Early settlement The
Keppel Bay area was explored by Lieutenant
James Cook on the
HM Bark Endeavour in May 1770. He named the bay after Admiral
Augustus Keppel of the
Royal Navy. British settlement began in the 1860s when John Jardine established a cattle grazing property south of the current town, at
Zilzie, an
anagram of
Lizzie, the eldest of John Jardine's daughters. Emu Park township was established in the 1870s when several
Rockhampton families built seaside holiday houses on the hills overlooking the two beaches that are a feature of the town – Fisherman's Beach and Pine Beach. Hewittville Post Office opened on 12 November 1883 (a
receiving office had been open from 1876) and was renamed Emu Park in 1890. Emu Park State School opened on 3 February 1890. The school was burned down on 26 July 1946 and all early records of the school were lost in the blaze. The hall was used as a temporary school. The new school building was designed with 2 classrooms for a total 60 students at a cost of £2315.
Central business district Soon after the town was settled, a commercial area was established in and around Hill Street. Some of the early stores included a general store, a grocery store, butcher shop, bakery, and a combined sweet and haberdashery store. By the 1920s the town had two large hotels, a cinema, court house, public library, shops and many guest houses for visitors. A small pier was opened by
Ethel Bruce, wife of the Prime Minister,
Stanley Bruce, in 1926 and Bell Park, a shady park on the shores of Fisherman's Beach was established in the 1930s. The town's general store was owned by several families over the years including the Ryan, Mills and Bundesen families. In 2018, the Emu Park Post Office was relocated to the building. A general merchant's shop was located in Archer Street next to the Catholic Church from the 1890s until its closure in 1940. Known as "The Village Store" when it was run by the Ryan family, it sold a large variety of grocery items including local produce traded with South Sea Islanders. The popularity of the new supermarket contributed to the closure of the town's firmly established
general store, Charlie's Corner, which ceased trading on 30 November 2012. The issue was resolved soon after. In line with the other 21 Drakes-owned stores in Queensland, the Supa IGA branding was completely dropped and the Emu Park supermarket was solely rebranded as a
Drakes Supermarkets store in 2017. As of 2022, a large variety of small businesses continue to trade in town's central business district, including two bakeries, several cafes and takeaway outlets, a newsagency, the post office, a chemist, a butcher shop, a petrol station, real estate agencies, a charity shop, a tobacco shop, a discount store, hair and beauty outlets and a community bank.
Railway From 1888 to 1964, Emu Park was serviced by the
North Rockhampton to Emu Park railway line. A branch to
Yeppoon, further to the north was opened in 1910. The railway officially opened on 22 December 1888. The original trains that serviced Emu Park from Rockhampton ran from
North Rockhampton railway station prior to the
Alexandra Railway Bridge across the
Fitzroy River being opened in 1899 connecting the line with the stations on the southern side of Rockhampton including
Archer Park and the main
Stanley Street station. After the line was closed, the house was demolished and the Emu Park Cultural Centre was built on the site. "The Shack" opened in 1994. Emu Park railway station was on the northern corner of Hill Street and Pattison Street ().
Churches In November 1893, Emu Park's first church was the Christ Church (a Church of England church), a timber building constructed on the corner of Fountain Street and Hill Street opposite Emu Park State School. After access to the site proved difficult during wet weather, the church was relocated to its existing location on the corner of Archer Street and Hunter Street. The church was extended in 1919 to provide more comfort for the vicars who would travel down by buggy from Rockhampton. A school room was opened under the presbytery at the back of the building in 1917. The school was moved into a neighbouring property in 1920 and became known as St Agnes' Convent School. The saloon was forced to close when most of the young men who used the venue enlisted in the armed services during World War I. The Methodist Church purchased the building in November 1919. Although the building needed repairs after sustaining damage during Tropical
Cyclone Marcia in 2015, weekly church services continue to be held from the building.
Hotels The first hotel to be opened in Emu Park was The Brighton. It was built in 1871 and run by Eliza Pearson who was granted the license on 12 December 1871. After being refurbished, it was re-opened by Ferguson McHarg as the Blue Bell Hotel in November 1879. It was demolished and rebuilt in 1888 when it was re-opened by
George Birch as the Grand Hotel in 1888. The Grand Hotel was destroyed in a fire on 20 November 1908 which killed district schools inspector Thomas Russell Brown. Rockhampton mayor Harry Medcraf who was also staying at the hotel managed to escape the fire. The Pine Beach Hotel continues to trade from the site on the corner of Pattison Street and Granville Street. The Emu Park Hotel became the town's second hotel in 1874 when Philip Downer was granted the license on 11 December 1874. After Fred Comley purchased the hotel in 1885, a hall was constructed next to the hotel which was opened on 8 March 1889. Prior to the school building being finished in Fountain Street, Emu Park State School was originally opened in the hall on 3 February 1890 with Benjamin Long becoming the school's first head teacher. When the school was destroyed in a fire on 26 July 1946, school students once again returned to Comley's Hall until the new school buildings were opened in 1948. After being renovated, the Emu Park Hotel was renamed Hotel Riviera in October 1927. The hall was destroyed in the
Central Queensland cyclone on 2 March 1949 when it collapsed against the side of the hotel, which also sustained considerable damage. Later that same year, the hotel was destroyed in a fire on 27 September 1949. In the late 1880s, the Imperial Hotel was built in Hill Street. The proposal for a third hotel in Emu Park was met with opposition from the existing licensees as they believed the community was not yet big enough to sustain three hotels. In July 1888, George Wickham applied for the hotel license but was refused. The hotel was bought by the Begg family in 1911. The Imperial Hotel was destroyed by fire on 7 April 1925. A movie theatre was built on the site in 1950 which was bought by the Green family in 1969 who transformed the building into a hardware store. It was destroyed by fire on 19 June 1904. A boarding house was then built on the site which was purchased by the Begg family in 1912. The Begg's relocated the Mount Usher Hotel from near Mount Morgan to Emu Park and rebuilt it as the Grand Central Hotel which opened on 22 March 1913. The Begg family remained as licensees until 1926 when they leased it out before returning in 1945. The Endeavour Inn was opened on the site by
Denis Hinton on 26 February 1988 which continues to operate from the site. Shortly after opening, the post office was relocated to the Emu Park Railway Station and the building became the School of Arts. Emu Park's first library was opened in the School of Arts in 1902 with Rose McLelland becoming the town's first librarian. The current Emu Park Library opened in 1984 after the School of Arts became a medical centre in 1983, before eventually being donated to the Emu Park Museum in 2007. The Emu Park Post Office was relocated again to its existing location in the former general store on the corner of Hill Street and Pattison Street in April 2018. Livingstone Shire Council obtained $1.1 million from the state government for the project with the council also allocating $200,000 to the facility. The new arts centre was built where the railway station once stood, after the former art gallery was closed in 2019 when the building it had been situated in for 15 years was sold. == Demographics ==