Tom Jeffery Memorial Park is one of the access points to Agnes Water beach, a stretch identified by Gladstone Regional Council's heritage register as Queensland's most northerly surf beach. The park sits off Agnes Street, behind the frontal dunes, and gives the beach a useful landward setting: visitors can arrive at a place with parking, a playground, ablutions, a barbecue area and picnic tables before continuing to the sand.
A practical way to reach the beach
The park's facilities make it a logical place to begin a beach visit or to pause between time on the coast and other activities in Agnes Water. The council register records a beach-access point as part of the park, alongside the parking and public amenities. That combination is more informative than treating the park only as a route through the dunes: it is a public space in its own right, with room for a picnic and a playground as part of the recorded facilities.
Access is from Agnes Street, Agnes Water QLD 4677. The heritage register records the park's coordinates as 24.2102 degrees south and 151.9063 degrees east. Visitors should check current local advice and conditions before travelling, particularly if a beach visit is the main purpose of the stop.
Look inland as well as seaward
The council's description gives the park another dimension. Behind the frontal dunes is an inland freshwater swamp crossed by a wooden bridge. The register also identifies native trees and a Moreton Bay Fig at the site. These features place the park between the beach and a different coastal environment, rather than presenting the access point as only a strip of infrastructure beside the sand.
The Moreton Bay Fig frames the site of the tombstones of Daniel and Rachel Clowes, described in the heritage register as Agnes Water's first settlers. The register says Daniel Clowes held a pastoral lease at Agnes Water from 1878 until his death in 1891, while later accounts in its historical context trace sawmilling in the locality in the 1890s and the growth of holiday houses during the twentieth century. Those details are historical context, not a reason to assume that any particular facility or landscape feature has remained unchanged since the register's 2017 inspection.
A small public place with regional history
Gladstone Regional Council records that Tom and Beth Jeffery bought freehold land at Agnes Water in 1945 and later moved to a house near the main beach. It also notes that Jeffery Court was named after the couple. The council's heritage assessment says the park can contribute to understanding regional history, particularly records of burials, and describes its association with the history of the coastal townships of Agnes Water and 1770.
For visitors, the value of Tom Jeffery Memorial Park lies in that overlap. It offers a documented public route to the beach and everyday facilities, while the bridge, swamp, fig and tombstone site add a quieter layer of local context. Take time to use the park respectfully and stay on the established access routes around the dune and wetland setting.
Sources
Sources last validated: 12 September 2026.