Pumicestone Channel

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Pumicestone Channel
The calm side at high tide.jpg
High tide at Bellara, Pumicestone Channel
Details
LocationQueensland, Australia
Coordinates 26°56′22″S153°04′11″E / 26.9394°S 153.0698°E / -26.9394; 153.0698 Coordinates: 26°56′22″S153°04′11″E / 26.9394°S 153.0698°E / -26.9394; 153.0698
Length35km
North endCaloundra
South endDeception Bay

Glasshouse Mountains from Bongaree Pelicans-glasshouse.jpg
Glasshouse Mountains from Bongaree
The passage at Caloundra Caloundra 2013.jpg
The passage at Caloundra

Pumicestone Channel, also known as the Pumicestone Passage, is a narrow waterway between Bribie Island and the mainland in Queensland, Australia. [1] The northern extent of the passage is at Caloundra, while at the south is Deception Bay.

Contents

History

The channel was originally shown as Pumice-stone River on the maps of Matthew Flinders as he found an abundance of pumice stone lining the shoreline. He was the first European explorer to enter Moreton Bay in 1799 on the Sloop H. M. 'Norfolk' and spent two weeks exploring the bay and surrounds and naming Point Skirmish and Pumice-stone River. [2]

Environment

Gazetted in 1986, Pumicestone Passage Marine Park (now part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park), extends from the southern entrance at the towns of Bribie Island and Sandstone Point, north to the Caloundra bar. It is just over 35 kilometres long and has a surface area of 63 km². The town of Bribie Island comprises suburbs of Bongaree, Woorim, Bellara, Banksia Beach and White Patch. Bribie Island is reached by a Bridge of 800m length over the Pumicestone Passage.The marine park has 24 islands and is bounded by 240 kilometres of shoreline. Eighty percent of the channel is less than two metres deep and dugongs frequent its waters seasonally to feed on the seagrass on the bottom of the channel. Dolphins and turtles also make the channel home as do over 350 species of birds. Habitats within and adjoining the channel include mangroves and saltmarshes, sand flats and mud flats, coastal dunes and seagrass meadows. [3] [4] [5] The channel forms part of the Moreton Bay and Pumicestone Passage Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because it supports large numbers of migratory waders, or shorebirds. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Queensland is the second largest state in Australia. It contains 472 separate protected areas with a total land area of 69,388 km2 (26,791 sq mi). 223 of these are national parks, which is the highest number of any Australian state or territory, totaling 65,871 km2 (25,433 sq mi). Seven others are Scientific National Parks, totaling 522 km2 (202 sq mi).

Moreton Bay

Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are used by commercial operators who provide seafood to market.

Moreton Island

Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies 58 kilometres (36 mi) northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. 95% of the island is contained within a national park and a popular destination for day trippers, four wheel driving, camping, recreational angling and whale watching and a 75-minute ferry ride from Brisbane. It is the third largest sand island in the world. Together with Fraser Island, Moreton Island forms the largest sand structure in the world. It was the traditional country of the Ngugi before the onset of colonization.

Caloundra Town in Queensland, Australia

Caloundra is a coastal town and the southernmost town in the Sunshine Coast Region in South East Queensland, Australia.

Bribie Island Island in Queensland, Australia

Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is 34 kilometres long, and 8 kilometres at its widest. Archibald Meston believed that the name of the island came from a corruption of a mainland word for it, Boorabee. meaning 'koala'. However, the correct Joondaburri name for the island is in fact Yarun.

Great Sandy Strait Suburb of Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia

The Great Sandy Strait is a strait in the Australian state of Queensland of 70 kilometres (43 mi) length which separates mainland Queensland from the World Heritage listed K'gari. It is also a locality in the Fraser Coast Region local government area. In the 2016 census, Great Sandy Strait had a population of 4 people.

Banksia Beach, Queensland Suburb of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia

Banksia Beach is a town and suburb on Bribie Island in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the suburb of Banksia Beach had a population of 5,995 people.

Bellara, Queensland Suburb of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia

Bellara is a suburb of Bribie Island in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Bellara had a population of 3,225 people.

Bongaree, Queensland Suburb of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia

Bongaree is a suburb of Bribie Island in Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the western side of Bribie Island, adjacent to the Pumicestone Passage. In the 2016 census Bongaree has a population of 6,947 people.

St Helena Island National Park Protected area in Queensland, Australia

St Helena Island is a heritage-listed island in Queensland, Australia, 21 kilometres (13 mi) east of Brisbane and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of the mouth of the Brisbane River in Moreton Bay. Originally used as a prison, it is now a national park. Local Australian Aborigines called the island Noogoon but it was renamed St Helena after an Aboriginal man named Napoleon was exiled there in 1827. The island is visible from the mainland, particularly the suburbs of Wynnum, Manly and Lota. It has its own permanent water supply, a spring in the centre of the island. Many migratory birds use the island as a watering hole; it forms part of the Moreton Bay and Pumicestone Passage Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because it supports large numbers of migratory waders, or shorebirds.

Golden Beach, Queensland Suburb of Caloundra, Queensland, Australia

Golden Beach is a coastal suburb of Caloundra in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. It is located within the Caloundra urban centre directly southwest of the Caloundra CBD. In the 2016 census, Golden Beach had a population of 5,575 people.

Bribie Island Seaside Museum

Bribie Island Seaside Museum opened on 14 May 2010 at 1 South Esplanade, Bongaree, on the Pumicestone Passage side of Bribie Island, Moreton Bay Region in Queensland, Australia. It is run by Moreton Bay Regional Council.

Woorim, Queensland Suburb of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia

Woorim is a town and suburb of Bribie Island in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Woorim had a population of 1,829 people.

Toorbul, Queensland Town in Queensland, Australia

Toorbul is a coastal town and a locality in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Toorbul had a population of 930 people.

White Patch, Queensland Town in Queensland, Australia

White Patch is a coastal town and locality of Bribie Island in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census the locality of White Patch had a population of 142 people.

Welsby, Queensland Suburb of Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia

Welsby is a coastal locality on Bribie Island in the Moreton Bay Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census Welsby had a population of 5 people.

Bribie Island Second World War Fortifications

The Bribie Island Second World War Fortifications are heritage-listed fortifications at Woorim and Bribie Island North on Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia. They were built from 1939 to 1943 and were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 20 July 1993.

Bribie Island North Suburb of Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia

Bribie Island North is a locality on Bribie Island in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Bribie Island North had a population of 0 people.

Caloundra Lighthouses

Caloundra Lighthouses are a heritage-listed pair of lighthouses at 3 Canberra Terrace, near Arthur Street, Kings Beach, Caloundra, Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The first, known as the Old Caloundra Light, was designed by Francis Drummond Greville Stanley and built in 1896; the second, New Caloundra Light, was built in 1968. They were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 5 February 2010.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

References

  1. ↑ "Pumicestone Channel – channel (entry 27629)". Queensland Place Names. Queensland Government . Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  2. ↑ "The Matthew Flinders Bicentenary Association". Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  3. ↑ "Bridie Island Tourist Information". Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
  4. ↑ Victoria Education website Archived 2007-11-17 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Queensland things to do website Archived 2007-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "IBA: Moreton Bay and Pumicestone Passage". Birdata. Birds Australia. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
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