burdekin River, landed in Port Denison.

The Spitfire continued its exploration north to Magnetic Island, but the surveyors came to the conclusion that the northeastern shore of Port Denison was the most suitable site in the region for settlement especially as the large native wells present in a creek bed there could be utilised as a water supply.

He wrote that: "As I approached the beach a number of armed natives appeared to wish to dispute our landing, but as the object in view was a necessity, I..formed open line and advanced.

This we entered in the same order, cleared it and placed sentries.."[19] Confident in having secured a beach-head, Dalrymple explored the immediate vicinity near the wells that was to become the town of Bowen.

He found a large Aboriginal tomb in the hills behind the beach that was in the form of a raised mound covered in bark with its surroundings swept clean and the paths leading to it closed off with branches.

[citation needed]In 1861, George Elphinstone Dalrymple set out again for the area, leading an overland expedition from Rockhampton, complemented with a naval contingent to rendezvous at Port Denison and establish a permanent settlement.

Dalrymple planned this two pronged entry into the area because 'a sudden cooperation of land and sea forces..would either strike terror, which would result in immediate flight, or enable a blow to be struck' against the local Aboriginal people of which many had been seen camped around the harbour.

[citation needed] The maritime group arrived first and waited for Dalrymple's overland party by camping on Stone Island at the mouth of the harbour.

He rode down to the area on the foreshore 'beside the native wells' (which was to be the water supply of the settlement) in order 'to clear off the aborigines from the same, should such be necessary' and to signal McDermott's group on Stone Island.

Dalrymple wrote that it was 'Deeply gratifying to me to see the British flag flying over the spot where..a few days ago, the wild aboriginal held undisputed sway', and that the settlement marked 'the advance of another great wave of Anglo-Australian energy'.

[20] Within the first six weeks of colonisation, the Native Police and armed colonists conducted at least six operations against the Aboriginal people in the area, driving them off the land and also pursuing them by sea.

In one of these missions, the whole available force in the town was utilised in an engagement where a large group of Aboriginal people were "speedily put to rout with a loss sufficient to teach them a severe and it is hoped, useful lesson."

Newspapers published reports that the local Aboriginal population were "wretched caricatures of the human race...faithless stewards of the fine property on which they horde", and that it was "the duty of civilisation to occupy the soil which they disregard and disgrace", and that "force and even severity may be necessary to restrain their brutal disposition".

Pastoralists were quick to enter the region through this new port and mark out land acquisitions in the hinterland, while buildings within the township were rapidly constructed.

Relics of this particular ambition can be seen today in Bowen's exacting road grid and town plan, and the avenue-like width of its central streets.

[23] In 1863, settlers in the area encountered a sailor, James Morrill, who had been shipwrecked 17 years previously on a shoal in the Coral Sea.

[25][26] The coral reefs around Bowen are the scene of several shipwrecks, including the SS Gothenburg, which sank in 1875 with a loss of more than 100 lives.

[25]Elements of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have been operating from Bowen for almost two decades, beginning in the late 1920s.

[1] Bowen has a number of heritage-listed sites, including: The town enjoys a diversified economy primarily based on agriculture, fishing, tourism, and mining.

Its dry climate plus its fertile alluvial soil, makes it an ideal place to grow a wide variety of small crops, including tomatoes, rockmelons (i.e., cantaloupes), and capsicums (i.e., bell peppers).

In February 2014, the 10-metre high, seven-tonne fibreglass structure was reported to be "stolen" as part of a publicity stunt for the region.

The town's local team, the Bowen Seagulls, play in the Townsville District Rugby League competition.

The Bowen Showground, off Mount Nutt Road includes a motorcycle speedway and sidecars track within the site.

A partial rain shadow is produced by the nearby Gloucester Island, resulting in the annual precipitation averaging 894.9 millimetres (35.23 in).

In December 2006, it was announced that Bowen was chosen as a filming location for part of the production of Australia, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.