page_title: Castle Hill, Townsville
section_title: Robert Towns monument
hierarchical_section_title: Castle Hill, Townsville / Geography and features / Robert Towns monument
caption_attribution_description: English: Robert Towns Gravestone, Detail of Monument atop Castle Hill, Townsville
context_page_description: Castle Hill is a heritage-listed isolated pink granite monolith in the suburb of Castle Hill, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Its Indigenous name is Cootharinga, sometimes written as Cooderinga.
  It rises to a height of some 286 metres above sea level and dominates the city skyline. It is one of the most distinctive natural features on the Queensland coast. There are a number of vantage points from which to view the city below and also across Cleveland Bay to nearby Magnetic Island. Castle Hill was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register in 1993.
context_section_description: In 1873, Robert Towns, the founder of Townsville, died in Sydney and was buried in Balmain Cemetery.
  In 1940, the Municipality of Leichhardt decided to replace that cemetery with parkland (called Pioneers Memorial Park). The plans were advertised and families were invited to arrange for re-interment of bodies or removal of memorials. In 1941, the Leichhardt Council offered the memorial from the grave of Robert Towns to the Townsville City Council. In January 1942, Townsville City Council voted to accept the memorial and transport it to Townsville at a cost of £23/10/- but it as not unanimous with two councillors opposing the plan, one claiming that Robert Towns had done nothing for Townsville and it was only sheer good luck that caused the city to bear his name. A local resident, Tom Gleeson, proposed "high on the peak of Castle Hill, overlooking the harbour" would be a suitable location for the monument. Having arrived in Townsville, the monument was then placed in storage for a number of years.
  It was not until October 1947 that the Council discussed where to place the monument. A number of locations were considered: Castle Hill, the Botanic Gardens, in front of the Queens Hotel, the Anzac Memorial Park and the Railway Oval, but Castle Hill was ultimately the council's choice. In February 1948, the Queensland Government gave its approval to the council to place the monument in the centre of the car parking area on the top of Castle Hill.
  Over two years later, in November 1949, the monument was finally placed on Castle Hill, where it stands to the present day. A plaque was added to explain the origins of the monument.
caption: Plaque explaining the origins of the Robert Towns monument
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