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Coochiemudlo Island is a small island in the southern part 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 ...
, near
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the Sou ...
, in
South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
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 , established_ ...
, Australia. It is also the name of the
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 ...
upon the island, which is within the
local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a state, province, division, or territory. The phrase i ...
of
Redland City Redland City, better known as the Redlands and formerly known as Redland Shire, is a local government area and a part of the Brisbane metropolitan area in South East Queensland. With a population of 156,863 in June 2018, the city is spread alon ...
. In the , Coochiemudlo Island had a population of 753 people.


Geography

The island is approximately from Victoria Point, also in Redland City. A natural cliff composed of iron-rich rock is exposed on the south western side of the island. Sandy beaches wrap around the island's southern, eastern and northern sides. Mangroves cover the western foreshore of the island.


History

The name ''Coochiemudlo'' is the English language version of the
Yuggera The Jagera people, also written Yagarr, Yaggera, and other variants, are the Australian Aboriginal people who spoke the Yuggera language. The Yuggera language which encompassed a number of dialects was spoken by the traditional owners of the te ...
words ''kutchi'' (meaning ''red'') and ''mudlo'' (meaning ''stone''). The British explorer
Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...
landed on Coochiemudlo Island on 19 July 1799, while he was mapping the southern part of Moreton Bay. The original European name was Innis Island from 1825 to 1850. The island celebrates Flinders Day annually, commemorating the landing of Flinders. The celebrations are usually held on a weekend near 19 July, the actual date of the landing. At the , the population of the Coochiemudlo Island was 658 people.Over 43% were more than 54 years old. Of families 58.2% were couples without children. The most common responses for religious affiliation were "No Religion" at 24.2% which is well above the Australian average of 18.7%. 269 said that they were in the workforce and 60% were in full-time occupations while 28% were working part-time. Only 5% of the island's workforce said they were unemployed. The major areas of employment were Hospitals, Local Government Administration, Other Social Assistance Services, Residential Care Services and Building Completion Services. The median weekly household income was $616, compared with $1,027 in Australia. At the , the population of Coochiemudlo Island was 708, 52.7% female and 47.3% male. The median age of the Coochiemudlo Island population was 52 years, 15 years above the national median of 37. 67.8% of people living in Coochiemudlo Island were born in Australia. The other top responses for country of birth were England 7.8%, New Zealand 6.1%, Germany 1%, Croatia 1%, Philippines 0.7%. 88% of people spoke only English at home; the next most common languages were 0.6% German, 0.6% Indonesian, 0.6% Serbian, 0.4% Dutch, 0.4% Swedish. In the , Coochiemudlo Island had a population of 753 people.


Transport and services

The island is serviced by a passenger ferry, operating approximately every half-hour between about 5:00am and 11:00pm. A vehicular barge also operates regular services to and from the island. Due to the relatively small area, a car is not essential for getting around. The island's community hub, Curlew Café, is a BYO cafe situated not far from the jetty, providing breakfasts, lunches and occasional Friday night dinners, essentials (groceries, meat, ice creams, newspapers). The island also has a licensed restaurant, known as Oasis on Coochiemudlo. A range of accommodation options are available including Seminara Apartments, airbnb and holiday homes. The island's newspaper, the ''Coochie Island News'', was established in February 2019 and has a readership of approximately 3,000 in print and online. Its mission is to publish inspiring and positive content that showcases the island's strengths and its pages feature news, articles, fishing and boating reports and stories, health/wellbeing articles, poetry and book reviews written by island contributors, as well as interviews with creatives and island residents. It includes a business directory and directory of community activities, groups and their contacts. A podcast featuring interviews with island residents, experts on island life and Australia's demographer
Bernard Salt Bernard Salt is an author, demographer, and since 2002 a regular columnist with ''The Australian'' newspaper. Between 2011 and 2019 he was an adjunct professor at Curtin University Business School, and holds a Master of Arts from Monash Universi ...
was launched in 2020.


Wildlife

There are many types of wildlife on the island, with its birdlife including sea eagles, brahmany kites, magpies, rosellas, butcher birds, pheasant coucals and a colony of stone curlews which are counted each year. The waters around Coochiemudlo contain dugongs, turtles and dolphins. There is a walk through the Melalueca Wetland Reserve with its variety of native plants and trees. A fauna survey was conducted there in 2016.


Amenities

The island's Community Hall has views of Moreton Bay and the mainland. The hall provides the community with a venue for a number of activities, including yoga, tai chi, indoor bowls, art shows, and meetings. Coochiemudlo's southern beach (main beach) is patrolled by the surf lifesaving association. A '
Nippers Nippers are young surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike senior surf lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for Nippers tends t ...
' program is available, and caters for both on-island, and off-island children. The surf lifesavers have the use of a building with a first-aid room. Other facilities include a BMX track, cricket pitch and football oval, bowls/croquet lawn, 9-hole golf course, 2 tennis courts, gym, and a library beneath the Community Hall. Coochie Community Family Church conduct their services in the Pine Ridge Chapel at 11 Shirley Street (); it is part of the Wesleyan Methodist Church.


Attractions

The sandy beaches of Coochiemudlo Island provide safe swimming. Coochie is also a destination for sailors. As the island is surrounded on three sides by sandy beaches, and there is always a sheltered beach regardless of the wind direction. Sailing craft range from
sailboard Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...
s, off-the-beach
catamarans A Formula 16 beachable catamaran Powered catamaran passenger ferry at Salem, Massachusetts, United States A catamaran () (informally, a "cat") is a multi-hulled watercraft featuring two parallel hulls of equal size. It is a geometry-stab ...
and
dinghies A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or towed by a larger vessel for use as a tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they differ from sailing dinghies, which ...
to larger motor and sail yachts. A deep water anchorage and moorings are located to the south of the island near the jetty and boat ramp. Fishing is also a common pastime, with species such as
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'', '' Le ...
, whiting, flathead,
flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related species, thou ...
, tailor,
cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not calle ...
, and snapper, amongst others, to be found in the waters around the island.


Housing styles

Housing styles on Coochiemudlo range from traditional 1950s
fibro Asbestos cement, genericized as fibro, fibrolite (short for "fibrous (or fibre) cement sheet") or AC sheet, is a building material in which asbestos fibres are used to reinforce thin rigid cement sheets. Although invented at the end of the 19t ...
beach shacks, contemporary light weight beach houses, relocated Queenslander houses, and conventional suburban brick and tile.


See also

* List of islands of Queensland


References


External links


Coochie Island NewsHistory of Coochiemudlo Island

Moreton Bay: Queensland Places

Coochiemudlo Island Pine Ridge Chapel columbarium

Redland Council Open Space PlanStart a New Life Living on an Island Podcast
{{Authority control Islands of Moreton Bay Suburbs of Redland City Pre-Separation Queensland Localities in Queensland