Fairy Bower flood map & planning overlays
Fairy Bower is Rockhampton Regional's oldest suburb, median age 58, on a 0.6% slope.
Most lots here are flood-mapped. The free check shows how much of one lot the overlay covers.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
A planning-constraint profile of Fairy Bower
(Rockhampton Regional, QLD) - 24.6 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 7 November 2026.
Constraint readout
24.6 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Fairy Bower's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top. Amber hatching is the published aircraft noise (ANEF) contour. Magenta is where aircraft were observed in the sampled period, brightest below 3,000 ft.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
How common is mapped flood risk across Fairy Bower properties?
Counts of properties, not share of land, across 251 analysed Fairy Bower properties; no individual property result is identified.
Lot-level readout
Flood-risk rating across all 251 properties
From LayeredGeo's lot-risk engine: council flood overlays, historical flooding and terrain, resolved to each individual lot in Fairy Bower.
Has Fairy Bower flooded? Flood history and overland flow
Yes. Recorded flood mapping reaches into Fairy Bower: 250 of the 251 properties we analysed (99.6%) sit at least partly inside a mapped historical flood extent (Historic Flood 2011: 250, Historic Flood 2017: 245). The free address check says whether a given lot is inside one.
Suburb-wide totals across 251 analysed properties; they do not identify or describe any individual property.
Recorded historical flood mapping
250 analysed properties intersect at least one mapped historical event extent.
- Historic Flood 2011: 250
- Historic Flood 2017: 245
Source: Rockhampton Regional Council flood mapping, aggregated by LayeredGeo. Categories are only shown where at least five analysed properties share them. An address-level check is still required to determine whether a particular lot is mapped.
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Fairy Bower
The ANEF contour is a published planning forecast and observed overflight is what a sampled tracking feed recorded - neither describes any individual property.
Inside an aircraft noise contour
13% of the suburb's land sits inside a published ANEF or airport-environs contour. Contours vary street by street, so whether a particular lot is inside one needs a property-level check.
Highest contour present
Under AS 2021, land at ANEF 30 and above is generally unacceptable for new houses and most noise-sensitive uses. The contour is a forecast, not a measurement at any one house.
Contours held
- Rockhampton Regional Council ANEF
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 7 Nov 2026
Night movements: observed, lowest 500 ft - night is sampled as often as day, but night traffic is light, so this is a floor and no rate can be put on it.
How this is measured
Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously, so every figure is a floor: aircraft not captured between samples are not represented. Rates are per 500 m square - the busiest square in the suburb, not a count of flights over the suburb - and a square is only rated where enough traffic was seen to measure it. Altitudes are above mean sea level. Flight paths change with runway use, weather, season and airspace design. This is a record of observed traffic; it is not a noise contour and not a planning control.
Fairy Bower at a glance
Schools in and near Fairy Bower
Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb; it does not rate schools or assign any individual address to a catchment.
Inside the suburb boundary
0 schools providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: 1.23 km from the suburb boundary
Secondary: 0.96 km from the suburb boundary
Source: Queensland Government school geographic information. Catchment boundaries can divide a suburb and change over time; use the official catchment finder for a specific address.
How Fairy Bower is zoned
Selling in Fairy Bower? The lot-level zone is the zoning Part 3 of Queensland's Form 2 seller disclosure statement asks for - see our Form 2 planning data guide.
Across its 24.6 km², Fairy Bower is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 100% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 16% is flagged bushfire-prone. There are 4 heritage-listed sites on record, and the dominant land-use zone is Rural. The terrain is largely flat, and the median lot measures about 20,638 m² across 266 parcels.
Who lives in Fairy Bower
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Fairy Bower suburb boundary itself, not a wider region.
Socio-economic standing
ABS SEIFA 2021 ranks every Australian suburb. Decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth of the country, decile 10 the least.
Score 969, and decile 6 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Fairy Bower's 99 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Rockhampton - West, the wider ABS statistical area containing Fairy Bower. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Fairy Bower itself.
6,191 in 2001 to 6,148 in 2025, down 1%.
Source: ABS Census 2021 and SEIFA 2021 (Suburbs and Localities), Regional Population (SA2), CC BY 4.0. Small counts are randomly adjusted by the ABS.
