Comet
Located at the confluence of the Comet and Nogoa Rivers, 201 kilometres west of Rockhampton and 282 kilometres south-southwest of Mackay near the intersection of Gabalbara, Gayiri and Gangulu Country within the Central Highlands Region's boundaries, the rural town and locality of Comet — initially Cometville — is the oldest settlement in the Emerald area. The town takes its name from the Comet River, named by Ludwig Leichhardt, who observed Comet Wilmot from the vicinity on 28/29 December 1844.
The thunder-storm had passed, and the sun had set, when Brown, my blackfellow, suddenly threw back the blanket under which we sat, and pointed out to me a fine comet in a small clear spot of the western sky. I afterwards learned that this comet had been observed as early as the 1st December; but our constant travelling in level forest land had prevented us from seeing it before. The creek received the appropriate name of Comet Creek. (Ludwig Leichhardt. Journal of an overland expedition from Moreton Bay to Port Essington, p.85.)
