Rothwell is in the west of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland. The suburb is bounded to the north by the bay of Deception Bay, to the east in part by Nathan Road, and to the south and south-west by Saltwater Creek. Anzac Avenue enters the suburb from the east and proceeds west, where at a large round-about Anzac Avenue continues to the south-west exiting to Mango Hill, while Deception Bay Road heads north-west exiting to the suburb of Deception Bay.The Redcliffe Peninula railway line enters the suburb from the east and exits to the south, connecting to the North Coast railway line at Petrie. The suburb is serviced by the Rothwell railway station. The Moreton Bay Railway Cyclepath runs immediately parallel to the railway line; it is to the north of the line in Rothwell. Redcliffe Aerodrome is in the north-east of the suburb. It is owned and operated by Moreton Bay Regional Council. Rothwell is one of the few areas on the Redcliffe Peninsula prone to flooding due to Saltwater Creek; areas in the southern part of the suburb near the creek are undeveloped. Rothwell Park along McGahey Street experiences flooding and the relocation of the sports grounds at the park has been proposed for several years. The undeveloped Nathan Road Wetlands Reserve occupies the north of the suburb. Although Rothwell is a bayside suburb, there are no roads or tracks through the wetlands to provide access to the bay.
History
In 1888 and 1889, there was a long-running attempt to sell a subdivision known as the Isle of Man estate, bounded to the east, south and west by Saltwater Creek. The land was promoted as being near the proposed Redcliffe railway line. However, the lots were either never sold or never developed. Although the subdivision can be seen on cadastral maps until at least 1978, at 2020 the land has returned to a single undivided and undeveloped parcel. This may relate to the flood-prone nature of Saltwater Creek. The suburb's name is after the president of the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland, Thomas James Rothwell, who in 1921 proposed a memorial drive marked by an avenue of trees to Redcliffe via the upgraded main road known as Anzac Avenue). Rothwell died on 28 January 1928 and his involvement with the Avenue was honoured on Sunday 9 April 1933 with the unveiling of the Rothwell monument by the Queensland Governor, Sir Leslie Wilson. This stone obelisk was placed on a small triangular piece of land at the intersection of Anzac Memorial Avenue and the Deception Bay Road, later moving to nearby Rothwell Park when a roundabout was built on the original site. Rothwell was officially named as a suburb by the Queensland Place Names Board on 1 July 1970. Grace Lutheran College opened on 31 January 1978 with 15 students under teacher Viv Kuhl at Grace Lutheran Primary School at Clontarf. In 1980 it moved to its present site in Rothwell. Mueller College was established on 30 January 1990 by the Mueller Community Church. In the, Rothwell recorded a population of 6,683 people. In 2015 the Moreton Bay Regional Council began a $18.8 million project to create the Nathan Road Sports Ground in Kippa-Ring to replace the AFL facility at flood-prone Rothwell Park. It is expected to be completed in 2020.
Heritage listings
Rothwell has the following heritage-listed sites:
Anzac Avenue
Amenities
Rothwell is a residential area with a growing commercial district, home to The Zone and a mixture of diverse retail businesses. A Woolworths supermarket is near The Zone on Deception Bay Road. A Bunnings warehouse is on Anzac Avenue. Currently, the larger shopping centres and supermarkets are in nearby Kippa-Ring and Deception Bay.
Education
Grace Lutheran College is a private secondary school for boys and girls at Anzac Avenue & Mewes Road. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1361 students with 111 teachers and 124 non-teaching staff. Mueller College is a private primary and secondary school for boys and girls at 75 Morris Road. In 2017, the school had an enrolment of 1451 students with 122 teachers and 96 non-teaching staff. There are no government schools in Rothwell. The nearest government primary schools are Hercules Road State School in Kippa-Ring to the east and Deception Bay State School in Deception Bay to the north-west. The nearest government secondary school is Deception Bay State High School in Deception Bay.
Sport
Currently, sporting clubs in Rothwell are the Redcliffe Cougars softball club and the Redcliffe Tigers AFC.
Demographics
In the, Rothwell recorded a population of 6,683 people, 52.8% female and 47.2% male. The median age of the Rothwell population was 36 years, 1 year below the national median of 37. 73.5% of people living in Rothwell were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were New Zealand 5.8%, England 5.4%, South Africa 0.9%, Philippines 0.9%, Samoa 0.8%. 87.7% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.7% Samoan, 0.4% Afrikaans, 0.4% Hindi, 0.4% Vietnamese, 0.3% Dutch.
