Mourilyan Harbour

Mourilyan Harbour Queensland
Mourilyan Harbour port facilities
Mourilyan Harbour
Coordinates	17°36′08″S146°06′15″E / 17.6022°S 146.1041°E / -17.6022; 146.1041 (Mourilyan Harbour (centre of locality))
Population	142 (SAL 2021) [1]
Postcode(s)	4858
Area	26.8 km2 (10.3 sq mi)
Time zone	AEST (UTC+10:00)
Location	12.5 km (8 mi) SE of Innisfail 100 km (62 mi) SSE of Cairns 257 km (160 mi) NNW of Townsville 1,618 km (1,005 mi) NNW of Brisbane
LGA(s)	Cassowary Coast Region
State electorate(s)	Hill
Federal division(s)	Kennedy
Suburbs around Mourilyan Harbour: Etty Bay Etty Bay Coral Sea Mourilyan Mourilyan Harbour Coral Sea New Harbourline Cowley Beach Cowley Beach

Mourilyan Harbour is a coastal locality and harbour within the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. ^{[2] [3]} In the 2021 census, Mourilyan Harbour had a population of 142 people. ^[4]

Geography

The locality of Mourilyan Harbour is a coastal area bounded by the Coral Sea on the east and the Moresby River and one of its tributary creeks to the south. ^[5]

The port facility is located on the northern bank of the mouth of the Moresby River. It is primarily used to export raw sugar and molasses but also handles other cargoes such as woodchips and cattle. ^[6]

The Mourilyan Harbour Road runs roughly east–west through the locality linking the port to the town of Mourilyan to the immediate west. ^[5]

Apart from the port, most of the developed land in the locality is used for growing sugarcane. ^[5]

History

Steamsip Kuranda moored at Mourilyan Harbour Wharf, circa 1914

In 1872, John Moresby, a naval captain as well as hydrographer and explorer, charted Mourilyan Harbour on a coastal patrol in HMS Basilisk. He named it after one of his officers, Lieutenant T. L. Mourilyan. ^[3] Moresby considered it to be an excellent landing place with a deepwater anchorage. ^[7]

In the early 1880s, a small jetty was erected. ^[7] In January 1884, construction began on a tramway from the harbour to the sugar mill at Mourilyan. In 1889, it was decided that steamers of up to 1,500 tons could be accommodated. A second jetty was built with a conveyor belt. ^[7]

In 1903, a more major tramway development, known as the Geraldton Tramway initially but renamed the Innisfail Tramway when the town of Geraldton was renamed Innisfail, was undertaken to transport harvested sugar cane throughout the district to the mill and, after processing, to the harbour. The tramway was also used for other purposes, including carrying passengers from the harbour and also tourists wanting to visit the Fishery Falls. ^[8]

From 1922 to 1924, the Queensland Government's Harbours and Rivers Department built a 416 feet (127 m) wharf with large sheds for sugar storage. The North Coast railway line from Brisbane to Cairns was completed in 1924, which reduced the passenger traffic through the harbour but the sugar industry was growing and the harbour became predominantly for shipping sugar. ^[7]

After World War II, the Queensland Government decided to reduce the number of ports handled sugar to six ports which would be upgraded for bulk sugar handling. Mourilyan Harbour was one of the six chosen. In November 1957, a ship Wortanna carrying sugar went aground on a rocky bar near the harbour entrance, ^{[9] [10]} leading to the removal of the bar and the major upgrade to the harbour and its facilities for bulk handling, which was completed in June 1960. The new large conveyor belt could load sugar into a ship at 863 tonnes (849 long tons; 951 short tons) per hour, which made it one of the largest raw sugar handling ports in the world. The Mourilyan Harbour Board was established to operated the port. In September 1971, the port's storage shed capacity was further increased. ^[7]

In 1997, it was decided that rail transport to the wharf was no longer required and that section of the line was removed but the line remains in use by farmers for transport of the sugar to the mill. ^[7]

Demographics

In the 2011 census, the population of Mourilyan Harbour was not separately reported but was included in the population for neighbouring New Harbourline with a combined population of 317 people. ^[11]

In the 2016 census, Mourilyan Harbour had a population of 156 people. ^[12]

In the 2021 census, Mourilyan Harbour had a population of 142 people. ^[4]

Port facility

The port is used for the export of sugar and molasses from Innisfail, Babinda, Tully and the Atherton Tableland. Woodchips and logs are also exported through the port. ^[13]

Education

There are no schools in Mourilyan Harbour. The nearest government primary school is Mourilyan State School in neighbouring Mourilyan to the west. The nearest government secondary school is Innisfail State College in Innisfail Estate to the north-west. ^[14]

Recreation

Mourilyan Harbour is known for its recreational fishing with many creeks and channels, lined with mangroves. Fish caught there include barramundi, mangrove jacks, giant trevally and queenfish. However, caution must be taken during windy weather as the water can become very choppy. ^[15]

See also

• List of tramways in Queensland

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mourilyan Harbour (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022. 
2. "Mourilyan Harbour – locality in Cassowary Coast Region (entry 45736)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 8 March 2015.
3. "Mourilyan Harbour – harbour in Cassowary Coast Region (entry 23230)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 8 March 2015.
4. Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Mourilyan Harbour (SAL)". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
5. "Queensland Globe". State of Queensland . Retrieved 14 December 2023.
6. "Mourilyan Port Procedures and Information for Shipping (Maritime Safety Queensland)". Maritime Safety Queensland. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
7. Armstrong & Verhoeven, pp 65-69
8. Armstrong and Verhoenen, 2000, pp 14, 20, 23
9. "SV Wortanna". Wreck Site. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
10. "Tribute to brave crews of the small ships". The Senior. 4 June 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
11. Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "New Harbourline (SSC)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
12. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Mourilyan Harbour (SSC)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
13. "Port of Mourilyan". Ports North. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
14. "Layers: Locality; Schools and school catchments". Queensland Globe. Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
15. "Mourilyan Harbour". Fishing Cairns. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015. Retrieved 8 March 2015.

Sources

• Armstrong, John; Verhoeven, Gerry H. (2000), The Innisfail tramway : the history and development of the Geraldton Shire tramway and the Mourilyan Harbour tramway (Revised ed.), Light Railway Research Society of Australia, pp. 14, 20, 23, ISBN   978-0-909340-39-1

External links

• "Mourilyan". Queensland Places. Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland. — also covers Mourilyan Harbour