Rockhampton's Fitzroy River faces Olympic hosting challenges

“The thing I like about having that 2032 target is there’s a date for us to all be ready for,” he says.

“Every town in the country has a shopping list of things they would like to see happen, but having that hard date in 2032 where everybody’s coming, that makes a big difference.”

Foss says the financial opportunity for the businesses he represents – and Rockhampton more generally – is hard to quantify.

“How are they going to deal with the extra money? Will we see a few Ferraris driving around in town afterwards? Maybe, maybe not.”

Robin Adams is the managing owner of CocoBrew, which has three outlets in Rockhampton, including one fronting the Fitzroy River.

A sports tragic, he’s giddy at the prospect of Olympic competition being held just a couple of kilometres upstream, and he can already paint a picture in his head of Rockhampton in 2032.

“I see people walking up and down the river. I see a buzz in cafes, hotels, motels,” he says.

“People buying things in shops and enjoying the beautiful weather – have a look at it out there, absolutely gorgeous.”

A crowd is building to watch the NRL finals on his venue’s big screen, but Adams says the buzz around town would be orders of magnitude more for the Olympics.

Premier David Crisafulli has been steadfast in his government’s captain’s call to host rowing in Rockhampton – against GIICA’s recommendations – as a show of faith in regional Queensland.

“We like to get things done, and I’m really proud of what Crisafulli has done,” Adams says.

“He stood tall, taking all the bullets, and said it’s going to be here. He’s made it happen … we’ve just got to deliver it now.”

While glad to see Rockhampton score an Olympic event, former long-serving Labor MP for Robert Schwarten says enthusiasm is far from universal.

“There are probably three groups of people,” he says.

“There are those that have no interest in the Olympics whatsoever – couldn’t care less – battling day to day on the breadline, as we used to call it. The Olympics aren’t going to make much difference to them.

“Then there’s a group of people who see it as a godsend economically, the business people here, and so on. They know what the beef expo brings into the city – there’s a whole flow of income out of that.

“Then there’s another group of people, who are like me and hope we haven’t put all the eggs in one basket, and that is that we’re going to get nothing if this doesn’t go ahead.”

It’s a valid concern. While the course has passed a technical field-of-play assessment, there are still several hurdles to overcome.

The call on rowing, Schwarten says, was more about politics than anything else. He prefers a new indoor sports centre as a legacy, and supports the use of Browne Park for Olympic events.

“Bear in mind, it’s LNP front-to-back here for the first time in 100 years, so they all fell into line,” he says.

“There was no political conversation about it, which there should have been in my view. The voice of other people was lost in that process.”

The south-east Queensland rowing community, meanwhile, remains apoplectic about the Rockhampton choice. It’s been championing a purpose-built Olympic and legacy venue at Lawnton, in Brisbane’s urban outer-north.

Georgie Keily is in Rockhampton to support her son, who is competing for Churchie. A rowing enthusiast, Keily does not expect to be back here in 2032.

“I live in East Brisbane, right near where some of the events are going to be, so I think I’d be absolutely prioritising going to the events where I can stay in my own house,” she says.

As it stands, rowers in south-east Queensland – the region with the overwhelming majority of participants – have to be content with Wyaralong Dam in the Scenic Rim.

“There are no facilities there – just some donga buildings,” she says.

“It would have been incredible to have a venue close to the majority of Queensland rowers.”

Looking around the Rockhampton site, Keily says she does not comprehend how anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 spectators could fit.

“How many people do you reckon are here? Maybe 1000 – and it’s full,” she says.

“There’s no room. The car park’s full. All the boat trailers. The kids are all on top of each other down there.

“I mean, they’re happy as Larry, but there’s five or six hundred of them, and they’re not racing for an Olympic gold medal.”

And then there’s the natural beauty of the place. The cleared area around Ski Gardens is at the end of the course, looking directly up the lanes. It’s hardly conducive to spectator viewing.

“You can’t tell who’s won because they’re rowing towards you, which is quite bizarre,” Keily says.

“To get any number of spectators in, you’re going to have to clear at least 500 metres of those trees, right? Which is a lot, and they look like they’re holding up the banks.”

That’s exactly what they do, says Capricorn Conservation Council president Sophie George.

George says she’s hopeful the Fitzroy course’s natural beauty and value can be preserved, even if the new Olympic infrastructure gets built.

An environmental scientist and biologist by profession, George supports the Olympic rowing course – as long as it’s done right.

She worries about the “pretty ginormous” floods that Rockhampton can experience, and how Olympic infrastructure would mitigate or manage flooding when it occurs.

“The beautiful old trees – eucalyptus, melaleuca – are all very important in maintaining that ecosystem and maintaining that riverbank, and if you remove those old trees, it’s going to cause an ecosystem collapse,” she says.

“There’s no amount of concrete that can replace what those big old trees do to stabilise the ecosystem, stabilise the soil, and also draw water in.”

Consultation has been positive so far, George says, and already some good ideas have been suggested – like hosting spectators on floating pontoons.

“It is certainly a challenge, but I’m sure it’s nothing that technology and the experts putting their head together can’t resolve or find a solution to,” she says.

Despite those concerns, George remains supportive of Olympic rowing in Rocky.

“Everyone wants this, and it’s going to be great for our region,” she says.

“I’m hoping that the infrastructure that we do get, especially with accommodation, can leave a lasting legacy for our region. We need housing. We need it so badly.”

Rowing club president Black also hopes people can get over the controversy and “just enjoy the rowing”.

“Once you’re here, Rockhampton’s course is unique in that we’re in the centre of town – that’s not necessarily the case with a lot of venues around the country,” she says.

“As a spectator and a supporter, you have the benefit of being able to come and watch some amazing competition, and then just going back into town for a coffee. There’s not even a set of traffic lights between the course and the airport.

“I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised.”

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