The Gold Coast Broadwater, also known as Southport Broadwater, Gold Coast Harbour and The Broadwater, is a large shallow
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
of water located in the district of
South East Queensland
South East Queensland (SEQ) is a bio-geographical, metropolitan, political and administrative region of the state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of approximately 3.8 million people out of the state's population of 5.1 million. Th ...
, Australia. The estuary reaches from the locality of in the south, to the southern section of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage List
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
ed
Moreton Bay
Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia 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 ...
in the north. Separated via the Seaway from the Coral Sea by a thin strip of land called
Stradbroke Island
Stradbroke Island, also known as Minjerribah, was a large sand island that formed much of the eastern side of Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Queensland until the late 19th century. Today the island is split into two islands: North Stradbroke Islan ...
, the original body of water was a
lagoon
A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...
created from water deposited from the
Nerang River
The Nerang River is a perennial river located in South East Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of . The river is approximately in length.
Course and features
The Nerang Rive ...
. Part of the Broadwater is contained within the
Moreton Bay Marine Park
The Moreton Bay Marine Park was established in 1992 to protect ecologically significant habitats in Moreton Bay. The marine park extends from Caloundra south to the southern tip of South Stradbroke Island. The marine park's border extends up to ...
.
Location and features
The entrance of the Nerang River was at
Main Beach
Main Beach (originally Southport East) is a coastal town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Main Beach had a population of 3,883 people.
Geography
Historically, the Main Beach area was a narrow ...
in the late 19th century but by the 1980s had moved about northwards. The Seaway was completed in 1986 to stabilise the location of the Nerang River Entrance. Its construction has allowed greater tidal flows. This has created a larger tidal range within the Broadwater with lower low tides. Towards the northern end of the broadwater the
Pimpama River
The Pimpama River is a perennial river located in the South East region of Queensland, Australia. Its catchment lies within the Gold Coast local government area and covers an area of .
Course and features
The Pimpama River rises in the Darli ...
enters. The broadwater is very large and contains lots of species of marine life.
Gold Coast Ferries
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
operates a number of services across the waterway. Curlew Island, a popular habitat for bird species including the
Far Eastern curlew
The Far Eastern curlew (''Numenius madagascariensis'') is a large shorebird most similar in appearance to the long-billed curlew, but slightly larger. It is mostly brown in color, differentiated from other curlews by its plain, unpatterned brown ...
, emerged from the Broadwater over the last four decades.
The Broadwater has undergone dramatic changes since the 1970s including the construction of an extensive number and network of artificial waterways that account for up to 90% of Australia's canal estates. Positioned in one of the fastest growing regions in the developed world, urbanisation surrounding the Broadwater is expected to continue. The region has important biodiversity values that have led to areas of the Broadwater listed as an international
Ramsar site
A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O)
*** Permanent 8 ha (P)
*** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts)
**
catchment
A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...
includes a number of watercourses including the Logan/
Albert
Albert may refer to:
Companies
* Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic
* Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands
* Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia
* Albert Productions, a record label
* Alber ...
,
Coomera
Coomera is a town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Coomera had a population of 13,305 people.
Geography
Located next to the Pacific Motorway (Brisbane–Brunswick Heads), ...
,
Pimpama
Pimpama is a northern suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Pimpama had a population of 9,396 people. The name is of Aboriginal origin. The suburb contains numerous schools with the first opening in the 1870s.
A s ...
and
Nerang
Nerang is a town and suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Nerang had a population of 16,864 people.
Geography
The Nerang River flows through the locality from south to east, passing through the town. The river u ...
Rivers. Creeks such as the
Loders
Loders is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It lies north-east of the town of Bridport. It is a linear village, sited in the valley of the small River Asker, between Waddon Hill and Boarsbarrow Hill. In the 2011 ce ...
, Biggera and Behm and Wasp also flow into the estuary.
The most common
seagrass
Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the or ...
species in the body of water is ''
Zostera muelleri
''Zostera muelleri '' is a southern hemisphere temperate species of seagrass native to the seacoasts of South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.Paul Friedrich August Ascherson. 1867. Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu ...
'' which grows in the shallower parts. ''
Halophila ovalis
''Halophila ovalis'', commonly known as paddle weed, spoon grass or dugong grass, is a seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is a small herbaceous plant that occurs in sea beds and other saltwater environments in the Indo-Pacific.
The fir ...
'' and ''
Halophila spinulosa
''Halophila'' is a genus of seagrasses in the family ''Hydrocharitaceae'', the tape-grasses. It was described as a genus in 1806. The number of its contained species, and its own placement in the order Alismatales, has evolved.
Description
Th ...
'' are also found in the deeper waters of the Broadwater.
