Location of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia

Some features in the northern parts of the bay

Moreton Bay is a large bay on the eastern coast of Australia 19 km from Brisbane, Queensland. Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern corner of the mainland continent The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are used by commercial operators who provide seafood to market.

The Port of Brisbane coordinates large traffic along the shipping channel which crosses the northern section of the bay. Port of Brisbane is the shipping Port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. Physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a River, slough or ocean Strait consisting of a bed and banks The bay serves as a safe approach to the airport and reduces noise pollution over the city to the west of the runway. Noise pollution (or environmental noise) is displeasing human- or machine-created sound that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life A number of barge, ferry and water-taxi services also travel over the bay.

History

Moreton Bay was formed roughly 6000 years ago as the sea level rose and inundated what was then the floodplains of the Brisbane River. Sea-level rise is an increase in Sea level. Multiple complex factors may influence this change

Moreton Bay (Aboriginal name - Quandamooka) and its islands were inhabited by Aboriginal tribes. This is an article about a class of people as identified and defined within Australian law The name Morton's Bay was given by Captain Cook when he passed the area on 15 May 1770, honouring Lord Morton, president of the Royal Society. Captain James Cook FRS RN ( – 14 February 1779) was an English Explorer, Navigator and Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday James Douglas 14th Earl of Morton KT FRS ( May 14, 1737 – October 12, 1819) was a Scottish representative The Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge, known simply as The Royal Society, is a Learned society for science that was founded in 1660 The spelling Moreton was an error in the first published account of Cook's voyage^[1] (Hawkesworth's Voyages^[2]). Cook gave the name only to the bight formed by the northern end of North Stradbroke Island and the eastern side of Moreton Island. In Geography, bight has two meanings A bight can be simply a bend or curve in any geographical feature&mdashusually a bend or curve in the line between land He may have been unaware of the South Passage (as it's now called) between the two islands, and in any case didn't sail into what is the present Moreton Bay.

Matthew Flinders sailed the waters between Moreton Island and Bribie Island in 1799. Captain Matthew Flinders, RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814 was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age Moreton Island is a large Sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of south-east Queensland, Australia. Bribie Island is a large sand island in the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland.

Matthew Flinders was the first recorded European to enter the Bay in 1799 touching down at the Pumicestone Passage, Redcliffe and Coochiemudlo Island. Captain Matthew Flinders, RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814 was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a He was followed by John Oxley who explored the Brisbane River in 1823. This article is about the person For the Australian pilot ship see John Oxley (ship. Year 1823 ( MDCCCXXIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common On a subsequent visit in the following year, Oxley established the first European settlement in the Bay at the present site of Redcliffe.

After Oxley in 1823, came convicts and soldiers. As the South Passage between Moreton and Stradbroke Islands was the shortest shipping route, a depot and pilot station were established at Amity Point in 1825.

White settlement began in earnest. After the abandonment of the Redcliffe settlement, work began on the new convict settlement several miles up the Brisbane River in 1825. Within a couple years this new settlement was growing rapidly and the number of ships entering the bay was increasing. As a result, the facilities required to service the pilot station at Amity grew, and in 1827 convicts were sent to the island to build a new causeway at Dunwich, remnants of which can still be found on the same site. Within a year the first permanent white settlement at Dunwich had been built.

The foreshore at Manly. Manly is a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. It is located approximately 16km east of Brisbane CBD.

By the 1850s the regions earliest industry was utilising the bay for the transport of timber. Lumber or timber is Wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural Material for Construction, or After felling the logs were dragged or rolled into flooded streams from where they were washed downstream to tidal reaches and bound together into rafts. After the floods had ceased and tides returned to normal, the currents of the bay and someties boats were used to direct the timber north to the Brisbane River or to Dunwich for shipment to Sydney. A current, in a River or Stream, is the Flow of Water influenced by Gravity as the water moves Downhill to reduce its ^[3]

The bay was home to the Lightship Rose which provided a permanent navigation aid to passing ships at the mouth of the Brisbane River. The John Oxley was another notable boat which temporarily acted as a pilot ship. History Pilot boat buoy and lighthouse tender Coastal steamships a type of vessel propagated in Great Britain, soon reached the British Empire's outlying

European contact with Aboriginees

At first the Quandamooka tribes had a choice of avoiding contact or engaging with the Europeans at the various small government institutions that were established on the mainland and on Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island). Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until Aboriginal labour and resources were however, voluntarily supplied to assist these newcomers, for example, at the pilot station. Problems came about when the newcomers displayed a lack of respect for Aboriginal marriage rules, stole bones and other artefacts and desicrated sites important to the Aboriginals. ^[4] This produced a period of conflict through the 1830's, sometimes followed up by reprisals with guns, during which a number of Aboriginal people were massacred.

