Venue information and Risk Management for Southern Moreton Bay

Overview of venue and Sea School activities

Southern Moreton Bay is home to many Sea School activities - offering a great variety of sheltered venues including beautiful campsites, interesting historical locations, fascinating ecology and wildlife and a wide range of training venues for the Sea School curriculum. We use sailing, paddling, bushwalking, snorkelling and swimming activities as a focus for skill development in this area.

Maritime Safety Queensland designates smooth water limits from Cleveland Point to Amity Point, below which many of our expeditions are conducted. Occasionally, when the weather and tides allow – we venture north to Moreton Island within the partially smooth water limits.

Tidal conditions vary around the islands and local knowledge is needed, generally flooding south and ebbing north. Access to some campsites are tide dependant. Numerous boatramps and emergency access points on both sides of the bay, make this an ideal expedition venue.

Traditional Owners information

“Quandamooka” refers to Moreton Bay and also refers to the nation that is composed of three distinct tribes, the Nunukul, the Koenpul and the Nguhi who lived primarily on Moorgumin (Moreton Island) and Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) on the eastern side of the bay. Aboriginal middens have been found on Teerk Roo Ra (Peel Island) and Minjerribah that date settlement back as far as 25,000 years ago – before this time sea levels during the ice age were much lower and the coastline was some 30 km to the east.

In this area aboriginal people were known to fish in partnership with the dolphins – by slapping the water with their spears to summon the pod - whereupon the dolphins would work the mullet into shallows for the people to spear. Early records indicate this technique was so effective that the men would spear several fish with each strike, while the children would gather a pile of fish to gift back to the dolphins. Today, people are known to share their catch with dolphins at several regular locations in the bay – and the dolphins are renowned for bringing deep sea gifts in return.

Teerk Roo Ra means “place of many shells”. The island was well used for its rich land and sea resources. Records indicate Aboriginal groups from surrounding areas used Teerk Roo Ra as a feasting and ceremonial site. Midden sites and a bora ring are a testament to this. Kuychi Mudlo was the place where they obtained red ochre stones used as a red pigment for the painting of shields and skins.

The Dunwich area was called Goompee or Coompee, from a word meaning pearl oyster. It has always been home to a sizeable indigenous population, as well as a seasonal

Blue Peter The Sea Schoolwww.bluepeteraustralia.com

visiting place for tribes from other areas.

The Quandamooka people have a unique cultural heritage that they share through their storytelling, art and dance performances. In 2011 Australia officially acknowledged their traditional ownership, recognising their native title rights to areas of North Stradbroke Island and surrounding waters.

Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation - http://www.qyac.net.au/

Minjerribah Moorgumpin Elders in Council - http://www.mmeicac.com.au/

European history

The Portuguese, Dutch and French possibly mapped the coastline around the middle of the 16 th century - there is legend of an ancient Portuguese ship wreck in the vicinity of Swan Bay.

James Cook sailed past this coastline in HMS Endeavour in 1770, naming Point Lookout, Cape Moreton and Moreton Bay. He noted the bay, naming the Glasshouse mountains and surmising that a large river must be present here

Matthew Flinders was the first European to sail into the bay, meeting aborigines at Skirmish Point with misunderstanding and a tragic outcome. He landed on Coochie Mudlo Island in 1799, surveying the area then sailing north again, unable to find the river he was seeking. He noted the beauty of Bird Island with its numerous trees – now it has eroded into an intertidal sand bank. On his return in 1803, a group of Minjerribah men showed the crew where to find fresh water in the Cylinder Beach/Adder Rock area.

