Rowers prefer new Olympic site, as premier digs in over Rockhampton

World Rowing has backed further investigation into a potential Olympic rowing site in Greater Brisbane, but Queensland’s premier has again insisted his government will not budge from its plans to host the event on Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River.

This masthead has obtained an Urbis report commissioned by the Lake Kurwongbah Flatwater Centre Coalition, which laid out the case for a venue at the dam just north of Brisbane, within the City of Moreton Bay council area.

“Lake Kurwongbah presents an unparalleled opportunity for the Games’ regatta venue, promising legacy, accessibility, and sustainability in one compelling package,” Urbis says.

Lake Kurwongbah, just north of Brisbane, has been suggested as the 2032 Olympic rowing venue.Credit: Google Earth

Speaking from his current base in Canada, former Rowing Queensland chairman Richard Paterson – a co-chair of LKFCC, along with prominent Brisbane businessman Steve Wilson – said the proposal was presented to both the Quirk and Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority reviews.

Paterson said the venue would have the potential to attract international-standard events to Brisbane for decades.

“It will be a very fair course. Its proximity to the third-largest city in Australia is an advantage – it’s in a growth corridor that’s one of the fastest-growing areas in urban Australia,” he said.

The report finds it would cost $21.6 million and generate an additional $55 million in economic activity for the region over 10 years, noting almost a quarter of a million people live within a 10-kilometre radius of the site.

There would be grandstand seating for 1000 spectators, with a further 9000 to be seated in temporary stands during Olympic competition.

“Lake Kurwongbah’s proximity to other Olympic and Paralympic facilities, such as the Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre, underscores its ability to enhance connectivity and logistical efficiency across the Games infrastructure network,” Urbis says.

“Importantly, it is easily accessible from the airport and athletes’ village via the Bruce Highway, eliminating the need for the construction of satellite athlete accommodation.”

About four hectares would need to be excavated at the northern and western ends of the course to accommodate 10 2000-metre lanes.

The proposed Lake Kurwongbah Flatwater Centre course.Credit: Urbis

But Premier David Crisafulli backed in his government’s Rockhampton decision – which went against the independent review’s recommendations – and insisted this week that Olympic rowing would be held in the central Queensland city.

“We will be showing the leaders of the Olympic and Paralympic movement, and indeed our friends in the rowing community, why that makes so much sense,” he said.

“When we came to office, I said we would deliver a plan that gets the show back on the road after 1200 days of confusion and chaos, and part of that was making sure we could engage regional Queenslanders.

“The feedback that we’ve got from Rocky about that decision shows how much people are yearning for it to occur. On the weekend, there were hordes of kids rowing in that river, and they did so safely and peacefully.”

The Rockhampton decision has been widely criticised in rowing circles concerned that the Fitzroy River’s flow could affect the races’ integrity.

“I’m not aware of what sits behind the decision to go to Rockhampton, but I can’t see in my mind that the decision has anything to do with either a legacy outcome for a large proportion of the population, or an outcome that will deliver the three-week event that was delivered, for example, by the Penrith facility during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games,” Paterson said.

“I think it fails the two primary tests miserably.”

The GIICA review recommended rowing be held in Penrith, western Sydney, which hosted Olympic competition in 2000 – a view shared by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Penrith is about 730 kilometres south of the 2032 Olympic city, while Rockhampton is about 520 kilometres north.

Michael Toon (left) celebrating his Athens 2004 bronze medal with his Olympic men’s eight teammates.Credit: Iain Gillespie

The Lake Kurwongbah proposal attracted letters of support from then-federal opposition leader Peter Dutton – the local MP at the time – who wrote in a December 2024 letter he was “especially enthusiastic about the wonderful legacy value such a multi-use facility would provide our community”.

Athens 2004 men’s eight bronze medallist Michael Toon said the sport desperately needed a world-class home in south-east Queensland, be it at Kurwongbah or Wyaralong – the Scenic Rim lake previously slated to host Olympic rowing.

“Rocky does not offer a solution to Rowing Queensland moving from course to course. It is a wasted opportunity,” he said.

“Those endorsing Rocky have said that the Australian team uses the Fitzroy River to train, which is true, but before the Olympics, you actually want to be somewhere remote so you can focus on training.”

Repeated requests for comment from World Rowing have gone unanswered, but president Jean-Christophe Rolland, whose organisation will ultimately have to sign off on the Brisbane 2032 venue, was one of 12 signatories from rowing and paddle organisations to back further study of Lake Kurwongbah.

Comment was sought from Moreton Bay Mayor Peter Flannery, who also wrote a letter supporting the proposal.

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