Like the mainland tribes, the Nooghie, Noonuccal and Goenpul people struggled when Moreton Bay was opened up to free settlers. The mainland Aboriginal people in particular were progressively deprived of the traditional hunting grounds and food. Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. When they turned to killing domestic stock in order to survive, they were rounded up and shot. As their tribal groups and way of life disintegrated, many drifted towards towns and cities. Because of their isolation, the people of the islands however, managed to keep a lot of their traditional ways alive.

In 1843, Catholic Missionaries chose Dunwich as the site for the first Catholic Mission to Australian Aborigines. A missionary is a member of a Religion who works to convert those who do not share the missionary's faith someone who proselytizes. The sand islands of Quandamooka did not support pasturage suitable for sheep and cattle, and thus there did not occur conversion of large tracts of land into farms and pastoral properties and the subsequent widespread annihilation and displacement of Aboriginal people. The very existence of the quarantine station on Stradbroke Island from 1850 to the 1870's led to the official discouragement of pastoralism or wider settlement for fear of spreading disease. For other uses see Quarantine (disambiguation Quarantine is voluntary or compulsory isolation typically to contain the spread of something Pastoralism or pastoral farming is the branch of Agriculture concerned with the raising of Livestock. Another reason for discouraging settlement was to reduce the likelihood of incoming vessels to the bay evading customs duty.

The first of the Tangalooma Wrecks were placed in 1963, one year after the whaling station ceased operations.

Thus the European usage and occupation of Quandamooka in the 19th century was largely restricted to government institutions on small portions on the islands, and with free enterprise business men like the Campbell brothers who ran a saltworks and sugar plantations on Russell and Macleay islands, and the early fishing and oystering businesses in the bay who employed the Aboriginal people of Quandamooka. Fundamentally a plantation is usually a large Farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country on which Cotton, Tobacco

Aboriginal peoples were a source of labour for various institutions and enterprises from the time of the first pilot station. Conflict with Europeans intensified during the middle part of the 19th century, leading to significant numbers of Aboriginal people being killed (including at the hands of the native police). Despite these conflicts other Aboriginal people were able to evade intense contact due to the lack of European activity on the bay islands. From the 1830's to 1865 there remained virtual exclusive Aboriginal possession of most of Quandamooka. However trade and social interaction with the mainland groups gradually diminished due to the outward march of pastoral settlement on the mainland. This resulted in unrepairable damage to indigenous social networks and patterns of group intermarriage, as well as joint ceremonial activities.

The harbour at Cleveland

Modern

On 1 September 2007 four people were killed in a boat accident on the bay, two kilometres from the Pinkenba boat ramp. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Pinkenba is the name of a suburb in eastern Brisbane on the northern side of the Brisbane River Ten others were injured. ^[5]

The bay's marine park zoning plan is being renewed in 2008. Despite angst from both commercial and recreational fishers, draft Queensland Government plans indicate further fishing restrictions aiming to protect more than 15 % of important marine and coastal environments. The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government. ^[6] Artificial reefs could be placed in Moreton Bay to ease the concerns of fishermen who fear they are being forced out. An artificial reef is a man-made underwater structure typically built for the purpose of promoting marine life in areas of generally featureless bottom The State Government will spend $1 million on research, planning and construction of a new concrete reef in the bay. ^[7]

Geography

The islands of southern Moreton Bay

The bay extends some 160 km from Caloundra in the north almost to Surfers Paradise in the south. Caloundra (kəˈlaʊndrə is the southern-most community on the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland, Australia. Surfers Paradise ( is a town on Australia 's Gold Coast in Queensland. The bay's southern navigation entrance is the Gold Coast Seaway. The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton

