Nature, culture and history
Natural environment
A pod of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in Platypus Bay. Photo: DERM.
Great Sandy Marine Park contains a vast array of marine habitats and coastal landscapes. In the north lies the pristine estuary of Baffle Creek, to the south are remote beaches which stretch to Littabella Creek and beyond to Kolan River. Moore Park's beaches are popular for low-key activities such as swimming and walking. Boaties who wish to stay overnight have the choice of several marinas in the Burnett River.
South of the Burnett River, along the coastline to the Elliot River, the coast changes abruptly. A million years ago, a volcanic eruption threw tonnes of volcanic rock into the sea. Sandy shores were transformed into basalt boulder shores, fringing coral communities prospered and receding tides now reveal interesting rock pools.
The marine park and the sandy beaches that stretch to the south are easily accessible from the coastal towns of Woodgate, Burrum Heads or Toogoom. The headland at Point Vernon, with its folded sedimentary rock strata, interrupts the beaches. Mature fringing coral reef communities line the coast from Gatakers Bay south to Torquay and the edges of Woody, Little Woody and Round Islands.
World Heritage listed Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island is renowned for its remarkable natural beauty. Its influence over the marine park cannot be understated. The island protects Hervey Bay's extensive waters and gave rise to the Great Sandy Strait. The strait's inter-tidal sand banks, mud flats, salt marshes and calm waters are ideal for the development of extensive seagrass beds and mangrove forests.
Discover diverse habitats and wildlife
Woongarra coast
The Woongarra coast stretches south from the Burnett River to the Elliot River. Although only 20 km long, it is a diverse and interesting coastline, formed by a volcanic eruption. Molten rock flowed over the coast into the sea, drastically altering the shores forever. The basalt rock created a foothold for Woongarra's coral reefs.
Nooks and crannies in the rock provide ideal anchor points for marine organisms such as sponges, algae and corals. Over 300 fish species, from tiny iridescent damselfish to ponderous, patchy wobbegong sharks, live here. The occasional turtle shelters under rock ledges. Flamboyant, vividly coloured nudibranchs can be seen if you look closely.
Olive sea snakes may be docile, but they are venomous. Look but do not disturb sea snakes that inhabit the reef. Cetaceans, sharks, echinoderms, molluscs, crustaceans and encrusting organisms add to the diversity of the coral reef. On most days, there are easy entry and exit points for snorkellers and divers to access the reef only metres from shore.
Mon Repos Conservation Park supports the largest concentration of nesting marine turtles on the eastern Australian mainland, and the largest loggerhead turtle nesting population in the South Pacific Ocean region.
- Read more about rocky shores.
Hervey Bay
Hervey Bay's waters are protected by Fraser Island. Extensive seagrass meadows, estimated at 2500 km2, grow on sand and mud from intertidal areas to a depth of 32 m. These meadows are significant feeding grounds for populations of marine turtles and dugong.
- Read more about seagrasses.
- Read more about marine turtles.
- Read more about dugong.
Shallow coral reef communities form a fringe around Hervey Bay and the near-shore islands of the Great Sandy Strait. These communities are an interesting mix of subtropical and temperate species of hard and soft corals. Deep-water reef communities include the Southern Gutters and the 25 Fathom Hole in the centre of the northern section of Hervey Bay. Rocky outcrops featuring gorgonian corals are found here. Offshore from Coonar lies Four Mile Reef, which covers about three hectares.
Hervey Bay is an important stopover for humpback whales on their annual southern migration.
Breaksea Spit, Sandy Cape and Rooney Point
Breaksea Spit is an extensive sand spit exposed to the energy of the open ocean. The formation of the spit continues due to the transportation of sand along Australia’s east coat by longshore transport (drift). As the sand travels north it creates shoals and underwater dune fields. North of the marine park this sand disappears over the continental shelf into the deep ocean.
Sandy Cape is an important marine turtle courtship and breeding area and also a valuable marine turtle rookery.
‘Reefal’ habitats occur in various locations in the form of rock ledges, coral ribbon and spot reefs which provide habitat for coral reef fish. Colonies of sedimentary marine gastropods occur north of Rooney Point.
