South Passage is channel between the South Pacific Ocean and

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 ...

. The other entrances to the bay are the North Passage or North Entrance and Jumpinpin Channel in the south. It was once the main entrance for ships entering the bay. South Passage begins in the shallow sand-barred channel between

Moreton Island Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) is an island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay on the coast of South East Queensland, Australia. The Coral Sea lies on the east coast of the island. Moreton Island lies northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. ...

and

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 o ...

and continues along North Stradbroke Island past

Amity Point Amity is a rural town and locality in the City of Redland, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Amity had a population of 387 people. It is known as ''Pulan Pulan'' by the traditional owners, the Quandamooka people. Geography Amity i ...

to Dunwich. The bay inside of South Passage consists of shallow water sandbanks. Crossing the channel by small boat is not recommended, especially during a high swell, due to the network of channels and shifting sand bars. The tidal flow is rapid with a rate of 150 cm per second during the flooding tide and slightly slower during the ebb tide of 100 cm per second. The passage has a return coefficient of 50%, meaning that half the amount of water that leaves the bay via the passage returns the same way on the flooding tide.

History

The channel was not noticed by Lieutenant James Cook as he explored the coastline in May 1770. On 14 July 1799, Matthew Flinders was the first European to discern an opening between the islands. In 1824 John Oxley aboard the ''

Amity Amity may refer to: Places United States * Eagar, Arizona, a town, formerly named Amity * Amity (New Haven), Connecticut, a neighborhood * Amity, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Amity, Illinois (disambiguation) * Amity, Indiana, an uni ...

'' left Moreton Bay via the South Passage after he had explored the Brisbane River with Allan Cunningham. He was the first European sailor known to do so. The '' Lucinda'' was used as a mail vessel for delivering mail up and down the Queensland coast. The boat was largely captained by Captain James South who notably used South Passage to cut hours off the mail route. Some believed this is how South Passage came to be named, but it appears this is simply a coincidence. There is clear reference to South Passage prior to Captain South surveying/sounding and using this route. On 11 March 1847, 44 people lost their lives when the ''

SS Sovereign The Australasian Steam Navigation Company (ASN Co) was a shipping company of Australia which operated between 1839 and 1887. Company history The company was started as the Hunter River Steam Navigation Company in 1839. In March 1851, the compa ...

'' was wrecked as it passed through the passage; only 10 people were saved. This led to the shipping route being moved to the northern entrance to the bay the next year, while the pilot station was moved to Cowan Cowan on Moreton Island. Another wreck found in the passage is the ''Rufus King''.

References

{{coord, 27, 22, 43.47, S, 153, 26, 20.89, E, type:landmark_region:AU, display=title Channels of Australia Moreton Bay North Stradbroke Island

History

See also

References