History
Captain
Patrick Logan
Captain Patrick Logan (1791 – October 1830) was the commandant of the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement from 1826 until his death in 1830 at the hands of Aboriginal Australians who objected to him entering their lands. As he had been hated by co ...
was the first European to discover this southern entrance to Moreton Bay. In the early 1880s the first
Southport Pier
Southport Pier is a pleasure pier in Southport, Merseyside, England. Opened in August 1860, it is the oldest iron pier in the country. Its length of makes it the second-longest in Great Britain, after Southend Pier. Although at one time spa ...
was opened to the public. On 26 November 1925, the Jubilee Bridge opened to pedestrian and vehicular traffic, becoming the first bridge to be erected in the Broadwater area. The bridge provided direct access between Southport and Main Beach and offered an alternative to, and eventually replaced, the ferry services which had transported passengers from the jetty, in the vicinity of later day Barney Street, across the water at the point where the Nerang River meets the Broadwater.
In 1966-1967, the Jubilee Bridge was replaced by the Gold Coast Bridge, colloquially known as the
Sundale Bridge
The Sundale Bridge is a bridge located in the Gold Coast region of South East, Queensland, Australia. Officially known as the Gold Coast Bridge, but locally referred to as the Sundale Bridge due to its proximity to the site of the former Sundal ...
due to its proximity to the
Sundale Shopping Centre
Sundale is an unincorporated community in Muskingum County, Ohio, Muskingum County, in the U.S. state of Ohio.
History
A post office called Sun Dale was established in 1880, and remained in operation until 1920. Besides the post office, Sundale ha ...
. The two bridges were on different alignments and, for a period of time, both were in place until the demolition of the earlier bridge commenced. The Jubilee Bridge was on an east-west alignment commencing at Queen Street, Southport before ending in the vicinity of the Southport Yacht Club at Main Beach on the southern bank of the Nerang River. The Gold Coast Bridge was on a north-south alignment following the path of the Gold Coast Highway. The Gold Coast Bridge has since been joined by a bridge for light rail on its western side and a pedestrian bridge on its eastern side.
Construction of the
Gold Coast Seaway
The Gold Coast Seaway or Southport Seaway is the main navigation entrance from the Pacific Ocean into the Gold Coast Broadwater and southern Moreton Bay and is one of Australia's most significant coastal engineering projects. It is located at the ...
was undertaken between 1984 and 1986. Plans for a
cruise ship
Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as ...
terminal and resort on Wave Break Island were rejected by the Queensland Government in 2015.
Broadwaterway
The Broadwaterway is a
foreshoreway
A greenway is usually a shared-use path along a strip of undeveloped land, in an urban or rural area, set aside for recreational use or environmental protection. Greenways are frequently created out of disused railways, canal towpaths, utility ...
along the
foreshore
The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...
s of the Gold Coast Broadwater. The Broadwaterway includes:
* The Spit arm
* the Marine Stadium,
* western Spit foreshores (including Sea World, Fishing fleet,
Versace
Gianni Versace S.r.l. (), usually referred to as Versace ( ), is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978 known for flashy prints and bright colors. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as ...
Hotel,
Marina Mirage
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
, Fishermans Wharf, Water Police, Sea Scouts and the Southport Yacht Club)
* Pelican Beach at Main Beach
*
Southport Broadwater Parklands
The Southport Broadwater Parklands is a large community park located in Southport. It is designed for large community gatherings and families. The park has many different areas for children and barbecue areas for families. The park went through ...
* Marine Parade and Harley Park Labrador
* Broadwater Esplanades of Biggera Waters, Runaway Bay and Hollywell.
* Paradise Point Broadwater Parklands
See also
*
List of rivers of Queensland
This is a list of rivers of Australia. Rivers are ordered alphabetically, by state. The same river may be found in more than one state as many rivers cross state borders.
Longest rivers nationally
Longest river by state or territory
Althoug ...
*
Southern Moreton Bay Islands
The Southern Moreton Bay Islands, abbreviated as the ''SMBI'', also known as the ''Bay Islands'', or the ''RKLM'', are the four inhabited southern Moreton Bay islands located in South East Queensland, Australia. The group is part of the Redland ...
*
Southern Moreton Bay Islands National Park
Southern Moreton Bay Islands is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 44 km southeast of Brisbane. It forms part of the Moreton Bay and Pumicestone Passage Important Bird Area, so identified by BirdLife International because it suppor ...
*
Sports on the Gold Coast, Queensland
Sport on the Gold Coast has a rich history. As a popular tourist destination leisure sports like Golf, but most particularly sports associated with its famous beaches, have always been popular. A number of surf clubs line Gold Coasts beaches, w ...