A couple of decades later, ticket of leave convicts - Pamphlet, Finnigan, Thompson and Parsons - were swept away from the Illawarra coast in their 29ft vessel. After 22 days at sea, Thompson was dead but the other three survived the shipwreck on Moreton Island. Thinking they were somewhere south of Sydney they started to walk north - taking nearly eight months to make their way to the mainland, after spending time with several aboriginal groups who fed them fish and fern root, and thought they were ghosts of their dead kinsmen. Aborigines took them by boat to Minjerribah where they were able to make their own canoe and paddled to the mainland, landing near what is now Cleveland. They continued their journey northwards in hope of reaching civilisation and it wasn't long before the trio stumbled across a large river which they were unable to cross. They trekked upstream for almost a month, weakened due to lack of good food. With only one reasonable swimmer (Pamphlett), they had to follow the banks of many of the creeks they encountered en route. At Oxley Creek, they procured a canoe and attempted their first crossing of the river. The canoe was on the western bank of the creek, and was procured by Pamphlett swimming across the creek. The present Pamphlett Bridge at that spot was named for that event. They used the canoe to return to the mouth of the river and continued north. They reached Bribie Island and in November 1823, they saw a cutter sail into the bay. It was explorer John Oxley who had been searching up and down the coast for a new convict settlement. Only then did they learn that Sydney was to the south, and they showed Oxley the Brisbane River. On return to Sydney Pamphlett was charged with stealing flour and was sent to the new Moreton Bay Penal colony which was established because of the discovery of the Brisbane River. For more than 60 years from 1867, St Helena Island was the place of imprisonment for many hundreds of prisoners.

In 1873 Peel Island was proclaimed a reserve for quarantine purposes and a station was built on the island's south-east corner where a constant stream of immigrant ships, many carrying sick and diseased passengers were processed. By the 1890s a sharp decline in immigration and a general improvement in public health

saw the facility close. Remnants of the quarantine station are still evident on the island. These include concrete slabs, a well, brick building, cemetery and stone jetty. Built by prison labour in the 1890s, this stone jetty was the main access point for the quarantine station. As one of the few remaining stone jetties in Queensland it is of cultural significance.

Dunwich was also used as a quarantine station, and there are tragic tales recorded in the cemetery there. Peel Island was also used as an inebriate asylum and sisal farm, the inmates would harvest the sisal and manufacture rope which was sold to help fund the asylum. Remnants of the sisal plantations are still visible

In the following years Brisbane boomed and the Bay proved to be a rich fishing ground - including beds of oysters which supported a busy industry until 1894, when the ship Cambus Wallace ran aground in heavy seas near what was then a narrow stretch of Stradbroke Island called Tuleen. Most of the crew managed to swim to shore, but six men drowned and were buried on the beach. The ship broke up where she struck and most of the cargo was washed ashore and plundered by local residents. During the subsequent cleanup, explosives from the cargo were piled up and deliberately detonated on the beach leaving large craters. The explosion is credited with severely damaging the beach and weakening the loosely vegetated sand dunes. Following gradual erosion of the seaward side of the island over the next two years, the second event to ultimately generate the channel at Jumpinpin was the arrival of a cyclone in 1896. Changes to tidal inundation in the area were dramatic and the oyster industry collapsed – apparently due to changes in water density interfering with the ability of the oysters to settle on the seafloor.

Between 1907 and 1959 the north-west corner of Peel Island was a lazaret — a hospital for patients with Hansen’s disease (leprosy), with the rest of the island gazetted as a benevolent asylum. The site was chosen because it was on one of the higher ridges and away from the old quarantine station buildings. It was designed and constructed on the principles of isolation. Each patient was housed in a separate hut and grouped into separate compounds according to race, sex and severity of illness. The three main compounds were male, female and “coloured”. For many years after being decommissioned - the lazaret was used by the Anglican Church Grammar School as a school camp. In 2007, the island was declared as Teerk Roo Ra National Park and Conservation Park.

Whaling occurred at Tangalooma until the population of Humpback whales collapsed in the 1960’s and Moreton Island was declared as a national park. Sand mining continued on Stradbroke Island and remains a major industry despite promises to scale it back in response to environmental concerns. In the 1970’s a sand mining tailings dam collapsed and destroyed an area of mangroves south of Dunwich. This is known as Blakesleys slip - it revegetated but is eroding rapidly. It provides a good deep water anchorage and sheltered campsite .

