Godwin Beach is a coastal rural

locality Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

in the

City of Moreton Bay The City of Moreton Bay, known until July 2023 as the Moreton Bay Region, is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the north of the Brisbane metropolitan city in South East Queensland, South East Queensland, Australia. Estab ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. In the , Godwin Beach had a population of 487 people.

Geography

The locality is bounded to the south and south-east by Deception Bay, a side bay of

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 ...

. There is a narrow sandy beach, also called Godwin Beach, along the residential areas near The Esplanade in the south-east of the locality, but otherwise the coastline is a

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withsta ...

. The land use in the locality is mixed. In the west and south-west of the locality are reservoirs and mangrove wetlands. There is grazing on native vegetation in the centre of the locality. The north parts of the locality is rural residential housing with larger land parcels, while the area near The Esplanade is also residential but with smaller suburban lots.

History

The locality is named after Charles Godwin who owned a fish cannery by the beach from 1897 to 1907. In January 1911 the steamer ''Eastern'' was stranded on the Salamander Bank (), north-west of Bulwer on Moreton Island, and barrels of oil had drifted off into the sea. Godwin was employed to salvage these barrels and transport them to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. While doing so, on 20 February 1911 he was thrown from his boat in rough seas off Toorbul Point and he drowned. Beachmere Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses was built in 1992. Circa 1999, a monument commemorating Godwin was erected on the beachfront.

Demographics

In the , Godwin Beach recorded a population of 444 people, 49.1% female and 50.9% male. The median age of the Godwin Beach population was 41 years, 4 years above the national median of 37. 77.3% of people living in Godwin Beach were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 7%, New Zealand 5.4%, Cambodia 0.7%, Hong Kong 0.7%, Germany 0.7%. 92.3% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 1.1% Thai, 0.9% Tagalog, 0.9% German, 0.9% Greek, 0% Gaelic (Scotland). In the , Godwin Beach had a population of 462 people. In the , Godwin Beach had a population of 487 people.

Education

There are no schools in Godwin Beach. The nearest government primary and secondary schools are Bribie Island State School and

Bribie Island State High School Bribie Island State High School is a public co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Bongaree on Bribie Island, Queensland, Australia. It is administered by the Queensland Department of Education, with an enrolment of 1,176 stude ...

, both in

Bongaree Bongaree is a suburb of Bribie Island in the City of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. It is located on the western side of Bribie Island, adjacent to the Pumicestone Passage. In the , Bongaree had a population of 8,162 people. Geography ...

Bribie Island Bribie Island is the smallest and most northerly of three major sand islands forming the coastline sheltering the northern part of Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. The others are Moreton Island and North Stradbroke Island. Bribie Island is ...

to the east.

Amenities

Godwin Beach Esplanade Park provides beach access, play equipment, barbeque and fitness equipment (). The Beachmere Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses is at 470 Bestmann Road ().

Attractions

There is a memorial to Charles Godwin along the beachfront.

References

{{City of Moreton Bay Suburbs of the City of Moreton Bay Localities in Queensland