Bowen Historical Museum

Established in 1963, this museum on Gordon Street traces the history of Bowen, the first township settled north of Rockhampton in 1861. Moss Vale Cottage, built in 1872 and relocated here in 1972, holds pioneer furniture, tools and butter-making equipment. Other displays cover indigenous artefacts, early printing presses, local wartime service records and industries including saltworks, meatworks and the copper refinery. Every Bowen newspaper since 1864 is held digitally for research.