Wowan flood map & planning overlays
A planning-constraint profile of Wowan
(Banana Shire, QLD) - 232.21 km², mapped from live council and
state overlay data. This suburb is highly constrained.
Profile updated 5 October 2026.
Free map preview, then PDF reports from $9 - about the price of an iced latte on a public holiday.
Suburb-wide figures; the free map shows which overlays touch your lot.
Constraint readout
232.21 km² - this suburb is highly constrained by planning overlays.
Elevation hillshade with street names, clipped to Wowan's boundary, with the flood, bushfire and environmental overlays drawn on top.
Nearby suburbs, nearest first
Aircraft noise and flight paths over Wowan
Two different things, kept apart on purpose. The ANEF contour is the planning instrument - a forecast published per airport that planning schemes use to control noise-sensitive development. Observed overflight is what a sampled aircraft-tracking feed actually recorded over the suburb - where aircraft flew, how low and how often.
Observed overflight - sampled 4 Sep to 2 Oct 2026
Night movements: not established - night is sampled as often as day, but too few night flights have been seen here to conclude either way.
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.
Wowan at a glance
Schools in and near Wowan
Public school-location data shows availability across the suburb. These figures do not rate schools and do not assign a particular address to a catchment.
Inside the suburb boundary
1 school providing primary years and 0 providing secondary years. A combined school may be counted in both teaching levels.
Nearest school availability
Primary: inside the suburb
Secondary: 27.87 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 Wowan is zoned
Selling in Wowan? 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 232.21 km², Wowan is highly constrained by planning overlays. About 56% of the suburb sits within a mapped flood overlay, and 37% is flagged bushfire-prone. The dominant land-use zone is Rural. The median lot measures about 2,059 m² across 453 parcels.
Who lives in Wowan
Census 2021 figures published by the ABS for the Wowan 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 830, and decile 1 within Queensland. The national average is 1000.
Age profile
Share of Wowan's 170 residents in each ABS age band.
Population trend, 2001 to 2025
Estimated resident population of Banana, the wider ABS statistical area containing Wowan. There is no annual population series published at suburb level, so this describes the surrounding area rather than Wowan itself.
9,866 in 2001 to 9,297 in 2025, down 6%.
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.
Wowan 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) | Not held | 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 5 October 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 Wowan 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 →Building or pricing a slab? The $119 geotechnical desktop report covers geology, soils, bores and the indicative soil reactivity range to expect for a Wowan lot.
Wowan planning - frequently asked
Is Wowan flood-prone?
About 56% of Wowan falls within a mapped flood overlay, against the council-wide suburb average of 47%.
Is Wowan bushfire-prone?
Around 37% of Wowan is mapped as bushfire-prone, compared with a Banana Shire average of 41%.
Is Wowan under a flight path?
No aircraft were observed over Wowan in the period sampled (4 Sep 2026 to 2 Oct 2026). Sampling is intermittent, so that is a floor rather than proof that none fly over. 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 Wowan?
The dominant planning zone in Wowan is Rural, though the suburb also includes Recreation and open space and Community facilities.
Does Wowan have heritage-listed places?
No heritage-listed places are on record within Wowan.
What is the typical lot size in Wowan?
Across 453 surveyed parcels in Wowan, the median lot size is about 2,059 m². There are also 13 registered easements mapped in the suburb.
What is the population of Wowan?
At the 2021 Census Wowan had 170 usual residents, with a median age of 60 and an average household size of 2.0 people. The wider Banana statistical area, which contains Wowan, went from 9,866 people in 2001 to 9,297 in 2025, down 6%.
Is Wowan an advantaged suburb?
On the ABS SEIFA 2021 index of relative socio-economic advantage and disadvantage (IRSAD), Wowan scores 830 and sits in decile 1 of 10 nationally and decile 1 within Queensland (decile 1 is the most disadvantaged tenth, decile 10 the least).
What is the median household income in Wowan?
Median household income in Wowan was $752 a week at the 2021 Census, against $1,781 for the typical suburb in Banana Shire. Median rent was $173 a week and the median mortgage repayment $825 a month.
Compare nearby suburbs
| Nearby suburb | Distance | Flood mapped | Bushfire-prone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pheasant Creek | 14.8 km | 40% | 39% |
| Dixalea | 16.2 km | 58% | 17% |
| Dululu | 16.8 km | 45% | 36% |
| Dumpy Creek | 17.9 km | 39% | 18% |
| Goovigen | 22.3 km | 56% | 25% |
| Westwood | 23.2 km | 37% | 52% |
| Wura Rockhampton Regional |
24.8 km | 39% | 43% |
| Kokotungo | 27.2 km | 52% | 16% |
| Oakey Creek Rockhampton Regional |
29.3 km | 26% | 87% |
| Walmul Rockhampton Regional |
32.9 km | 26% | 94% |