Fairy Bower data sources and coverage
“Not mapped” means we hold no source layer for this suburb - never an all-clear.
| Dataset | Coverage | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Flood mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Bushfire-prone mapping | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Zoning | Mapped | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Heritage and environment | Mapped where published | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data |
| Aircraft noise contours (ANEF) | Inside a held contour | the relevant council planning scheme and Queensland Government spatial data, Defence |
| Observed flight paths | Observed | adsb.lol, under the Open Database License |
| Demographics | Available | Australian Bureau of Statistics (2021 Census and SEIFA) |
| School availability | Available | Queensland Government |
Profile last materially updated 7 November 2026. See the methodology and full source list. Source data changes over time and critical decisions should be checked with the responsible authority.
Check a specific Fairy Bower address
See exactly which overlays touch a single property - the interactive map is free. Need it on paper? A full planning PDF is just $9.
See what's in the $9 report →Aircraft have been seen below 3,000 ft over about 6% of Fairy Bower. The report's Aircraft Overflight page narrows that to the address itself: how many aircraft a day, how low, and at what heights.
Published flood models are held over parts of Fairy Bower. The free check tells you whether one reaches an address; where it does, a Flood Model Report is +$9 with the planning report.
The Terrain Report shows the fall of the block - contours, cross sections and a 3D model of the lot to spin round in your browser (+$9 with the planning report).
Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Fairy Bower lot.
Fairy Bower planning - frequently asked
Is Fairy Bower flood-prone?
About 100% of Fairy Bower falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 53%. Across the suburb, 100% of the 251 properties we analysed carry some level of mapped flood risk, including 249 rated high risk or historically affected. Published flood models are held over parts of Fairy Bower; the free check on the Flood Model Report page says whether one reaches a given address.
Has Fairy Bower flooded?
Yes. Recorded flood mapping reaches into Fairy Bower: 250 of the 251 properties we analysed (99.6%) sit at least partly inside a mapped historical flood extent (Historic Flood 2011: 250, Historic Flood 2017: 245). The free address check says whether a given lot is inside one.
Is Fairy Bower bushfire-prone?
Around 16% of Fairy Bower is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Rockhampton Regional average of 49%.
Is Fairy Bower affected by aircraft noise?
About 13% of Fairy Bower sits inside a published aircraft noise contour, and the highest contour present is ANEF 35 - under AS 2021, land above ANEF 25 is generally considered unacceptable for new houses, and 20-25 conditionally acceptable with noise attenuation. ANEF contours are forecasts published per airport and used to control noise-sensitive development; they are not a measurement at any one house, and a property can sit under a flight path and outside every contour.
Is Fairy Bower under a flight path?
Aircraft were observed below 3,000 ft over about 6% of Fairy Bower, and over about 25% at any altitude up to 10,000 ft, in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 7 Nov 2026). The lowest measured aircraft was at 500 ft, with an average of 5,000 ft. Traffic is sampled rather than watched continuously and flight paths change with runway use, weather and season; the ANEF contour is the planning instrument.
What is the zoning in Fairy Bower?
The dominant planning zone in Fairy Bower is Rural, though the suburb also includes Sport and recreation and Special purpose.
Does Fairy Bower have heritage-listed places?
Fairy Bower has 4 heritage-listed places on record.
Is Fairy Bower hilly or flat?
Fairy Bower is largely flat: the median ground slope is about 1%. Ground level runs from roughly 5 m to 10 m AHD across the suburb.
What is the typical lot size in Fairy Bower?
Across 266 surveyed parcels in Fairy Bower, the median lot size is about 20,638 m². There are also 50 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Fairy Bower?
At the 2021 Census Fairy Bower had 99 usual residents, with a median age of 58 and an average household size of 2.5 people. The wider Rockhampton - West statistical area, which contains Fairy Bower, went from 6,191 people in 2001 to 6,148 in 2025, down 1%.
Is Fairy Bower an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Fairy Bower scores 969 and sits in decile 5 of 10 nationally and decile 6 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Fairy Bower?
Median household income in Fairy Bower was $1,062 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,327 for the typical suburb in Rockhampton Regional. Median rent was $225 a week and the median mortgage repayment $1,400 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Rockhampton | 2.6 km | 96% | 4% |
| The Range | 4.0 km | 29% | 12% |
| Allenstown | 4.9 km | 95% | 0% |
| Wandal | 5.4 km | 78% | 3% |
| Pink Lily | 5.7 km | 100% | 33% |
| Rockhampton City | 5.9 km | 100% | 0% |
| Gracemere | 6.3 km | 69% | 14% |
| Depot Hill | 6.4 km | 100% | 0% |
| Park Avenue | 7.3 km | 96% | <1% |
| The Common | 8.1 km | 100% | 44% |