Tropic of Capricorn Marker

The Tropic of Capricorn passes through Rockhampton, and the city marks the occasion with a roadside spire on the Capricorn Highway — the standard photo stop for travellers heading north through Queensland. It is exactly what it sounds like: a marker, a sign, and a reliable flow of people taking selfies at 23.5 degrees south latitude. It has been doing this job since 1935 when the first marker was erected.

The Capricorn Spire, the current version, is a more elaborate structure combining the marker function with informational displays about the tropics. It is just west of the city centre on the highway. Worth a stop if you have children in the car; worth a brief pause in any case to note that you are crossing the tropics boundary.

things to do sight
A story
Rockhampton is one of the few cities in the world to straddle the Tropic of Capricorn, and the latitude line has become central to the city's identity — from the "Capricorn" branding on the tourism infrastructure to the name of the regional government. The line itself shifts slightly from year to year due to the wobble of Earth's axial tilt, so the exact position of the marker is more symbolic than precise.