It is separated from the Pacific Ocean by a chain of three sand islands - Moreton Island in the north, North Stradbroke Island, and South Stradbroke Island in the south. The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions Several places are named Sand Island. Some of these are Sand Island (Hawaii Sand Island (Alabama Sand Island (Anguilla Moreton Island is a large Sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of south-east Queensland, Australia. North Stradbroke Island is an Australian island in the state of Queensland, 30 km southeast of the capital Brisbane. South Stradbroke Island is an Australian island in the state of Queensland, south of Brisbane and forms the northern end of Gold Coast. Tipplers Passage is the main channel on the western coast of South Stradbroke Island. The Gold Coast Seaway is at the southern extent of Moreton Bay, before the Gold Coast Broadwater. The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton The Gold Coast Broadwater, also known as Southport Broadwater and Gold Coast Harbour, is a large shallow Estuary of water reaching from the locality

The bay itself contains around 360 islands in total. This includes the populated Russell, Macleay, Lamb and Karragarra Islands collectively known as the Southern Moreton Bay Islands (Queensland),(SMBI in Redland Shire Council planning documents)or the RKLM,. Russell Island in Redland City is the biggest of the Southern Moreton Bay Islands, sandwiched between the mainland and North Stradbroke Island in the Macleay Island is an island located in Moreton Bay, South East Queensland. The Bay Islands is the local name of the four inhabited southern Moreton Bay islands in Queensland, Australia. Residential development has also occurred on Coochiemudlo Island and Bribie Island. Coochiemudlo Island is located near Brisbane, in Queensland Australia. Bribie Island is a large sand island in the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland.

Moreton Bay is generally shallow and sandy, though a substantive channel is maintained to allow access to the Port of Brisbane at Fisherman Islands at the mouth of the Brisbane River, for international shipping. Port of Brisbane is the shipping Port of Brisbane, on the east coast of Australia. The Brisbane River is situated in southeast Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton As well as the Brisbane River, the Nerang River, Pimpama River, Logan River, Pine River and the Schulz Canal all empty into Moreton Bay. The Nerang River is a river through Gold Coast City in south-eastern Queensland. The Pimpama River is a short River situated in South East Queensland. The Logan River is a river in South East Queensland. It begins in the Mount Barney National Park, near the New South Wales border between Mount Lindesay Pine River continues after the convergence of North Pine and South Pine rivers at Lawnton in Queensland, Australia, continuing into Schulz Canal is an artificial waterway in Nundah, Queensland that enters Moreton Bay. Within Moreton Bay are the smaller bays of Waterloo Bay, Redland Bay, Raby Bay, Deception Bay and Bramble Bay. Bramble Bay is a Moreton Bay catchment in Queensland, Australia.

Foreshores of the bay at Scarborough. Scarborough is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council at the northernmost of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of

The bay contains a number of island villages such as the settlement on the bayside of Moreton Island, Tangalooma and on North Stradbroke, Dunwich and Amity Point. Originally a whaling base Tangalooma is a resort based on the west side of Moreton Island in Queensland, Australia. Dunwich is a small town on the western side of North Stradbroke Island in the Australian state of Queensland. Amity Point is a small close knit township located on the north western point of North Stradbroke Island, Queensland, Australia in Redland Shire Prominent coastal communities and mainland suburbs situated on the bay include Deception Bay, Scarborough, Redcliffe, Margate, Woody Point, Brighton, Sandgate, Cleveland, Raby Bay and Victoria Point and Redland Bay. Deception Bay is a suburb north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Scarborough is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council at the northernmost of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of   Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula Margate is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council in the east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane Woody Point is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council at the south-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane Brighton is the northernmost suburb of Brisbane City, Australia, located 19km north of the Brisbane CBD. Sandgate is a coastal suburb in Brisbane, Australia located 16km north of the Brisbane CBD. Cleveland is one of the 21 bayside Suburbs of the Redlands, approximately 25 kilometres East-South-East of Brisbane. Victoria Point is one of the 21 bayside Suburbs of the Redland Shire, approximately 33 kilometres south-east of Brisbane, and is primarily a residential Sub-tropical Redland Bay forms part of larger Moreton Bay, 40 kilometers via road east of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian State Other attractions in the bay include Pumicestone Passage and numerous boat ramps, marinas and jetties, including the Shorncliffe pier. Pumicestone Passage, also known as the Pumicestone Channel, is a narrow waterway between Bribie Island and the mainland in Queensland, Australia A boat is a Watercraft of modest size designed to float or plane on water and provide transport over it For other uses of this word see Marina (disambiguation. A marina is a sheltered Harbor where Boats and Yachts Shorncliffe pier is situated in the suburb of Shorncliffe, Australia near Saint Patrick’s college and lower Moora Park