Fraser Island's eastern beach
Extensive surf beaches are separated by rocky headlands at Waddy Point, Middle Rocks and Indian Head. Deep tidal rock pools which were carved out by pounding surf are home to many varieties of fish, anemones, molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms. Champagne Pools at Middle Rocks is a popular tourist destination. The surf beach is inhabited by fish species targeted by recreational fishers including tailor, dart, bream, whiting and flathead. Terns gather on the shore to rest after foraging at sea.
Great Sandy Strait
The Great Sandy Strait is one of Australia's few passage landscapes where a river’s outflow is blocked by an offshore island (Fraser Island). The resulting intertidal sand banks, mud flats and calm waters were ideal for developing shallow seagrass beds, mangrove forests, salt marshes and saltpans. These are important feeding grounds for shorebirds, dugong, turtles, dolphins, fish, molluscs and crustaceans.
The Great Sandy Strait is one of the three most important summer stopovers in Australia for migratory waders (birds) from the northern hemisphere. It is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a ‘Wetland of International Importance’. The Ramsar Convention is an international treaty aimed at halting the worldwide loss of wetlands and conserving remaining wetlands through wise use and management.
- Read more about the wetlands of Great Sandy Strait.
- Read more about mangrove forests.
Wolf Rock and the grey nurse shark
Wolf Rock, near Double Island Point, is the northernmost aggregation site for the Grey Nurse Shark on the eastern seaboard of Australia and has been identified as one of the most critical sites for grey nurse sharks in Queensland.
The grey nurse shark Carcharias taurus is listed as endangered under the Nature Conservation Act 1992 (QLD). Recent research estimates between 1300 and 1600 grey nurse sharks live along Australia's east coast. Wolf Rock is a mating site and at times has many female and pregnant sharks. Grey nurse sharks are not prolific breeders. They produce only one or two pups every two years. Because of this slow breeding rate, the grey nurse shark population will be slow to recover from past overfishing.
- Read more about the Grey nurse shark designated area.
Seagrasses and mangroves
Seagrass beds, mangroves, mudflats and their inhabitants are integral to the complex web of life.
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants, not seaweed and not true grasses. Their closest relatives are lilies and orchids. Seagrasses need sunlight, clear water and nutrients to grow. They often rely on nutrients from nearby mangroves. The Great Sandy Marine Park protects at least 2500km2 of seagrass habitat. Dugong feed directly on seagrass, but many more species live in seagrass beds. Small fish, seahorses, prawns and shellfish use seagrass meadows to shelter from predators, direct sunlight and extreme temperature changes.
- Read more about seagrasses.
Mangroves
Mangroves 'kick start' many coastal food chains. Some nutrients are used on the spot, while others are exported with the tides to neighbouring seagrass beds and beyond. At some time in their lives, more than 70 per cent of the commercial and recreational fisheries species depend on mangroves. For example, barramundi spawn in mangrove creeks protected from predators.
Mangrove communities act as stabilisers, which help to reduce excessive sediment flow. They are of particular importance as they form a protective barrier trapping sediments and stabilising shore and river edges, decreasing the threat of erosive action by currents and stream flow.
Unusual tenants of the mangroves
The water mouse (Xeromys myoides), a protected species, builds large mud nests and feeds on small crabs and molluscs. In hollow branches of grey mangroves, the threatened Illidge's ant-blue butterflies (Acrodipsas illidgei) trick 'crematogaster' ants into feeding their own young to the butterfly's caterpillar.
Whales and dolphins
The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) takes its scientific name from the Greek words megas meaning great and pteron meaning a wing. This aptly describes the whale's huge wing-like flippers. It is the fifth largest of the great whales. Adult females grow to 15 m, slightly longer than males. A mature humpback can weigh 40 tonnes. Humpbacks are generally blackish with white underbellies and sides. They are listed as a vulnerable species under the Nature Conservation Act and as an endangered species under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth).
Each year the east Australian humpback whale population, now estimated at more than 12 000 animals, migrates 6000 km along the eastern coastline and arrives in the lagoons of the Great Barrier Reef about mid-June. Antarctic waters provide whales with their richest food source, but the cold water is thought to be too harsh for newborn calves, which have no protective blubber layer.
Humpbacks mate and give birth in warmer waters. Gestation takes 11–12 months. At birth, calves are 4–5m long and weigh more than one tonne. A cow feeds her calf milk with a very high fat content (about 35 per cent). A calf drinks hundreds of litres of milk daily. A cow nurses her calf until it is one year old, by which time it is about eight metres long. Humpback whales mature in less than 10 years. An adult male often escorts pods of mothers and calves.
