Situated at the base of the Berserker Range about seven kilometres to the north of the Fitzroy River, the district was named for French botanist Anthelme Thozet, first director of the Rockhampton Botanic Gardens in the 1860s. Thozet established the second hotel in Rockhampton, the Alliance, but driven by a never failing professional interest in botany he commenced researching native Australian plants used by indigenous people of Northern Queensland, Australia including the Darumbal clans around Rockhampton. Thozet established his own plant nursery in North Rockhampton on which are today bounded by Thozet Creek, Thozet Road, Rockonia Road and the Fitzroy River (present day Koongal).