Halifax Bay
Encyclopedia
Halifax Bay is a region located around a bay
in the Coral Sea
, situated on the Australia
n coast in Far North Queensland
. It is bordered by the town of Ingham
to the north, city of Townsville to the south and Great Palm Island
off the coast to the east.
Regional localities include Mount Low
, Bushland Beach, Yabulu
, Saunders Beach, Toolakea Beach, Bluewater, Toomulla Beach, Rollingstone, Balgal Beach, Paluma, Mutamee, Taylors Beach and Forrest Beach.
Major tributaries of Halifax Bay to the north include Trebonne Creek, Cattle Creek, and Crystal Creek, while in the south the inflows are from Rollingstone Creek, Bluewater Creek, Black River and the Bohle River
.
Valley settled soon after. Ingham was first settled in 1865. The southern parts of Halifax Bay developed at a slower pace with the area south of Crystal Creek being included in the newly formed Thuringowa Land Division in 1879.
The southern section of Halifax Bay, including Great Palm Island
, was prominent in air defence of the area during the Second World War. Halifax Bay, being on the northern approaches to the major air base in Townsville, was an ideal signals and battery location. Significant operations included Fort Kissing Point at Cape Pallarenda in Townsville, a signal and radar station on Mount Spec in Thuringowa, a radio station at Mount Low also in Thuringowa and a seaplane base at the north end of Great Palm Island. A US Army Hospital operated at Black River in Thuringowa. Rattlesnake Island, also in Halifax Bay, was used for live firing (and is still used for this purpose).
After the war the southern section of Halifax Bay began a transition from rural to residential settlement with significant beach developments occurring from the 1960s onwards. In 1971 the area of southern Halifax Bay was heavily impacted by severe tropical cyclone Althea.
World Heritage Area whilst the Paluma Range
is included in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
. Halifax Bay is generally a turbid environment that supports a wide variety of commercial and recreational fish species, prawns and scallops. The bay also supports Dugong habitats and is a significant Green Turtle nesting area. Operators and regulatory bodies regularly assess environmental impacts from sugar growers, the Yabulu Refinery, military use and residential use.
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
in the Coral Sea
Coral Sea
The Coral Sea is a marginal sea off the northeast coast of Australia. It is bounded in the west by the east coast of Queensland, thereby including the Great Barrier Reef, in the east by Vanuatu and by New Caledonia, and in the north approximately by the southern extremity of the Solomon Islands...
, situated on the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n coast in Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland
Far North Queensland, or FNQ, is the northernmost part of the Australian state of Queensland. The region, which contains a large section of the Tropical North Queensland area, stretches from the city of Cairns north to the Torres Strait...
. It is bordered by the town of Ingham
Ingham
-People:* Albert Ingham, Mathematician* Alice Ingham, Roman Catholic nun and missionary.* Barrie Ingham, British actor* Benjamin Ingham, 18th Century Yorkshire Evangelist* Bernard Ingham, British journalist and former press secretary to Margaret Thatcher...
to the north, city of Townsville to the south and Great Palm Island
Great Palm Island
Great Palm Island, also known as Palm Island, or by the Aboriginal name Bwgcolman; is a tropical island with a resident community of about 2,000 people. The island has an area of . The official area figure of 70.9 km² refers to Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island and includes nine smaller islands...
off the coast to the east.
Regional localities include Mount Low
Mount Low
Mount Low is a mountain on East Falkland, Falkland Islands. It is due north of Stanley on the north shore of Port William....
, Bushland Beach, Yabulu
Yabulu, Queensland
Yabulu is a small residential suburb approximately 25 kilometres north of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census the population of Yabulu was 603.Yabulu is the site of a major nickel and cobalt refinery, owned by Clive Palmer...
, Saunders Beach, Toolakea Beach, Bluewater, Toomulla Beach, Rollingstone, Balgal Beach, Paluma, Mutamee, Taylors Beach and Forrest Beach.
Major tributaries of Halifax Bay to the north include Trebonne Creek, Cattle Creek, and Crystal Creek, while in the south the inflows are from Rollingstone Creek, Bluewater Creek, Black River and the Bohle River
Bohle River
The Bohle River is a short river north of Townsville in Queensland, Australia. The Bohle river catchment is approximately 355 km², draining most of the coastal plain west of Townsville.Tributaries include Middle Creek, Stony Creek, Stag Creek and Garner Creek...
.
History
Halifax Bay was originally inhabited by the Warakami and the Wulgurkaba aboriginal tribes and these were likely some the tribes people that Captain James Cook saw when he named Halifax Bay between June 6-8, 1770. George Dalrymple explored the Halifax Bay area in the early 1860s and the first settlers to the Herbert RiverHerbert River
The Herbert River is a river located in Far North Queensland, Australia. The southernmost of Queensland's wet tropics river systems, it is named after Robert George Wyndham Herbert , the first Premier of Queensland...
Valley settled soon after. Ingham was first settled in 1865. The southern parts of Halifax Bay developed at a slower pace with the area south of Crystal Creek being included in the newly formed Thuringowa Land Division in 1879.
The southern section of Halifax Bay, including Great Palm Island
Great Palm Island
Great Palm Island, also known as Palm Island, or by the Aboriginal name Bwgcolman; is a tropical island with a resident community of about 2,000 people. The island has an area of . The official area figure of 70.9 km² refers to Aboriginal Shire of Palm Island and includes nine smaller islands...
, was prominent in air defence of the area during the Second World War. Halifax Bay, being on the northern approaches to the major air base in Townsville, was an ideal signals and battery location. Significant operations included Fort Kissing Point at Cape Pallarenda in Townsville, a signal and radar station on Mount Spec in Thuringowa, a radio station at Mount Low also in Thuringowa and a seaplane base at the north end of Great Palm Island. A US Army Hospital operated at Black River in Thuringowa. Rattlesnake Island, also in Halifax Bay, was used for live firing (and is still used for this purpose).
After the war the southern section of Halifax Bay began a transition from rural to residential settlement with significant beach developments occurring from the 1960s onwards. In 1971 the area of southern Halifax Bay was heavily impacted by severe tropical cyclone Althea.
Industry
In 1974 Thuringowa's Nickel Refinery (QNI Nickel) began its operations at Yabulu on the south end of Halifax Bay. The northern section of Halifax Bay is a major sugar producing area. The first settlers to the northern area were cattle farmers but sugar became the major interest when the Mackenzie Brothers built the first sugar mill in 1872. By 1970 over 2,000,000T of cane was being crushed in the district.Ecology
Halifax Bay is an important Australian ecological area. The bay itself is part of the Great Barrier ReefGreat Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
World Heritage Area whilst the Paluma Range
Paluma, Queensland
Paluma is a township of around 25 permanent residents in the Mount Spec ranges of Townsville's heritage-listed Wet Tropics. Paluma developed from a mining and forestry background. The first people to arrive here were tin prospectors in the 1870s after an abundance of tin in the mountains. The area...
is included in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area
Wet Tropics of Queensland
The Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Site consists of approximately 8,940 km² of Australian wet tropical forests growing along the north-east Queensland portion of the Great Dividing Range, stretching from Townsville to Cooktown, running in close parallel to the Great Barrier Reef...
. Halifax Bay is generally a turbid environment that supports a wide variety of commercial and recreational fish species, prawns and scallops. The bay also supports Dugong habitats and is a significant Green Turtle nesting area. Operators and regulatory bodies regularly assess environmental impacts from sugar growers, the Yabulu Refinery, military use and residential use.
See also
- Former City of Thuringowa
- Pandora Reef