Rocky and The Fitzroy River

Photo: Stavanger_, Ellen Stanyer_

Every time I travel this river I end up asking the same question: who the hell was Fitzroy, and why does his name run through central Queensland?

At first glance the answer seems obvious. There is a famous FitzRoy in maritime history: Captain Robert FitzRoy, aristocrat, scientist, and commander of Beagle, who took young Charles Darwin to South America in 1831 because he thought Darwin would be good company. (Given Darwin’s legendary seasickness, that plan may have underperformed.)

But the Fitzroy River is not named after that FitzRoy.

So maybe the name came from the first man to navigate a boat upriver? That was Colin Archer, a Norwegian farmer and timber-cutter who built Ellida to move goods along the river. Important man, no doubt. Still not the namesake.

I have a soft spot for Archer because my second boat was a Colin Archer type: double-ended, cutter-rigged, stubbornly seaworthy. Archer’s work transformed small yacht design with heavy ballast keels and extraordinary stability. His boats became pilot vessels, then rescue craft for Norway’s fishing fleet. In storms that routinely killed fishermen, Archer rescue boats could tow crews home in conditions other boats would not face.

He built about 200 vessels; only one of his 33 rescue boats was lost at sea. His influence lasted well beyond his lifetime. Designs descended from Archer lines include Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili, the only finisher of the 1968-69 Golden Globe solo circumnavigation.

My current boat, Anjea, is not an Archer design. Naval architecture has moved on. But the respect remains.

So if the river was not named for Robert FitzRoy, and not named for Colin Archer, who named it?

The answer sits in the Archer family itself. Colin was one of seven brothers who came from Norway. Two brothers, Charles and William, established Gracemere on the banks of this river in what was then northern New South Wales. They named the river Fitzroy in honor of Robert’s half-brother: Charles FitzRoy, the politician sent to administer New South Wales in 1846 and later its first Governor-General.

That was the reveal I did not see coming. The river’s name came neither from the celebrated captain nor from the practical boatman who first worked the channel, but from two pastoralist brothers tipping their hat to colonial power.

Colin later joined them, having figured out how to navigate in from The Narrows. Gracemere prospered and eventually became part of what is now Rockhampton. The original homestead still exists and can be seen on Google Maps.

One reason I keep circling back to this story is a chance conversation with Norwegian friends. I mentioned owning an Archer design and one sister immediately said, “Then it must have been Colin Archer.” She and her sister had actually sailed on the original rescue yacht Stavanger in the 1960s.

Stavanger now sits preserved on land in the city she is named for. She will never sail again, but she has not been forgotten.

And in Rockhampton, neither have the Archers. Their name is everywhere: streets, a statue, a park, even a mountain. Gracemere is now a suburb of Rocky. Another local name that catches my eye is Berserker (range and suburb alike), lifted straight from old Norse saga lore. Useful allies, terrifying enemies. I’d love to know what moment inspired that choice.