Brisbane Water is a
wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...
-dominated
barrier estuary located in the
Central Coast region, north of
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. Brisbane Water has its origin at the
confluence
In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...
of the Narara and Coorumbine Creeks, to the south–east of
Gosford
Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...
and travels for approximately in a southerly direction to its
mouth
In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...
at
Broken Bay
Broken Bay, a semi-mature tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, is a large inlet of the Tasman Sea located about north of Sydney central business district on the coast of New South Wales, Australia; being one of the bodies of water that separa ...
, about from the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
, at
Barrenjoey Head. A number of towns and suburbs surround the shores of Brisbane Water, including
Blackwall,
Booker Bay
Booker Bay is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales Australia south-east of Woy Woy on Brisbane Water
Brisbane Water is a wave-dominated barrier estuary located in the Central Coast region, north of Sydney, New Sout ...
,
Davistown
Davistown is a south-eastern suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the local government area.
The suburb is serviced by a small shopping centre, Paringa Mall, and the Davistown RSL.
It is populated ...
,
Empire Bay,
Erina,
Ettalong Beach
Ettalong Beach is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia south of Woy Woy on Brisbane Water at the point where it meets Broken Bay, about 80 km north of Sydney. It is part of the local government area. Ettalon ...
,
Gosford
Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extre ...
,
Green Point,
Hardys Bay,
Kilcare,
Kincumber
Kincumber is a south-eastern suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, nested between the Kincumba Mountain Reserve and the Kincumber Broadwater and located north of Sydney via the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (F3). It is ...
,
Koolewong,
Phegans Bay,
Point Frederick,
Point Clare
Point Clare is a suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia located approximately north of Sydney and south-west of Gosford's central business district on the western shore of Brisbane Water. It is part of the local go ...
, Saratoga,
Tascott,
Wagstaffe, and
Woy Woy
Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area.
Woy Woy is located in the nor ...
. Contained within Brisbane Water is
St Huberts Island,
Rileys Island,
Dunmar Island and
Pelican Island; and adjoining the estuary is
Brisbane Water National Park
The Brisbane Water National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated north of Sydney, west of , and southwest of .
Features
The ...
to the west and
Bouddi National Park
The Bouddi National Park is a coastal national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated northeast of Sydney. A section of the national park extends into the Tasman ...
to the east. Forming part of the same tidal estuary system is a separate but connected basin, the Kincumber Broadwater, lying to the east of
Davistown
Davistown is a south-eastern suburb of the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the local government area.
The suburb is serviced by a small shopping centre, Paringa Mall, and the Davistown RSL.
It is populated ...
.
The total catchment area of the river is approximately .
The land adjacent to the Brisbane Water was occupied for many thousands of years by
Australian Aboriginal
Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...
peoples, the
Darkinjung and
Kuringgai
Kuringgai (also spelled Ku-ring-gai, Kuring-gai, Guringai, Kuriggai) (,) is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilar ...
, who used the estuary and foreshore areas for cultural purposes.
Brisbane Water was named in 1825 in honour of
Sir Thomas Brisbane
Major General Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane, 1st Baronet, (23 July 1773 – 27 January 1860), was a British Army officer, administrator, and astronomer. Upon the recommendation of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he had served, he was appoint ...
, a
Governor of New South Wales
The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...
, serving between 1820 and 1825.
History
Brisbane Water is part of the traditional lands of the Darkinjung and Kuringgai aboriginal peoples. Places of significance to Aboriginal people located in the area surrounding Brisbane Water that are listed on the
Register of the National Estate
The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...
include
Daleys Point area and Staples Lookout, west of Woy Woy.
Initial colonial explorers of the area were assisted by
Bungaree
Bungaree, or Boongaree ( – 24 November 1830), was an Aboriginal Australian from the Guringai people of the Broken Bay north of Sydney, who was known as an explorer, entertainer, and Aboriginal community leader.Barani (2013)Significant Aborig ...
, a leader of the Kuringgai tribe who went on to assist
Phillip Parker King
Rear Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN (13 December 1791 – 26 February 1856) was an early explorer of the Australian and Patagonian coasts.
Early life and education
King was born on Norfolk Island, to Philip Gidley King and Anna Jo ...
and
Matthew Flinders
Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
in the circumnavigation of Australia.
Twentieth century European settlement led to the development of an extensive local ferry network, including one supplying an otherwise isolated orphanage, a commuter service from Gosford to Woy Woy and a third operation dedicated to carrying farm produce. The last commuter ferries between Brisbane Water townships ceased in 1971. The only ferry service to exist now services the communities of Empire Bay, Davistown, Saratoga and Woy Woy and is operated by Central Coast Ferries.
In 1973, local residents on Rileys Island requested a
green ban
A green ban is a form of strike action, usually taken by a trade union or other organised labour group, which is conducted for environmentalist or conservationist purposes. They were mainly done in Australia in the 1970s, led by the Builders Labo ...
after a development company intended to remove all native vegetation to make way for construction on the island.
Environment
The Brisbane Water estuary and foreshores have particularly high scenic value and include areas of pristine vegetation and extensive views of the water from a number of locations. Beaches, inlets and bays can be distinguished in the foreground with inherent juxtaposition of bushland-covered hills in the distance. Access to existing key vantage points allows for the public to experience the landscape character of the Brisbane Water estuary and its surrounds.
With the approximate average bed level at and often as low as , Brisbane Water is considered mostly shallow, with a tidal impact of ±.
The inlet narrows at a point known as The Rip, located adjacent to Ettalong Beach. The Rip has a rapid
tidal current
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables c ...
.
The oyster industry is an important part of the local economy. In terms of
Sydney rock oyster
''Saccostrea glomerata'', is an oyster species belonging to the family Ostreidae.MolluscaBase eds. (2022). MolluscaBase. Saccostrea Dollfus & Dautzenberg, 1920. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at: https://www.marinespecies.org/ ...
production, in 2007–2008 a total of ~250,000 dozens of oysters were produced in the Brisbane Water estuary, with a total value of A$1.3 million representing approximately 3.6% of the NSW industry total for 2007–2008.
During 2009, over 110 bird species were recorded within the estuary; with sixty vulnerable and fourteen endangered animal species, and sixteen vulnerable and eight endangered plant species.
Some of Brisbane Water is classified by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as an
important bird area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
because it has an isolated population of up to ten breeding pairs of
bush stone-curlew
The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee, also known as the Iben bird (''Burhinus grallarius'', obsolete name ''Burhinus magnirostris'') is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, whe ...
s and sometimes supports flocks of the
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
regent honeyeater
The regent honeyeater (''Anthochaera phrygia'') is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive eff ...
and
swift parrot
The swift parrot (''Lathamus discolor'') is a species of broad-tailed parrot, found only in southeastern Australia. The species breeds in Tasmania during the summer and migrates north to south eastern mainland Australia from Griffith-Warialda ...
during autumn and winter, when the
swamp mahogany trees are in flower.
References
External links
*
*
{{The Hawkesbury River
Central Coast (New South Wales)
Bays of New South Wales
Important Bird Areas of New South Wales
Main North railway line, New South Wales
Green bans