Natural environmentVegetation communities on the islands include Melaleuca quinquenervia swamp, Callitris columellaris forest, open eucalypt forest and open brush box forest. Mangroves and mud flats provide an essential nursery for juvenile fish, crabs and shellfish. Dolphins, turtles, dugongs and occasional humpback whales can be seen surfacing in the waters. During winter, birds of prey such as kites, ospreys and sea eagles soar over the islands. Golden swamp and agile wallabies are found on the sand islands. Moreton Bay is designated as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention.The Wild Guide to Moreton Bay and other resources are carried with us to interpret the diverse seagrass and mangrove ecology that we encounter in the area.

Chart of the area:

Vehicle access

In most weather and tide conditions we meet and return to the small boat rigging area in front of the Victoria Point Volunteer Marine Rescue Station – unless otherwise notified.

Turn left at the end of Colburn Avenue, Victoria Point Lat/Long -27.579343, 153.315524

KEY EMERGENCY OR ALTERNATIVE EVACUATION POINTS

Boat Ramp, William Street, Cleveland (VMR Raby Bay) Lat/Long -27.514322, 153.286458

Boat Ramp, Yabby Street, Dunwich (VMR Dunwich) Lat/Long -27.493185, 153.403395

Communications

Mobile phones have good reception in the general area and we log in and off with Victoria Point VMR for all trips

A waterproofed phone and VHF radio is carried in each vessel along with an EPIRB and other safety equipment. Refer to our Communications Plan and Risk Management documentation for more informationVolunteer Marine Rescue Victoria Point 3207 8717 / 0407 029 704 and VHF ch 67/73/16

Raby Bay 3821 2244 / 0427 372 830 and VHF ch 67/81/16Dunwich 3409 9338

Water Police Brisbane 000 or 3895 0333Redlands hospital 21 Wellington Street Cleveland 3488 3111Dunwich Hospital 34 Petrie Street Dunwich 3409 9059Teerk Roo Ra National Park 3393 4647Ferry, Middle St Cleveland Straddie ferries 3488 5300

Big Red Cat 3488 9777Gold Cats 3286 2192

Local programming considerations:

Planning process must be followed including notifications

Tidal influence on local currents and times for access to campsites, wind against tide

Consider general public interface – eg holiday seasons, weekends, boat ramps, ferries

Take time to ensure drinking water, secure hats, sunscreen, snacks, rain jackets etc

Check safety equipment in each vessel, communications, skippers meeting

Key dangers

Bites and stings, oyster cuts, jelly fish, sting rays etc

Capsize/separation/drowning

RISK MANAGEMENT – Sailing, Sea Kayaking and Snorkelling at Moreton Bay

Risk Strategy to Reduce Risk

PEOPLE

Attributes people bring to an activity

Skill level

Complacency

Dehydration

Fatigue

Swimming ability

Conflict

Slips and falls

- Working agreement, sequenced skill development and assessment, debriefing

- Sunscreen before and during activity

- Continue to remind group to drink water and cover up

- Monitor group morale and fitness levels, change plans if required

- Have a swim test at start of snorkelling session and monitor.

- Wear PFD’s, discuss capsize and MOB procedures

- Supervision and rescue procedures

EQUIPMENT

Resources that impact on the activity

Vehicles

Broken Equipment

Boats and other craft

- Equipment checks and maintenance

- Ensure safety around vehicle operation and parking.

- Stop or modify activity, fix equipment or replace to continue

- Supervision, briefing, ColRegs

ENVIRONMENT

Factors that impact on the activity

Stings & Bites

Tides & Currents

Wind & Weather

Wind chill

- Briefing and procedures eg equipment, rescue, activity communications etc

- First-Aid officer on scene

- Skippers will make decisions and follow the lead guide for the activity

- Check tide times, current direction, sea conditions and forecast

- Check weather conditions including wind direction and forecast

- Amend program to suit the conditions