From July each year, the humpbacks migrate south, back to the Antarctic waters. A proportion of the population stops over in Hervey Bay. Most humpbacks have left Queensland waters by early November.
Successful reproduction and nurturing is critical to the continuing recovery of the humpback whale species. Minimising human impacts throughout the whales' journey is very important.
Other endangered, rare and common cetaceans also frequent or visit these waters. The common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), bottlenose dolphin (Tursips truncatus), Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis)—all listed as rare under the Nature Conservation Act—and the inshore bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncas) occur in the Great Sandy Marine Park. Other species of whales sighted include pygmy sperm whales, sperm whales, melon-headed whales, false killer whales, minke and dwarf minke whales, Brydes whales, pilot whales, southern right whales and pygmy killer whales.
Dugong
Adult dugong (Dugong dugon) feed predominantly on seagrass. An adult can consume 30 kg of seagrass per day. These fascinating sea mammals leave telltale feeding trails through the seagrass beds. Dugong mature at between 10 and 17 years of age and can live for up to 70 years. A cow only reproduces every 3 to 7 years. After giving birth, she nurses and nurtures her calf for 1–2 years. Being mammals, dugong calves suckle milk. Dugong are listed as a vulnerable species under the Nature Conservation Act.
Marine turtles
Six of the world's seven marine turtle species are resident in or visit the Great Sandy Marine Park. Some travel up to thousands of kilometres to nest here. Areas of the marine park are important for marine turtle courtship and mating.
Resident marine turtles include the endangered loggerhead (Caretta caretta), the vulnerable green (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and flatback (Natator depressa) turtles. Those that visit are the endangered leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles.
Some marine turtles forage on coral reefs for molluscs and other creatures, while others graze on seagrasses and mangroves. The leatherback turtle specialises in hunting jellyfish.
Migratory waders and resident shorebirds
At least twenty species of birds migrate from as far as Siberia and rest and feed on the Great Sandy Strait's mangrove-lined flats between September and March each year. At least 45 000 birds choose the Great Sandy Strait as their summer feeding ground.
Migratory waders fly an annual round trip migration of 25 000 kilometres from their northern hemisphere Arctic breeding grounds to the wetlands of the southern hemisphere continents. They need to feed and rest undisturbed before their marathon return journey. Repeated disturbances use up their energy reserves, much needed for their flight onwards.
Shorebird feeding and roosting cycles are linked to the tides rather than day or night, with birds feeding at low tide and roosting at high tide. Keen eyesight and quick movements help some shorebirds capture surface prey and locate burrow openings. Others probe the soil, mud or water, detecting food with their sensitive bill tips.
Great Sandy Strait is listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Eighteen of the 24 migratory wader species listed under the Japan–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (JAMBA) and the China–Australia Migratory Bird Agreement (CAMBA) visit, roost and feed in the Great Sandy region.
Resident shorebirds such as crested terns feed at sea and return to the beach to rest and digest their meal. Pied oystercatchers probe for pipis (bivalves) in the wet sand at low tide. They prise them open with their strong beaks. Eggs are laid in shallow sand depressions among dune plants or flotsam. Tiny dotterels are seen busily foraging for tiny creatures all along the shore. The once common beach stone curlews can be found feeding at low tide. Their dwindling numbers and their shy nature make such a sighting a rare treat indeed.
- Read more about shorebirds.
Culture and history
Middle Bluff lighthouse established 1866. Photo: DERM.
A continuing culture
Aboriginal use of the region extends back at least 5500 years and continues today. Traditionally, clans came together for the plentiful food provided by the sea, including turtle eggs during the nesting season. Evidence of Aboriginal occupation includes shell middens, stone artefact scatters and stonewalled fish traps on some island and mainland areas.
South Sea Islander teams built rock walls
Dry rubble walls and wharfs were constructed by South Sea Islander labourers (circa 1890) with rocks cleared from land destined for sugar cane farming. These walls can still be seen within and around Mon Repos Conservation Park.
Evidence of European occupation
Evidence of early European occupation includes old oyster leases, Woody Island's lighthouses, Fraser Island's lighthouse, log dumps and jetties.
Last updated 2 February 2011