Protected areas

Moreton Island is protected as Moreton Island National Park. Moreton Island is 98% National Park in Queensland, Australia, 58 km northeast of Brisbane. The bay itself contains St Helena Island National Park and the Moreton Bay Marine Park with areas designated under the Marine Park Zoning Plan. St Helena Island is an Island in Queensland ( Australia) 21 km east of Brisbane in Moreton Bay. The Marine Park was declared in 1993 and covers 3400 square kilometres^[8]. Parts of the bay are also protected under the Southern Moreton Bay Islands National Park. Southern Moreton Bay Islands is a National park in Queensland ( Australia) 44 km southeast of Brisbane. According to the Ramsar Wetland Convention 1971, parts of Moreton Bay are listed as a wetland of international importance. The Ramsar Convention is an international Treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of Wetlands i A wetland is an area of Land consisting of Soil that is Saturated with Moisture, such as a Swamp, Marsh, or Bog

Sandbanks

Moreton Bay is filled with sandbanks. A shoal or sandbar (also called sandbank) is a somewhat Linear Landform within or extending into a body of Water, Between Tangalooma and Skirmish Point on Bribie Island are the Middle Banks, Central Banks and Western Banks. From north of Moreton Island towards Caloundra are the Yulle Road, Spitfire Bank, and the Salamander Bank, amongst others.

Amity Banks are found just west of Amity Point, while the Moreton Banks lie to the west of the southern tip of Moreton Island. These banks can be hazard for marine navigation because they are constantly changing due to tidal currents.

Sandbanks in Moreton Bay

The Middle Banks area close to Moreton Island has been used in the past as a source of sand for large projects such as the nearby Brisbane Airport and port facilities. Sand is a naturally occurring Granular material composed of finely divided rock and Mineral particles Past dredging has removed 18 Mn³ and the removal of another 40 Mn³ is planned^[9]. Future sand extraction is expected to aid a major shipping channel straightening project.

To ensure the shipping channel remains open, several areas of the bay have been allocated for dredged material dumping sites. These sites have been selected to provide beach nourishment, aiding the natural long shore transport of sand along ocean beaches.

Flora and fauna

The bay's heritage protected wetlands, mudflats, and waterways are some of the healthiest in the region, supporting seasonally up to 25 % of Australia's bird species. ^[10]

The bay is home to other abundant wildlife, including dolphins, dugong, sharks and turtles. Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. The dugong ( Dugong dugon) is a large Marine Mammal which together with the Manatees is one of four living species of the order Sirenia Sharks ( Superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of Fish with a full cartilaginous Skeleton and a highly streamlined body Turtles are Reptiles of the Order Testudines (all living turtles belong to the Crown group Chelonia) most of Dugongs and turtles are threatened due to being prone to boat strike impacts^[11]. The bay is extremely popular with recreational anglers. Angling is a method of Fishing by means of an "angle" ( hook)

The Moreton Bay bug (Thenus orientalis) is a species of slipper lobster found throughout the waters of Australia's north coast. The Moreton Bay bug ( Thenus orientalis) also known as the Bay lobster, is a species of Slipper lobster found throughout the waters of Australia Slipper lobsters are a family of achelate (clawless decapod Crustaceans found in all warm oceans and seas The Bug is a relatively expensive delicacy served in many restaurants in Queensland.

The Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) is endemic to the east coast of Australia within a range centred on Moreton Bay. Ficus macrophylla, commonly known as the Moreton Bay Fig, is a large evergreen Banyan tree of the Moraceae family that is a native of most

See also

• Moreton Bay Pile Light

References

External links

• Bribie Island Tourism and Business Directory
• Moreton Bay Database - a detailed chronicle of events
• BayJournal An online news source publishing one story a day about the Bay. The Government of Queensland is commonly known as the Queensland Government.
• Raby Bay Weather Station A weather station on the shores of Moreton Bay with links to all things weather.

• [1] Folk song about the penal colony at Moreton Bay
• Henry Boucher Bowerman View of Brisbane Work of Art This view of the convict settlement at Moreton Bay is held by the Heritage Collections, State Library of Queensland. Reference Code: 3943.