Townsville

Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 179,011 as of the 2021 census,[1] it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.[4] Part of the larger local government area of the City of Townsville,[5] it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef.[6] The city is also a major industrial centre, home to one of the world's largest zinc refineries, a nickel refinery and many other similar activities. As of December 2020, $30M operations to expand the Port of Townsville are underway, which involve channel widening and installation of a 70-tonne Liebherr Super Post Panamax Ship-to-Shore crane, to allow much larger cargo and passenger ships to utilise the port.[7][8] It is an increasingly important port due to its proximity to Asia and major trading partners such as China.