The Jumpinpin channel also known as The Pin lies between
North Stradbroke Island
North Stradbroke Island ( Jandai: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''Straddie'' or ''North Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, southeast of the centre of Brisbane. Originally there was onl ...
and
South Stradbroke Island
The South Stradbroke Island (Indigenous: ''Minjerribah''), colloquially ''South Straddie'', is an island that lies within Moreton Bay in the Australian state of Queensland, south of Brisbane and forms the northern end of Gold Coast. The island ...
. It has a fast moving tidal deep water
Channel not appropriate for
swimming
Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
but is popular with beach anglers.
The name Jumpinpin is a
Yugambeh word meaning
Pandanus root.
The bar area is shallow for a kilometre or so offshore so current local knowledge is required to safely transit the bar.
The area around the Pin is constantly changing with
sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class o ...
being deposited in one place after being moved by
current
Currents, Current or The Current may refer to:
Science and technology
* Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas
** Air current, a flow of air
** Ocean current, a current in the ocean
*** Rip current, a kind of water current
** Current (stre ...
s from another area. Just recently the mouth of Swan Bay was moved several hundred metres seaward creating an entirely new boating area.
The area is not really suitable for swimming as big tides and fast currents are the norm. Inland from the bar the Pin area consists of
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...
s and mud banks, constantly being built up and then being washed away. In recent years Rat Island, The Mud Clump and Squire Island have disappeared.
Formation
![StateLibQld 1 171911 Cambus Wallace (ship)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/StateLibQld_1_171911_Cambus_Wallace_%28ship%29.jpg)
A channel in the general area of Jumpinpin may have formed and silted up several times over recent millennia, however, the most recent formation of the channel is generally blamed on two events. The first of these was the wreck of the ''Cambus Wallace'', a 75 m steel barque of 1534 tonnes built in 1894 at Port Glasgow. In the early morning of 3 September 1894, the ''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. Thomas Welsby, writing in 1921, noted, "Within two years (1896) the southeast gales threw again their power and fury on the very spot whereat the ''Cambus Wallace'' had come to grief, drove the rollers and breakers against the sandy hillside until it conquered and made passage into Swan Bay." Welsby contradicts himself stating that "The break at Jumpinpin occurred in May, 1898, the first official reporting being under date 13 May, coming from Mr Andrew Graham, Government official, Southport"
TC Luita passed east of Brisbane 6–7 March 1898, producing gales and very high seas along the South Coast.
Newspaper reports indicate that the passage was established in 1898. A sizeable breakthrough had taken place by that year.
"News has now been received that the action of the recent gales on the coast, coupled with the abnormally high tides, about Sunday and Monday, May 8 and 9, has effected a clean breach through the island, and there is now a deep channel about half a mile wide at Jumping Pin."
[The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld.) 1898 May 18 page 4d Graves Washed Away. Effects of Late Storms. New Channel at Stradbroke. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article176468895]
Changes to tidal inundation in the area around the mouth of the
Logan River
The Logan River ( Yugambeh: ''Dugulumba'') is a perennial river located in the Scenic Rim, Logan and Gold Coast local government areas of the South East region of Queensland, Australia. The -long river is one of the dominant waterways in Sout ...
were dramatic.
Erosion occurred on farm land and some farmers resorted to building canals. The oyster industry in the area was also affected by what was claimed to be changes in the water density interfering with the ability of the oysters to settle on the seafloor.
Fishing
The 'Pin is renowned for fishing with huge catches of
Bream
Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...
,
Flathead,
Whiting,
Luderick
The parore (''Girella tricuspidata'') also known as luderick, black bream or blackfish is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the family Kyphosidae which is found in the southwestern Pacific Ocean off Australia and New Zealand. ...
,
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
History
Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...
and
Trevally
The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish which includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the only famil ...
being made in season. Numerous
Mulloway have been caught here. A few kilometres to the west of the bar an area known locally as Lew's Folly, produces large quantities of bream and flathead in season.
Other areas known for their bream and flathead catches are Whalley's Gutter, Tiger Mullet Channel and Tree Gone Bay. Access is only by boat, however 4WD vehicles can access the southern tip of North Stradbroke Island, but the beach fishing is limited here.
See also
*
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 ...
*
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 ...
References
{{coord, -27.733, 153.442, type:waterbody_region:AU, display=title
Channels of Australia
South East Queensland
North Stradbroke Island