Bulwer is a coastal town and

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...

at the north-western end of

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, Brisban ...

in the

City of Brisbane The City of Brisbane is a local government area (LGA) which comprises the inner portion of the metropolitan area of Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. Its governing body is the Brisbane City Council. Unlike LGAs in the other mainlan ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. In the the locality of Bulwer had a population of 49 people.

Geography

Bulwer is on the north-west coast of Moreton Island facing

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 ...

. It is to the

Brisbane central business district Brisbane City is the central suburb and central business district of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia. It is colloquially referred to as the "Brisbane CBD" or "the city". It is located on a point on the northern bank of the ...

. It is one of the few developed areas on Moreton Island which is almost entirely national park (

Moreton Island National Park Gheebulum Kunungai (Moreton Island) is a national park which covers 98% of Moreton Island (Mulgumpin) in Queensland, Australia, 58km northeast of Brisbane. It has three main townships, Bulwer, Cowan Cowan and Kooringal. The island is home to ...

). It consists of a few streets of housing and a long sandy beach. There are no formal road connections to Bulwer, but there are dirt tracks that connect it to other parts of the island.

History

Bulwer was probably named after Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) who was Secretary of State for the Colonies from 1858 to 1859. The British Colonial Secretary separated Queensland from

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 ...

in 1859 and made Sir George Bowen its first Governor. In August 1848, the

maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled profession ...

station on Moreton Bay was moved from Amity Point on the northerly tip of

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 ...

to Bulwer. In 1863 land was offered for sale at Bulwer for the first time, contesting of 36 lots each of 2 roods with 25 sold. In November 1865 a school and teacher's residence were erected but a teacher had not been appointed. The families of the staff of the pilot station were the principal residents at that time. That school opened in 1866-1867. In April 1875, the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended f ...

set aside 2 roods for a government school (suggesting the previous school was operated privately). Moreton Island State School opened circa 1876 and was renamed Bulwer State School in 1878. In 1891 it was downgraded to a provisional school, but restored to state school status in 1895. In November 1909 it was decided that the pilots and their families would live in Brisbane, with the pilots being based on a steamer in the Yellow Patch (the part of Moreton Bay to the north of Moreton Island near the entrance to the shipping channel to Brisbane) when on duty; the pilots approved the plan. The state school was closed in 1909 when the pilots' families ceased to live on the island. In the 1930s, three ships were scuttled in the area to form a harbour for small boats. The first on 8 May 1933 was the 337-ton steamer ''Hopewell'' formerly owned by timber merchants Hyne & Son of Maryborough. The second on 10 May 1933 was the 716-ton Mount Kembla. The third in September 1935 was the ''Kallatina'', a 646 ton passenger and cargo ship owned by John Edward Burke which operated a route from Brisbane through to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Although the intention was to provide a safe harbour, during a storm in July 1938 the 35-foot motor launch ''Achilles'' struck the half-sunken ''Mount Kembla'' and sank within 15 minutes, the 12 men on board Achilles climbed onto the Mount Kembla until they were rescued by Robert Alexander Gow in his dinghy. At the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

, Bulwer had a population of 70. In the the locality of Bulwer had a population of 49 people.

Transport

Bulwer is accessible from Brisbane on the mainland via the Micat Barge service. It is one of the main access points for visitors to the island, 98% of which is in the

Education

There are no schools in Bulwer, nor any nearby.

Distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

or boarding school are options.

Facilities

Facilities at Bulwer include a helipad and first aid station as well as holiday accommodation, a general store and public phone. Bulwer Park is at 100 Moreton Street (). It includes the helipad and a toilet. Moreton Island

SES SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to: Business and economics * Socioeconomic status * Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland * SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia) * SES S.A., ...

Facility is at 46 Moreton Street (). Bulwer Rural Fire Station is at 84 Moreton Street ().

References

External links

Town map of Bulwer, 1977
* —A description of the pilot service at Bulwer {{City of Brisbane suburbs Coastal towns in Queensland Suburbs of the City of Brisbane Moreton Island Localities in Queensland